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Stock Control System for a Small Business Proprietor

1. Page amp Page amp of amp Pages 4 a K Ea al Fe Reorder Level Report Report J Je zuja ala jA n fie gdt View Insert Format Tools Window Help a abl I 4 Page Header F CategoryName ProdubtName ReorderLevel J Categoryname Header FEE R M CategoryName J E detail 2 ProduptNanje ReorgerLevfel a a E Page Footer i How Page amp Page amp of amp Pages A _ Report Footer Report Be alalta B pe Edt yew Insert Fomat Toos Window Hep D BaB s e o eg aea usda 0 abl ol foo Fy Suppferarje Addtess ci PostCode _ Phoneflumbe Faber EmailAddress 9 E SuppierName Header My Supple E eos a 2 Page Footer lal g From Page amp Page of 8 Paces all Report Footer EEE Order for frozen foods Report m oe
2. E z 7 F 7 TT a An abl a Sraqroare J m f ordefDate LI SS ShdpNambe Suppiernanle JE HierNdme pisnge f rades ShopPosttode em cies H aa ShopTet Postdoae PostCode a Shepr ax Pron Numbpr PhoheNunjber i e sropemsnkacress ShepFmaitaddrd Faxhumbdr i Ea Emdilad kss e Bm M ae Cubisenbraen E EE 2 2 Foams once Oars no SubTdral order Footer fSum iusr fem ifars Espas eae Frown Report Footer 127 Appendix T Final System screen shots User Interface and Forms Main Menu Stock Management Menu Stock Management Menu The Paper Shop Main Menu Click the button to select one of the options Administration Menu Reports Menu Reports 5 Click one of the buttons to select from the following options Click on the buttons to select from the options Search for a Product Sales Search for a Product Type the name of the product into the box and the price units in stock will be displayed Scan the product or enter the barcode manually then enter the quantity of items price can be changed if necessary C m Product Barcode Product Name Quantity Seling Price SubTotal VAT Total Pees __ 7 as as oss ae 2 4 68 Record I4 4 1 gt bt p of 1 128 Messages Add Product Scan the product barcode into the system and then enter the following details Type in the
3. Page amp Page amp of amp Pages Page amp Page amp of amp Pages BLAM WMetGse 126 Product Stock Levels by Category Report Ca fie gdt View Insert Format Tools Window Help Rimasero oe BRE Report Header iS 2 m J Page Header F CatedoryNamne UnitsinStpck CategoryName Header M f Cate oryName E feoi z UnitsInSto Page Footer al ga Fowo Page amp Page amp of amp Pages H Report Footer E f Report JB z u z 2 JAZA 22 Fie Edit yew Insert Format Toos Window Help BRI amp amp j Page Header SaleDjate by MlieDate ProductNpme uantity SellingPri e Subota VAT Total SaleDate Header Etas Detail Aen duct ame Quanti SellingPricd Su Total AT Total Page amp Page amp of amp Pages Worst Products E The Paper Shop Worst Prod port Report JC JB z u fie Edt View Insert Format Tools Window Help D 8a 46h t2es Rie tw ec Reh Se Se Ce ce Oe oe Oe W B ce Pe 2
4. by selecting the appropriate options Supplier SupplierID T SupplierName Bestways Address Red Hill Way Add Supplier oy Fecester eee View Supplier Details PhoneNumber 0116 2034923 FaxNumber 0116 2034923 EmailAddress fbestways leicester Administration Menu Main Menu New supplier details can be added and there is the option to view all the supplier details in a report 161 4 3 Employee The Employee Details option will take you to the following screen all the employee details can be viewed in a report and new details can be added There is the option to go back to the Stock Management Menu and the Main Menu by selecting the appropriate options There is the option to view employee Employee name and the contact number within the system EmployeeID FirstName LastName Contactiumber 0116 2040400 5 Reports Menu By clicking on the Reports Menu option from the main menu the following screen will appear There are five options on the reports Reports menu Click one of the buttons to select from the following options Product Stock Levels Product Sales Reorder Levels Each of the options will open up a form which will allow you to view the details in the report There will also be the option to print each of these reports Each of the screens wi
5. he system will generate a report of product sales by category he system will generate a report of the overall product sales he system will generate a report of stocks at re order level he system will generate a report of the gross argin by category he system will allow the user to print any of the eports Brief description of the topics to be covered in this he system will be complete by 2 May 2006 he system will meet the users needs he system will meet system requirements N r N N w N oh he system will be developed as a general software 2 4 package 80 Appendix M UML System Requirement Specification This appendix provides and includes detailed technical system requirements specification for the proposed solution The final objective of this section is to provide a clear demonstration of what needs to be implemented The specification will be written in Universal Modelling Language UML allowing varying levels of abstraction throughout the specification This includes using use case and activity diagrams The primary diagram Use Case Diagram will be an abstract guide to the rest of the diagrams in the section Each use case specified in the diagram will be explained in further detail through the use of accompanying diagrams and documents These accompanying documents include a description form of the use case UCDF Form A more detailed use case diagram showing the use cases unique to
6. 1 43 Account details The system will allow the user to view daily profits 1 44 Account details The system will allow the user to view weekly profits 1 45 Account details The system will allow the user to view monthly profits 1 46 Account details The system will allow the user to view yearly profits 1 47 Account details The system will generate a report of the best and 1 48 worst selling products Account details The system will generate a report of product sales 1 49 by category Account details The system will generate a report of the overall 1 50 product sales Account details The system will generate a report of stocks at re 1 51 Jorder level Account details The system will generate a report of the gross 1 52 margin by category Account details The system will allow the user to print any of the 1 53 reports Account details Brief description of the topics to be covered in this 2 Internal group developer i nd The system Will beicomplete Dyer May 2008 Provides a completed software solution for user 2 1 The system will meet the users needs Provides information for customer The system will meet system requirements Conducts activities to meet requirements The system will be developed as a general Builds a computer software solution for software package user N Jn N A w N Appendix N Business Rules Caution Only authorized users can access the system Caution
7. Report Implementation these are screen shots of the development of the reports which are in design view Best Products E The Paper Shop Best Products Report Rn J fe gdt View Insert Format Tools Window Help amp EE 8 BR J B z u 2 2 A gt e oe A Die O ERAL aA IeuG Gross Margin by Category E The Paper Sho oss Margin by Categoy Report Report 7 fie Edt View Insert Format Tools Window Help Rma tas ooe uj aaj ja 2 BEAREN EMEE Employee Details E The Paper Shop Employee Details Report Report l B Zu 22 2 A as Fie gdt View Insert Format Tools Window Help R BRR bes o e ERE Employee1n ContaqtNumijer E Detal EEEN i ontafiNumber JEMIG E Pa Overall Product Sales oie lL aes ujas laa Report fie Edit View Insert Format Tools Window Help R Ba SR Lees o ERJE S wig g n E TS EE Report Header o z categorvin Header d CategoryName J Detail IBBAL E
8. SupplierName The name of the Text 50 Snow King Address The address of the Text 50 Red Hill Way supplier City The town or city Text 50 Leicester lt 50 where the supplier is based 20 PostCode The postal code of the Text LE4 4HH gt LLOO OLL 0 115 supplier PhoneNumber The supplier phone 01162 758956 9999 00090009 0 __ number FaxNumber The fax number of the Text 12 01162 9999 00090009 0 __ supplier 758956 EmailAddress The supplier email Text 50 snowking leicester co u lt 50 address k File Name Shop table Purpose Hold the shop details in the database Field Name Description Data Type Length Sample Values Type of of Contents Validation Expected AutoNumber the shop of the shop shop cit shop ShopTel The Text 12 01162 658952 9999 telephone 00090009 0 _ number of the shop number 658951 00090009 0 _ ShopEmailAddress The email Text 50 thepapershop hotmail com lt 50 address of the shop File Name Employee table Purpose Holds contact information about the employees Field Name Description of Data Type Length Sample Values Type of Validation Contents Expected EmployeelD Primary Ke AutoNumber 3 01 None AutoNumber the employee the employee ContactNumber The telephone Number 11 01162 495993 9999 number of the 00090009 0 __ employee File Name Account table Purpose Hold the shop details in the database Field Name Des
9. accordingly 1 9 9 Health and Safety This section details a few basic health and safety issues which should be mentioned The user should not use the PC for long periods of time bad posture or inappropriate positioning of equipment and cabling and electricity overload can be hazardous to health Factors which should be considered include RSI and eye strain which can be avoided by taking regular breaks Effective ergonomics of the equipment will enable the user to have the correct posture to avoid strain Cables and power adapters should be kept away from passing customers and users to avoid accidents 76 Table 1 A List of Requirements adapted from Jesty P H Stakeholder Needs Template SE22 Documents sah Stakeholder Needs e Related groups of Stakeholder Needs Description of the Stakeholder Need Reference Number he system will let the user scan products into the 1 1 System with the use of a barcode reader he system will let the user view the products which are in stock 1 2 he system will allow the user to add products to he database 1 3 he system will allow the user to amend products already in the database 1 4 he system will allow the user to delete any products which are no longer being sold from the 1 5 database he system will allow manual entry of product 1 6 he system will allow the user to enter the product ame 1 7 o a 5 T x W Internal developer Included in system 77 he
10. lt http www artisan brandt co uk Artisan modules index php p Stock gt Tiscali Dial up Pay As You Go On line Accessed 3 Feb 2006 Available from World Wide Web lt http www tiscali co uk products dialup pay as you go html code ZZ NL 11GK gt Williams S 2002 Small Business Guide Fifteenth edition Vitesse Media Windward Inventory Control Software On line Accessed 8 April 2006 Available from World Wide Web lt http wws5 com inventory_software php gt Woodford D 1992 Sage Sterling in Business A day to day Reference Sigma Press Young T L 1998 The Handbook Of Project Management A Practical Guide to Effective Policies and Procedures Kogan Page Limited 54 Appendix A Personal Reflection This final year project has been one of the most challenging pieces of work which have completed feel that by undertaking this project it has allowed me to utilise a variety of skills and use knowledge which have gained throughout my degree Knowledge from previous modules has been utilised in particular Software Project Management SE22 in understanding the need to break up tasks and subdivide them so that they are more manageable IS31 has assisted in understanding the difficulties of report writing which can be overcome as long as a methodological and organised approach is taken Knowledge from DB21 has allowed for groundwork of understanding in the technical aspects of database design and func
11. www comp leeds ac uk se22 documents StakeholderNeedsTemplate xls gt Johnson O Vision document Adapted from IS21 Lecture Notes and documents On line Accessed 3rd Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http www comp leeds ac uk is21 RUP VISION DOC html gt Keyes J 2002 Software Engineering Handbook Auerbach Publishers Inc Kimmel P 2001 Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Access 2002 Programming in 24 Hours Sams Publishing 52 Maciaszek L A 2005 Requirements Analysis and System Design Second Edition Pearson Education Limited Addison Wesley McFee Antivirus Software and Intrusion Prevention Solutions On line Accessed 30th Jan 2006 Available from World Wide Web lt http Awww mcafee com us gt Microsoft Access Fundamentals On line Accessed 15 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http databases about com od access l aaaccess1 htm gt Microsoft SQL Server Information From Answers com On line Accessed 15 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http www answers com main ntquery method 4 amp dsid 2222 amp dekey MicrosofttSQL Server amp gwp 8 amp curtab 2222 1 amp linktext Microsoft 20SQL 20Server gt Nielsen J 1993 Usability Engineering Academic Press Inc London Ltd Norton Antivirus Product Overview Symantec Corp On line Accessed 30th Jan 2006 Available from World Wide Web lt http www symantec com home_homeoffice products internet_secu
12. Table 1 this will indicate if the produced solution was successful in meeting all the requirements As previously identified effectiveness and learnability has a significant influence on whether a system will be used and as there was no system in place previously evaluating the level of effectiveness and learnability would be required End user evaluation will also be conducted which will indicate if the solution provided is useful Measuring the development process which was used throughout the project will show if project management was carried out effectively By comparing the solution against similar systems it will allow the quality of the system to be determined and if development of the system was necessary Reviewing testing methods will identify any flaws during implementation of the solution 8 2 Evaluation against Minimum Requirements These are the minimum requirements which were outlined 1 The system should be able to input product information via barcode technology 2 The system should be able to generate best and worst product reports 3 The system should allow categories to be added updated and deleted 42 4 The system should generate a report of stocks at re order level Minimum requirement 1 has been satisfied test 1 1 See Appendix W which has confirmed that the user can input products into the system with the use of a barcode reader Minimum requirement 2 has been satisfied test 1 12 see Appendix W
13. The database window has been disabled to avoid design alterations along with removal of the status bar as it is not necessary There is a shortcut icon which has been created which starts the application shown below m any a The Paper Shop Figure 7 Desktop short cut icon to The Paper Shop application 5 8 Security Issues To protect the data in the database a password was set up to ensure that no one else can access confidential information like profit and sales information The PC which is being used is already password protected and the database is also password protected 5 9 Conclusions Even though an initial plan had been outlined which detailed how long each phase of the project should approximately take there were shortfalls during the implementation phase which meant that the process took longer than anticipated Firstly this led to a review of the initial plan which can be found in Appendix C and the activities to be completed were reviewed Secondly due to time restraints and ensuring that the minimum requirements were implemented so that a user has a working solution there was not sufficient time to implement all of the account functions This was discussed and was agreed that these aspects can be implemented at a later 34 date Having considered all the design issues and user requirements the system was built There have been a few changes made to the design interface which was conducted with feedback from
14. The goal of the Use Case from the Actor s perspective Basic Course of Events The Normal Flow Alternative Paths Other paths through the use case which result in a successful outcome typically variations to the basic course of events determined by the actor and their needs Exception Paths Other paths through the use case which result in an unsuccessful outcome typically when something goes wrong Assumptions Pre conditions Post conditions Related Business Rules Reference to your Business Rules list Users database The user can add amend delete and view a supplier details The user can also add suppliers The use case begins when the user accesses the supplier menu The user can then choose one of the options available and then follow each individual step from there the system allows the user to change or delete a current supplier details and allows new details to be entered There is not much variation in the course of action as any employee details will have to be manually entered into the system by the user If the user was trying to amend a supplier name or any other details and the new details that were being entered were not valid then the system would not allow it returning error messages where appropriate The only real assumption that is that the supplier details are readily available for instance from invoices sent to the business and the user will know how to enter t
15. 1 2 The system will allow the user to add products to the database 1 3 Test 1 3 The system will allow the user to amend products already in the database 1 4 Test 1 4 The system will allow the user to delete any products which are no longer being sold from the 1 5 database Test 1 5 The system will allow manual entry of product details 1 6 Test 1 3 The system will allow the user to enter the product name 1 7 Test 1 3 150 1 12 1 13 1 18 1 19 1 20 1 21 1 22 1 23 1 24 1 25 1 26 1 27 The system will allow the user to select a supplier from where the product was purchased The system will allow the user to select a category to assign the product to The system will allow the user to enter the unit price of the product The system will allow the user to enter the selling price of the product The system will allow the user to enter a re order quantity The system will allow the user to scan products out which will adjust the stock levels The system will allow the user to search for products The system will allow each supplier to be assigned an ID The system will allow the user to enter the name of the supplier The system will allow the user to enter the address of the supplier The system will allow the user to enter telephone number of the supplier The system will allow the user to enter the fax number of the supplier The system will allow the user to add a
16. AutoNumber Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 1 Product is scanned New product Mars and will be added to Bar has been added product table to the product table 138 Test 1 2 The system will let the user view the products which are in stock l Product which has been added to the database is displayed in the stock levels report Category Name Confectionary Frozen Foods FishFingers 10 Snacks Walkers Crisps 4 Soft Diks Ribera n Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 2 Product stock levels The report opens and by category reportis views all the products accessed which are in stock Test 1 3 The system will allow the user to add products to the database E The Paper Shop File Edit View Insert Format Records Tools Window Help M BR G6RY BR o Aa Yay mew oO a A new product Starburst has been added to the product table Product Table ProductBarcode CategoryID_ ProductName i joe SupplierlD E 5000213018879 Frozen Food Fish Fingers 2 4 5000305940030 Snacks Walkers Crisps 1 5 5003094930330 Soft Drinks Ribena 8 5 1 1 1 0 11 5003470188400 Confectionar Mars Bar 13 5006940340040 Confectionar Starburst Expected Result___ Actual Result Pass Fail ___ Test 1 3 Products can be Another product manually added to the Starburst has been database added to the database 139 Test 1 4 The system will allow the us
17. Every product and price must be entered in the system Definite condition All products transactions made must be scanned or entered manually Definite condition which will create a record of the transaction Records must be kept of products and suppliers Definite condition Any products that may already be in the system that may be duplicated Caution must result in prompting the user to check the existing product before entering the new product Once transactions or products have been entered into the system all Definite condition accounts should be updated Frozen food orders must be sent to the relevant supplier Definite condition If a customer is purchasing tobacco or alcohol products prompt the user to Caution ask the customers age The user must be able to view any reports before they are printed Definite condition 112 Appendix O Navigation Map Main Menu Stock Management Menu Products o Add Product o Edit Product o Delete Product Categories o Add Category o Edit Category o Delete Category Administration Menu View Orders Supplier Details Employee Details Reports Best and Worst Products o Worst Products o Best Products Product Sales Product Stock Levels Reorder Levels Gross Margin by Category Accounts Product Accounts Sales Profits Profit by category Product Search Messages Exit Database 113 Appendix P Files and Data Structures F
18. Only accepts numbers 8 goods which have been sold GrandTotal The grand total of all Currency the sales which have been made 150 00 Only accepts numbers 114 File Name Order table Purpose To keep a log of all the orders which have been made Field Name Description Data Type Length Sample Values Type of Validation Expected of Contents OrderID Primary Key AutoNumber 012 None AutoNumber Integer OrderDate The date the Date Time Short 27 04 06 Required Field order is Date placed File Name Order details table Purpose To keep the details of each of the products to be placed on the order Field Name Description of Data Type Length Sample Values Type of Validation Expected Contents OrderlD Primary Key AutoNumb Long 012 None AutoNumber Integer er SupplierID Composite Ke product 8pk to be ordered each of the items File Name Category table Purpose Allows all the products to be assigned a category Field Name Description of Data Type Length Sample Type of Validation Contents Values Expected Category D Primary Key AutoNumber None AutoNumber Integer CategoryName The name of the Lookup Drop Confectionary Required Field category to be Down assigned to the Menu product File Name Supplier table Purpose Allows supplier information to be held in the database Field Name Description of Data Length Sample Values Type of Validation Contents Type Expected mber
19. Product Supplier Categor Shi Group B Group B Group B Group B Group B Grog p 15 Product Stock Levels Prompt for Accounts E The Paper Shop Prompt for Accounts Select Query B Bal4RY seealo o m File Edit View Insert Query Tools Window Help Category name product name and number of units in stock have been selected for product stock Account Product A levels HB B Giayv s4ae8 File Edit View Insert Query Toos Wit Product The prompts allow the user to enter the dates S 4a Field DateFrom DateTo Table Account Account a MN Total Group By Group By Product Product Show v v E C a Criteria Enter Date From Enter Date To 124 Reorder Level E The Paper Shop ReOrder Level Select Query E The Paper Shop Total Units On Order E Basn sael s E t Ea gt ea B Ba ARS i Ba welo File Edit View Insert Query Tools Window Help File Edit View Insert Query Tools W The reorder level has Category been set to any items less than or equal to ten The total units on order is calculated by a sum function InitsInStock CategoryID UnitsOnOrder CategoryName ReorderLevel SupplierID 4 Sas Product Categor Product Total Group By Sort Sales E The Paper Shop S
20. __ CategoryName ProductName UnitsinStock gt ieee 10 _ Snacks Walkers Crisps Soft Drinks Ribena E The Paper Shop Total Units On Order C Fie Edit View Insert Format Records Ma SRY tmelo SumOfUnitsOn Reorder Level Sales E The Paper Shop ReOrder Level Select Quer E The Paper Shop Sales Select Query J fie Edt View Insert Format Records Tools JE fie Edt Vew Insert Format Records Tools Window Help M Ba SRY Meje ProductName ReorderLevel CategoryName gt Fish Fingers 5 Frozen Food gt 5000213018879 _ 10 Fish Fingers Frozen Food 5003094930330 12 Ribena Soft Drinks Sales Transaction Form The Paper Shop Sales Transaction Form Select Query EI file Edit View Insert Format Records Tools Window Help 1 99 Fish Fingers 0 90 Ribena Reports Output these are screen shots of the reports generated in preview mode due to space restrictions the screen shots are fairly small but show the basic layout of the reports Best Products Employee Details 132 Gross Margin by Category Order for Frozen Foods Bit Yew Tode dom He a OGJOM llao wo Bia 2 Gross Margin by Categoy Order For Frozen Foods ee serene Pose sy es s 133 Supplier Details Worst Products Supplier Details upped ca Pesos Traunner Tauber Enalaoee Cd ReGHEL Way Lees
21. account RJ its ok look forward to seeing what you come up with 59 Appendix E Interview transcript for Interview with Owner After initial business processes were established an interview was conducted to understand the requirements of the new system to be implemented The interview transcript with Mr Patel is below Date 28 October 2005 Time 11 30am Location The Paper Shop Interviewer Dipika Patel DP Interviewee Mr Patel Mr P Dipika Patel How do you store stock level information Mr Patel Well at present I buy the stocks depending on what products are running low so guess stock level information is in my memory The invoices which come with the goods when they have been purchased from the wholesalers tell me what have brought DP Do you decide what stocks to buy or not to buy Mr P Yes make all the decisions about what stocks to purchase depending on if they are selling or not DP How many suppliers do you currently use Mr P use a few different suppliers there s Bestways the main wholesaler Gilsons a smaller wholesaler and Snow King to buy frozen foods these are ordered There are other wholesalers which I also use sometimes like Hyperama that one is based in Nottingham so don t use that one very regularly DP How do you place orders to Snow King Mr P I normally go and have a look at what stocks are low in the shop use the standard order form which Snow King provide a
22. and what functions are accessible through this menu ED edit employee details R elete employee details D view employee details user 95 5 2 Employee details Activity Diagram This is an activity diagram detailing exactly what functions are available in the employee option and the possible outcomes from each choice made by the user All options and possible choices are listed until the user leaves the employee option system employee option Ln ie add employee delete employee details amend employee details details select add employee find details via details option employee option amend details add details and save lt i user what does the user want to do 96 Use Case Name The name as it appears in the Use Case Model Primary Actor Actor that initiates Use Case Order details User Other Actors Value Proposal to Actor s The goal of the Use Case from the Actor s perspective Basic Course of Events The Normal Flow Alternative Paths Other paths through the use case which result in a successful outcome typically variations to the basic course of events determined by the actor and their needs Exception Paths Other paths through the use case which result in an unsuccessful outcome typically when something goes wrong Assumptions Pre conditions Users database The user can send orders to specif
23. as follows Ordering Products Orders which were placed with suppliers that were previously placed via telephone can now be sent via email Sales Analysis There are a number of reports which detail sales information for instance the best and worst selling products Re order level and product gross margin reports Product Search There is now the facility to search the system for a product which then instantly displays the number of units in stock and price previously a sales assistant or the owner would have had to leave the shop counter to locate the product from its shelf Holds Information The system now has a central place to hold supplier employee and product information 8 8 Comparison with Alternative Systems Features does it include Inventory Control Windward Inventory System ve Software YES 3S O Provide statistics Track employees products and YES Partially suppliers reader In owners budget n a owner has not paid for the system 47 It can be seen that by comparing the inventory control system to other software which is on the market the majority of the software from different vendors has similar features Was it necessary to build the new system In summary the user wanted a system to be implemented initially as a trail to see how the system would work in the business Although the level of functionality offered by other vendors is similar constraints like the cost of purchasing the new softwa
24. assign each employee an ID 4 Employee 1 28 he system will allow the name of the employee to be stored he system will allow for a contact number for the 1 30 employee to be stored he system will allow each employee to enter the system with a password he system will alert the employee upon logon of any messages which have been left by the owner he system will generate an order report to send o suppliers he system will only select products for orders from Specified suppliers i e frozen food suppliers he system will have default owners details on the 1 35 jorder report email which is sent he system will allow the suppliers email address to be selected from the address book wo O he system will enter the date onto the order report he order form will indicate the quantity of goods to 1 38 e purchased he system will provide receipts for transactions for ustomers he system will allow the user to view the daily osts he system will allow the user to view weekly costs he system will allow the user to view monthly costs he system will allow the user to view yearly costs he system will allow the user to view daily profits 79 Internal developer he system will allow the user to view weekly profits 1 45 he system will allow the user to view monthly profits he system will allow the user to view yearly profits he system will generate a report of the best and orst selling products
25. available and the user will know how to change the details in the system if they need to be amended User has working PC and knowledge of how to use the software effectively and that the user already has details of current products so that entering of data can be done with ease Post conditions Related Business Rules Reference to your Business Rules list Related Non Functional requirements Usability Performance Security Any non functional requirements that are specific to this Use Case rather than the system as a whole Project Author The usability of the system should be user friendly The novice user needs to be taken into consideration As the database is not significantly large the time taken to access the data will not be timely so performance is not compromised Security will be considered as there will be more one than one user therefore passwords will be implemented Information can be entered with a barcode reader or manually into the system PD32 Specialist Project Dipika Patel adapted from Owen Johnson s IS21 module material Date 25 November 2005 97 6 1 Order details Use case The Diagram below is showing the interaction that that the user would have when accessing the order menu This is a high level view of what this option allows you to do however there is a more detailed diagram of this in the form of an activity diagram following In this diagram the b
26. deployment diagram Glossary Table 2 A List of Requirements cross referenced to Use Cases 82 1 System Business Use Case Diagram The use case diagram shows the major elements that are within the scope of the system Each use case will be modeled in more detail This diagram represents the different functions that the proposed system should essentially perform By establishing the functions of the system the requirements can be generated for the user Stock control system for The Paper Shop product details paler details category details employee details Sy yy order details gt account details gt a provides completed software solution for user z Developer conducts activities to meet requirements 83 1 1 Business Use Case Descriptions Product details the system will allow the user to access information about products Supplier details the system will allow the user to add amend and delete details of suppliers Category details the system will allow the user to assign products to categories Employee details the system will allow employee details to be held Order details the system will allow orders to be sent to specific suppliers Account details the system will allow the account information to be viewed which also includes various reports Provides completed software solution for user the developer will provide the final produ
27. digit Below is an image of a barcode from a cereal box The first six digits of the 7 7 UPC number is the The next five numbers is manufacturers the item number identification number The first digit of the manufacturer s identification number is called the number systems character The last digit is called the check digit he Figure 2 Image of barcode The barcode is a series of varying width vertical lines which are called bars and spaces the different combination of the bars and spaces represent the different characters The check digit lets the scanner determine if the number has been scanned correctly a calculation is performed each time the product is scanned If the check digit it calculates is different from the check digit it read the scanner identifies that there is an error and that the item needs to be rescanned Appendix G shows how the check digit is calculated and how the barcode can be decoded Barcodes are used in the commercial industry within point of sale and inventory control systems The benefits of using bar coding in point of sale systems include increased customer satisfaction as sales transactions can be processed more quickly and efficiently They are also used for inventory control this allows businesses to establish what stocks are still on the premises Benefits of using barcode technology include fast and reliable data collection which can help eliminat
28. is not significantly large the time taken to access the data will not be timely so performance is not compromised Security will be considered as there will be more one than one user therefore passwords will be implemented Information has to be entered manually into the system PD32 Specialist Project Dipika Patel adapted from Owen Johnson s IS21 module material Date 25 November 2005 91 4 1 Category details Use case The Diagram below is showing the interaction that that the user would have when accessing the category option This is a high level view of what this option allows you to do however there is an activity diagram following In this diagram the box represents the boundary that the category option holds and what functions are accessible through this menu co add category Q ed amend category user view category descriptions 92 4 2 Category details Activity Diagram This is an activity diagram detailing how the user would assign products to a new category All options and possible choices are listed until the user leaves the category option stock control system user user needs to assign the product to a category isit a new product no m conduct a product complete rest of search product details l find product check details assign category save add product option assign category Use Case Name The name as it appear
29. option Any categories which need to be added can also be entered via the Add Category option By left clicking on the various options different tasks can be performed Add product Edit Product and Delete Product will open up the product form in different views The Add Product from will open up the form in add mode so that you can enter a new product into the database This is where you should either scan the barcode of the product or enter the code manually Edit Product will bring up all the products you can navigate through to change or update any of the details Delete Product will open up the form so that the product can be deleted from the database There is the option to go back to the Stock Management Menu and the Main Menu by clicking the options at the bottom of the form 157 All the product forms have similar 3 1 Product features and the edit and delete options just allow different functions to be Add Product is performed Scan the product barcode into the system and then enter the following details When this screen is loaded a blank screen on an appears scan the barcode of the product ReorderLevel CategoryiD SupplerName you wish to enter Enter the rest of the product details and then assign a category and supplier name to the product Click the add product button to add this to
30. s familiarity of Office applications and that the software is readily available from both the University and at home The database gives flexibility to obtain data needed in multiple formats allowing the user to locate information quickly and effectively The recommended barcode reader has USB compatibility and can be used with Access Integration of Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Access will allow for orders to be sent quickly and efficiently Microsoft Access is a much easier piece of software to use both in terms of developing the solution and conducting system maintenance Access would be able to cope with the traffic of information in and out of the system as it is unlikely to be very high 2 7 Project Schedule The original schedule for completion that was outlined can be found in Appendix B The initial schedule includes a series of phases which were then subdivided into activities to make them more manageable tasks However despite planning the approximate length of the activities set backs during the implementation phase indicated that it was necessary to revise the schedule The revised schedule for completion can be found in Appendix C The nature of the project can be seen as small scale in comparison to other projects user involvement will be necessary to define aspects of design and then during the implementation but it will not be necessary to consult the user on every single aspect Also due to the geographical locations of bot
31. than necessary The final layout and relationships of within the system can be found in Appendix Q 5 2 Form Implementation Once the tables were implemented along with their relationships the next step was to implement the forms which were outlined in the navigation map in the design section The interface of the system as discussed in the design chapter must have a consistent look throughout Therefore the forms were given common attributes to make them appear the same so as to avoid confusion The footer of each of the forms displays a button returning the user to the Main Menu which is always in the same position Appendix S shows all the forms in design view Menu Forms The menu forms provide navigation through the system to areas required The Main Menu form is the central form which is not bound to any table or query All the menu 32 forms have a picture of a basket of goods which is displayed on the right hand side of the screen which is also the image chosen as the icon for the system Report Forms The report forms allow the user to view the records which will be included in the report 5 3 Query Implementation The queries which have been generated perform operations such as update table information and select data from multiple tables and forms the basis for the reports Appendix S shows all the queries which were used to retrieve specific information 5 4 Report Implementation The reports were c
32. the market The software applications whose features have been compared are FileMaker Pro Lotus Approach Microsoft Access Microsoft SQL Server and Corel Paradox By comparing the various features of the applications it can be seen that Lotus Approach or Microsoft Access software would be considered There is much other available software that could be used to design and implement the inventory control system however the limitations constraints and features of the other applications have been considered Therefore the chosen software application that will be used to develop the system will be Microsoft Access 2 6 8 Justification of development tools Microsoft Access includes features such as SQL and Visual Basic which allows for generation of complex queries required for reporting purposes SQL allows for the creation modification and retrieval of data from the database and can allow for queries to be built The use of visual basic has been devised to support RAD It allows for easy development of graphical user interfaces and connects them to functions provided by the application Access VBA contains several categories of users and it allows for dividing problems into three layers the statement the algorithm and the program Kimmel 2002 It can allow for maximum control and can be used with other Office products Anderson 2002 Advantages of using Access over the other software applications which have been considered include the user
33. the option to print the report CategoryName Frozen Foods zJ Preview Report Also you can navigate back to the Reports ProductName Print Report Menu and the Main Menu by clicking the options at the bottom of the screen 5 5 Reorder Level Report This screen allows you to view the Reorder Level Report products which are at re order level There is also the option to print the report Also Productttame you can navigate back to the Reports ReorderLevel CategoryName Menu and the Main Menu by clicking the options at the bottom of the screen 6 Search for a Product By selecting the Search for a Product option on the main menu the following screen will then appear Start to enter the name of the product Search for a Product Type the name of the product into the box and the price units in stock will be which you are searching for The rest of displayed the field will be filled in if this is not the correct product then scroll to find the right item and select it Once you select the product the number of units in stock will be displayed along with the selling price 164 7 Sales This form has been designed to enter the sales which have been made in the shop The products can be either entered manually or with the barcode reader The number of items which has been sold can be entered and the VAT a
34. the system is being developed correctly user feedback assisted in ensuring that a usable working solution has been provided The changes which were made in the design stages have been documented in the implementation chapter which has identified that more consideration should have gone into understanding design concepts which would have ensured that the all system requirements were met and the system was fully completed on time Using the RAD methodology allows for iterative development and it would have been ideal to have conducted more iterations with feedback from the user about the system but due to time and location constraints not as many iterations were conducted Some of the lessons which can be learnt from software development process are that firstly it is imperative that there is user involvement throughout the course of the project Lack of user involvement and participation can often lead to developers creating a solution which they see fit which is not always what the user requires Secondly interpreting and analysing the information that has been collated can be a subjective process There are elements of interpreter bias which can affect the way in which a problem is tackled All the requirements should be fully and clearly stated so that they can be understood to avoid producing a solution which the user does not require Key issues which should be addressed fully before software engineering takes place includes a fuller understan
35. the user Appendix S holds screen shots of the user interface and forms queries and reports in design view Appendix T details the final user interface the forms within the system the results of the queries used to generate the reports and examples of the reports generated from the system Appendix U includes all the error messages and validation which have been implemented in the system It became apparent that a common mistake was made during the implementation phase which was the development of additional features of the system which were not actually required This was because the requirements list was not used to refer back to when verifying the requirements This problem was overcome by consulting the user to re establish the particular requirements and the system was amended accordingly For example the developer was under the impression that the system would also be used to process sales This is a clear indication that misinterpreting requirements can lead to unnecessary requirements being implemented and reinforces the fact that more frequent user involvement is essential Any errors in recording transactions can lead to discrepancies between the recorded and actual inventory which are brought to light during stock takes Therefore inventory records can be inaccurate for a number of reasons which include keying errors quantity errors damaged or deteriorate stock not recorded or not deleted when destroyed wrong items being taken out
36. then Signature and then The Paper Shop This has been created as a default signature for the email when it is sent to the supplier Cost of Order 3 390 10 Total Units Ordered Record 14 4 1 gt ot fps of 1 l Ble Edt Wew Insert Format Tools Actions aseda a P The following screen will then appear Your details have been inserted into the new message to be sent Click the To option Cost of Order 23 50 30 Total Units Ordered Record 14 4 T gt ot rs of 1 160 The Paper Shop Order Form Form Show Names from the Type Name or Select from List ShopName The Paper Shop ShopCity ecester ShopPostCode al ShopTel 0116 25968040 ShopFax 0116 25969040 Shop mailAddress _ thepapershopGhotmat Fish Fingers 0 99 10 9 30 Cost of Order 29 50 10 Total Units Ordered Record I4 T bt fp of 1 Administration Menu Main Menu 4 2 Supplier Double click on Snow King which will insert the email address into the field Then click the send option Send The Supplier Details option will take you to the following screen the supplier details can be viewed and new supplier details can be added There is the option to go back to the Stock Management Menu and the Main Menu
37. up all the items and the customer pays for the goods If the customer requires a receipt the cash register can generate this There is a till roll inside the register which logs all the transactions that take place and a balance can be generated at the end of the day The end of day balance allows the owner to cross reference the contents of the cash register with the total on the till receipt to ensure that they correlate All the cash register rolls are kept in a filing cabinet for any future discrepancies that may arise 1 8 Analysis of information collected After a closer look at the current information flows and processes in place at The Paper Shop it is clear to see the insufficient nature of the existing processes and the justification to establish why a new system is required Therefore successful construction of the new system will be beneficial in the following ways A more effective order process At present stock level information is based on past sales trends of sales which is constrained to the owner s memory This occasionally can lead to a customer s requesting items that have been sold out as there was no record of the item it was not replenished A more effective inventory control system will provide reports of the products that need to be re ordered which will ensure products are in stock and can lead to customer satisfaction The system will add each of the frozen food items which are at reorder level to an order f
38. will merge the supplier details onto the order form The system will enter the date onto the order form The order form will indicate the quantity of goods to be purchased The system will provide receipts for transactions for customers The system will allow the user to view the daily costs The system will allow the user to view weekly costs The system will allow the user to view monthly costs The system will allow the user to view yearly costs Test 1 9 Test 1 9 Test 1 9 FAIL FAIL Test 1 10 Test 1 11 Test 1 10 Test 1 10 Test 1 10 Test 1 10 FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL 152 1 44 1 45 The system will allow the user to view daily profits The system will allow the user to view weekly profits The system will allow the user to view monthly profits The system will allow the user to view yearly profits The system will generate a report of the best and worst selling products The system will generate a report of product sales by category The system will generate a report of the overall product sales The system will generate a report of stocks at re order level The system will generate a report of the gross margin by category The system will allow the user to print any of the reports FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL Test 1 12 Test 1 13 Test 1 14 Test 1 15 Test 1 16 Test 1 17 153 Appendix Z User Manual The Paper Shop Leices
39. within the process of the project are 1 9 1 Hardware The most important piece of hardware is the actual computer and the barcode reader to input products into the system which will be used by the user Other hardware which will also be used includes a printer to print out the reports The system should be capable of minimum operating system requirements 1 9 2 Software There are not significant restrictions with the software which is being used as the software application is readily available for the developer The owner has a Windows Operating PC with Office Applications 1 9 3 Design Constraints Limitations and constraints resulting from the design of the proposed system would include the software limits the number of records and data the system can handle 1 9 4 External Constraints There are some limitations that may occur outside the scope of the proposed system that result in system constraints The number of users the system can handle is limited by the capabilities of the third party software packages however in this instance there would not be more that a maximum of five users The performance of the system is limited by the speed and specifications of the PC which is being used 1 9 5 Dependencies There are elements that the proposed system is dependent on to ensure correct system operation Suitable hardware is needed to run Microsoft Windows operating systems This is 15 because the system may not w
40. within the system Table 2 A List of Requirements cross referenced to Use Cases Adapted from Jesty P H Stakeholder Needs Template SE22 Documents Allocation No Description Cross Referenced to Use Cases p 2 E Zz Related groups of Fs oils Stakeholder Needs Description of the Stakeholder Need 2 2 v aw Brief description of the topics to be covered in this 1 External User group The system will let the user scan products into the system with the use of a barcode reader Product details The system will let the user view the products which are in stock Product details Product details The system will allow the user to amend products already in the database Product details The system will allow the user to delete any products which are no longer being sold from the 1 5 database Product details 108 oe oO 7 ua 1 20 1 21 1 22 1 23 The system will allow manual entry of product details The system will allow the user to enter the product name The system will allow the user to select a supplier from where the product was purchased The system will allow the user to select a category to assign the product to The system will allow the user to enter the unit price of the product The system will allow the user to enter the selling price of the product The system will allow the user to enter a re order quantity The system will
41. 2 the form of user interface testing system requirement testing which will be cross referenced with the list of requirements to determine if all the requirements have been met 3 5 3 Effectiveness and Learnability The system must be more effective than the existing manual based system thus improving efficiency otherwise the new system would not be necessary The system can be evaluated to determine if efficiency has been improved by monitoring the time taken to conduct certain tasks for instance generate a report and or search for a specific product to help the users work more efficiently 3 6 Conclusions After analysing and interpreting all the information using the stakeholder analysis and the transcripts from the interview with the owner it has allowed for the minimum and non minimum requirements to be outlined Analysis of the interview and investigating the problem has enabled the requirements to be outlined A product proposal has been prepared for the user which details system capabilities and a full list of requirements The UML system requirement specification has allowed the requirements to be represented diagrammatically where appropriate and includes detailed capabilities of each part of the system The order process has been analysed to allow for a better understanding of business processes which will aid in software design and implementation The requirements have been analysed and documented the next stage will consi
42. 49 Table 3 Effectiveness and Learnability results Task Time to Comments complete task Add a product 1min 45secs Easy with the barcode reader it just takes me a bit of time on the keyboard to key in the details Add a category 15secs Very easy and simple Add a supplier 1min 39secs Again very easy to enter the details am not very quick with keying in details Add an employee Easy to add the details View re order level report Easy and simple nice format Print overall stock levels Like how it asks if need to print before it does Search for product Ribena 10secs Useful that the rest of it prefixes a better search facility would be good like input the name and click search category report 36secs Send order to supplier 1min 38secs A bit difficult to remember how to select everything but once remembered it was eas 149 Appendix Y A List of Requirements cross referenced to Tests adapted from Jesty P H Stakeholder Needs Template SE22 Documents Allocation No Description Cross Referenced to Tests p 2 E Zz Related groups of m PAS Stakeholder Needs Description of the Stakeholder Need 2 2 o aw Brief description of the topics to be covered in this 1 External User group The system will let the user scan products into the 1 1 system with the use of a barcode reader Test 1 1 The system will let the user view the products which are in stock 1 2 Test
43. B Ba aay BEBO a B e Blea we EI fie Edit View Insert Query Tools Window Help les Select Query The product barcode is looked up from the product table ProductBarcode UnitsInStock TProductiiame CategoryID StockLeft Product Quantity ProductBarcode Product Product Product Product Sale Sale Group By Group By Group By Group By Group By Group By Where L ca m Product ProductBarcode Sales Transaction Form E The Paper Shop Sales Transaction Form Select Query BBS Say sts Blo o B Brn FN Ba Q File Edit View Insert Query Tools Window Help The sub total VAT and Total are calculated In the fields Field ProductBarcode Quantity SellingPrice ProductName SubTotal Quantity SellingPrice VAT SubTotal 0 175 Total VAT SubTotal Table Sale Sale Sale Product Product Sort M M M M ca M M Show Criteria or 125 Worst Products The Paper Shop Worst Products Select Query S G2aY 2s EB lt 3 Cu m 3 all Eile Edit View Insert Query Tools Window Help Product The stock left has been set to any items which are more than or equal to ten which indicate the worst products
44. Dag Help SupplierlD SupplierName gess City PostCode PhoneNumber FaxNumber EmailAddress 1 Bestways Ba gHill Way Leicester LE44 9HH 0116 2034923 0116 2034923 bestways leic 2 Snow King Meridian Indust Norfolk NN56 2AE 0115 2500600 0115 2500600 snowking tisc gt F Gilsons Beaufont Way Leicester LE45 6HH 0116 2203004 0116 2203004 gilsons casha AutoNumber Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 7 Assign a supplier ID Supplier ID is PASS automatically assigned to add a new supplier 141 Test 1 8 The system will allow the user to create a new category for stocks E The Paper Shop Category Table f File Edit View Insert Format Re M Bn 6 amp CategoryID CategoryName Confectionar 2 News Items 3 Soft Drinks 4 Snacks 5 Cards Giftwr 6 Foods 7 Baby Produc Add Category 8 Household It CategoryID 16 10 Alcohol 11 Cigarettes has been added to the 12 Tea Coffee category table 13 Canned Foo 14 Other 15 Frozen Food 16 Ice Creams Stock Management Menu Main Menu AutoNumber E 9 Dairy Produc The new category Ice cream Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 8 A new category is The category Ice added Creams has been added Test 1 9 The system will allow the user to amend a category E The Pap
45. Inventory Control System for a Small Business Proprietor Dipika Reema Patel BSc Hons Info Sys and Mgmt I Session 2005 2006 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is their own and the appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others I understand that failure to attribute material which is obtained from another source may be considered as plagiarism Signature of student Summary Project Objectives The main objective of this project is to produce an inventory control system for The Paper Shop a small local newsagent located in Leicestershire At present the owner has no inventory control system in place Any items which are sold are not re stocked immediately Telephone calls are made to specific suppliers to re order stocks when needed The impact of the current manual paper based system relies on the owner s past business experience and memory when placing orders and making purchases from wholesalers The current business processes do not allow for efficient business practices which can be a future business cost and also generating inventory information manually can be time consuming for the owner This project aims to solve this problem with the following set of objectives Conduct an investigation and develop an understanding of the current system and business processes Investigate and assess possible technologies for improving the current system Desi
46. Tables of Error Message Below if a table of the error messages that will appear in the system Product Table Reference Number _ Field Name ProductBarcode The barcode should not be more than 12 digits ProductBarcode This product already exists close the form and change the details in the Edit Product form Category Table Reference Number Field Name Error Message CategoryName Select one of the categories from the drop down menu Employee Table Reference Number _ Field Name ContactNumber Please enter a valid telephone number 11 digits Order Details Table Reference Number _ Field Name ProductBarcode The barcode should not be more than 12 digits Product Account Reference Number _ Field Name roductBarcode The barcode should not be more than 12 digits Product Barcode Reference Number __ Field Name roductBarcode The barcode should not be more than 12 digits Sale Reference Number _ Field Name ProductBarcode The barcode should not be more than 12 digits Shop Reference Number Field Name Error Message 102 ShopTel Please enter a valid telephone number 11 digits Please enter a valid fax number 11 digits Supplier Reference Number _ Field Name PhoneNumber Please enter a valid telephone number 11 digits Please enter a valid fax number 11 digits 104 EmailAddress This is not a valid address Please re enter the address 119 Appendix S Screen shots of Software Development Form Im
47. The product stock level form is stock level form displayed level form level form Main Menu Take the user back to the main Takes the user to the main PASS menu menu 137 Appendix W System Requirements Testing and Results Test 1 Start the package PX Password Required Enter database password LK oe The Paper shop The Paper Shop Main Menu Stock Management Menu Reports Menu Administration Menu Product Search Eit Database Log Sales Tranactions Password Required PS Enter database password e cme The user double clicks the icon which then prompts the user to enter a password Once the password is entered the main menu screen is displayed Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 Successful start Successful start PASS Test 1 1 The system will let the user scan products into the system with the use of a barcode reader E The Paper Shop File Edit View Insert Format Records Tools MBA Gay teena Product Table The barcode reader has allowed entry of a new product Mars Bar into the product table D ProductBarcode CategoryID_ ProductName UnitPrice__ SellingPace UnitsinStock Units OnOwder Reorderl evel _SuepledD gt E 5000213018879 Frozen Food Fish Fingers il 4 5000305940030 Snacks Walkers Crisps i 5 5003094930330 Soft Drinks Ribena 11 5003470188400 Confectionar Mars Bar
48. These are the questions which were asked the owner of the shop Marks out of 5 5 Very Good Question 1 2 3 4 5 How happy are you with the overall system X Is the system easy to use X Will you be using it in the shop to keep inventory information X As there was no current system is this system better than the X paper based one you used to use Is the Main Menu easy to use CE ST T T Is the user manual easy to follow and use T fT T Does the security work CX Are the error messages useful CE T x Do the drop down lists work properly CT T T P Are the output requirements rigt TTX Is the right information being stored CE T T Px Do the menu forms come in the rightorder CT T T T Is the data entry easy CT S T S Are the colour designs rigt CT T T J Jx Are the buttons in the right place CE T x Ooo o Ooo J EEE ea at x x Sample data for User Testing Product Information FieldName sd Item ____ Selling Price 2 49 Units in Stock Re order level 6 Category Information Field Name Chips 148 Supplier Information Field Name Item Supplier Name Bruces Address Falcon Walk City Leicester Post Code LE45 2GH Phone Number 0116 2395900 Fax Number 0116 2395900 Email Address bruce icecream co uk Employee Information Field Name Item First Name James Last Name King Contact Number 01509 2009
49. YES YES Does the software run on a Windows YES YES platform Does the software run on a Mac YES YES Does the software allow for analysis Y YES capabilities Does the software have a cross tab assistant for building tables and manipulating data Is the software readily available ES NO YES other Microsoft Office applications YES YES YES NO Microsoft Office for Mac YES YES YES other Microsoft Office applications Is the cost of software within the owner s budget NO Does the software have query form and report wizards NO Does the software have an event driven programming model YES LotusScript YES ObjectPAL Does the software support SQL for query generation Does the software support Visual Basic for query generation NO NO Does the software allow for web based YES NO NO YES YES analysis to be performed import HTML files Does the software have a user interface YES YES YES NO YES mechanism 68 Appendix J UML Activity Diagram of Stages in Project This is an activity diagram which indicates the activities that need to be conducted in to provide the software solution The diagram resembles the waterfall model in the order that the activities should be conducted Throughout the process there are iterations for instance if during the implementation stage a design issue needed to be amended there is the scope to g
50. a should be in a certain format text date time or number Certain restrictions should be put into place to stop incorrect data being entered for instance if the user had to manually enter a barcode into the system the system should allow no more than 12 numbers to be entered Consistent look feel there should be a degree of consistency throughout the forms so that they look and feel the same for instance having the Main Menu button in the same place Also consistency should be apparent in the use of colours and text formatting this will make the system more user friendly Effort free navigation one of the key requests was to ensure that the system is relatively easy to use The user should easily be able to go back to the previous screen and there should be easy access to the main menu from anywhere in the system to avoid confusion Nielsen s 1993a principles can be used as a guideline to ensure usability of the system The principles can be used in coordination with the RAD methodology approach which can be understood in the following ways 28 Visibility of system status the inventory control system should inform the user of what is going on and offering feedback for instance if the system is processing something Match between system and the real world the inventory control system should use words or phrases that are relevant to the Universe of discourse of the business and not system orientated descr
51. actually needed This can ensure that the correct requirements for the system are obtained In order to analyse processes and gather requirements elements of the SQIRO information collecting technique will be used Using techniques like sampling and questionnaires will not be used as they will not enable a generation of rich and qualitative data which the other chosen methods will provide There will be a focus in using interviews and observation Stakeholders can be seen as those people or groups of people with an interest in an information system Avison and Fitzgerald 2003 Using stakeholder analysis can determine the various needs of the groups of stakeholders involved A strength in the interview technique is that it can allow the analyst to be responsive and adapt to what the user says therefore providing much rich qualitative data Bennett et al 2002 However the method can be time consuming and there may be elements of bias in terms of information analysis Bennett et al 2002 In light of the nature of the system to be implemented interviews will be the most useful tool to generate system and user requirements The interviews conducted will vary in length depending on how much information is required from the user at different points throughout the project Open ended questions will be used as they provoke more detailed answers Seely 2002 Consultation and discussion with the client will be necessary in order to justify that the system bein
52. allow the user to scan products out which will adjust the stock levels The system will allow the user to search for products The system will allow each supplier to be assigned an ID The system will allow the user to enter the name of the supplier The system will allow the user to enter the address of the supplier The system will allow the user to enter telephone number of the supplier The system will allow the user to enter the fax number of the supplier The system will allow the user to add a new supplier The system will allow the user to update or edit supplier details The system will allow the user to delete any suppliers no longer used for business The system will allow the user to create a new category for stocks Product details Product details Product details Product details Product details Product details Product details Product details Product details Supplier details Supplier details Supplier details Supplier details Supplier details Supplier details Supplier details Supplier details Category details 109 1 24 1 25 1 27 1 29 1 30 1 33 1 34 1 35 1 36 1 37 1 40 The system will allow the user to enter the name of la new category The system will allow the user to amend a category The system will allow the user to delete a category The system will allow the user to enter a description lof the contents to be i
53. and images are appealing to users as it makes the software look interesting Designing a good user interface is essential for ease of use This can be in the form of a user manual documented instructions and can facilitate in assisting a new or experienced user On going support Fixing any problems should they occur for a set period of time The user of the system will be able to access and modify data and records at any time The system will have the capability to update change details Operations and data entry will be simplified faster and more accurate This may reduce errors Security reliability and integrity Less time consuming than other data entry methods allowing the user to spend time focusing on other tasks Automatically calculate values for various fields self checking data fields to make sure correct type of data has been entered All records are backed up for safety and restoration in the unlikely event of a system failure All records are backed up for safety and restoration in the unlikely event of a system failure Integrated documents and records automatically complete data forms to some extent saving time Customer database allows trends to be shown or specific information to be accessed in seconds Access database server allows statistics to be generated and any records to be accessed in seconds The system can provide a means for analysis Accounts and s
54. ase if retailers buy in bulk therefore they enjoy price discounts due to economies of scale 1 7 2 3 Receiving stocks from the supplier When stocks arrive into the shop from the frozen food supplier it is accompanied with a delivery note listing all the products that should be in the delivery The items on the delivery note are checked off against the delivered goods The delivery note is then filed for future reference The items are then unpacked by an employee and stocked into the freezers 1 7 2 4 Delivery of goods from wholesalers Once the owner has been to the wholesalers and arrives back into the store he un loads all the items into the back storeroom When stocks are running low on the shop floor an employer will go into the storeroom to get the relevant stocks of items which then need to be priced using a pricing gun these are then stocked onto the appropriate shelves The price can either be found in the price directory of products which is published by suppliers to determine the average price which to sell products at Alternatively the owner will tell the employee to price the goods with a price which he has worked out to include his profit margin 1 7 2 5 Selling the stocks to the customer When a customer decides what products they wish to purchase from the store the goods are then taken to the shop counter The employee will look at the price ticket on the item and enter it into the cash register The register totals
55. asic Implementation 5 6 Macro Implementation Figure 6 Example of Macro Implementation 5 7 Start Up Options Figure 5 Desktop short cut icon to The Paper Shop application 5 8 Security Issues 5 9 Conclusions Chapter 6 Testing 6 1 User Satisfaction Testing 6 2 System Requirements Testing 6 3 Effectiveness and Learnability Testing 6 2 Conclusions Chapter 7 Deployment 7 1 Methods of changeover 7 2 Software Installation and Installation Testing 7 3 Documentation and Training of Users 7 4 Conclusions 27 28 30 30 30 31 31 32 32 32 33 33 33 33 34 34 34 34 34 36 36 36 37 38 40 40 41 41 41 vi Chapter 8 Evaluation 8 1 Evaluation Criteria 8 2 Evaluation against the Minimum Requirements 8 3 Evaluation against the Non Minimal Requirements 8 4 Evaluation against Appendix L A List of Requirements 8 5 Evaluation of the Project Life cycle 8 6 Evaluation of Project Schedule 8 7 Advantages over the current system 8 8 Comparisons with Alternative Systems 8 9 End User Evaluation 8 10 Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Learnability 8 11 Future Improvements for the system 8 12 Conclusions Bibliography Appendix A Personal Reflection Appendix B Initial Gantt chart Appendix C Revised Gantt chart Appendix D Interview with employee Appendix E Interview with the owner Appendix F Stakeholder and User Descriptions Appendix G Calculation of check digit and h
56. at if they don t want to delete it does not give the user the choice Add Categor Simple easy to use Edit Catego Simple easy to use Delete Category Again prompt what if you decide you don t want to delete the category suggestion when delete is clicked should clear the form Administration Menu Simple make changes to the text size so it doesn t resemble a button View Orders Easy to use displays all the information Supplier Details Useful to have all the supplier details on a report presentable Employee Details Again useful to have all the contact information what about if a contact needs to be deleted Reports Menu Best and Worst Easy to navigate Products Product Stock Levels Useful report Product Sales Useful report Reorder Levels Useful report Gross Margin by Useful report Catego Product Search Useful that the rest of the field is prefixed suggestion to improve the search facility like input the name and click search brings up all the options Log Sales Transactions _ This is a good way to log the daily transactions as a starting point Messages Does not let you know that the message has been saved save function not working properly Exit Database Simple and easy Other Comments Works fine small adjustments on the text size basic functionality is there could use some minor modifications 147 Table 2 User satisfaction results
57. ation Systems student allowing for a variety of knowledge and a range of skills to be utilised 1 3 Current System Preliminary information gathering will allow for an insight into current business processes The Paper Shop is a small business a newsagent located in Leicestershire In recent years as the business has grown the owner Mr Patel has the problem of keeping a record of all the stock he has available on the premises at any given time Previously the owner has attempted to use different methods of managing stocks for instance manually date stamping products when they were purchased which took significant amounts of time and operates a system of manually rotating old and new stocks He did purchase a barcode reader that was never utilised initial investigations have indicated that it is not compatible with his standard PC Appendix D has a brief interview with one of his employees Analysis of the interview indicates that there would be no objections to investigating similar types of data capture technologies The manual paper based system continues to be used to record stock levels However it has become apparent and recognised that a system for monitoring and controlling stocks now needs to be in place 1 4 Problem Statement At present the owner has no stock control system in place Any items that are sold are not re stocked His employees normally check the shelves in the store every week to see what stocks are needed wri
58. be useful and used to clarify processes to generate correct requirements However this methodology does not include much of the design and implementation phases directly Avison and Fitzgerald 2003 Therefore aspects of the methodology will be used for the purposes for generating a requirement specification and aid in designing software modules UML class diagrams can be generated and used to determine what software modules will be required Elmasri and Navathe 2000 2 4 Rapid Application Development RAD Rapid Application Development RAD was developed as a reaction to the problems of traditional development in particular the problems of long development lead times Avison and Fitzgerald 2003 The RAD approach aims to build working systems more rapidly Bennett et al 2002 Requirements can evolve and change over time with changing circumstances and this will need to be taken into consideration Avison and Fitzgerald 2003 The methodology has a number of characteristics one prominent one being prototyping Prototyping can help speed up the process of eliciting requirements Avison and Fitzgerald 2003 As this project has a specific time frame in which the solution needs to be delivered using a RAD approach can put emphasis on quickly producing a prototype of the solution for the user to evaluate to ensure that user needs are being met Huges and Cotterell 2002 If the RAD approach is applied thoroughly then feedback from the user wil
59. can be entered with a barcode reader or manually into the system PD32 Specialist Project Dipika Patel adapted from Owen Johnson s IS21 module material Date 25 November 2005 85 2 1 Product details Use case The Diagram below is showing the interaction that that the user would have when accessing the product menu This is a high level view of what this option allows you to do however there is an activity diagram following In this diagram the box represents the boundary that the product menu holds and what functions are accessible through this menu add product details amend product details delete product details iew product details D print product details 86 2 2 Product details Activity Diagram This is a diagram detailing how a product may be added to the system which is one of the options from the product menu stock control system user add product what does the user gt gt to do select add product option enter the quantity assign a category ni scan the product using the barcode reader check details to ensure they are correct select add product s option products have been added to the database 87 Use Case Name The name as it appears in the Use Case Model Primary Actor Actor that initiates Use Case Supplier details User Other Actors Value Proposal to Actor s
60. ch phase 1 Project Milestones 2 1 Mid Project Report 9 December 05 57 Time taken for each of the activities to be completed by J 2 Submit Report 2 May 2006 Appendix C Revised Gantt to show elapsed time for each of the Phases October November February April Month Week ending 7 2 2 4 1 8 5 6 3 0 3 0 4 1 6 Phase 1 Investigation and Analysis Aim and Minimum Requirements Understand the problem Initial plan Devise Schedule and Investigation Research amp Background Reading Objectives Understanding required system Evaluating all solutions Cumulative total hrs for phase 1 96 Phase 2 Requirement Specification User Needs Stakeholder needs Business modelling System Requirements Cumulative total hrs for phase 2 78 Phase 3 Design of System Framework structure of intended product Deciding the software to be used Software design for the system Cross ref with requirement specification Cumulative total hrs for phase 3 102 Phase 4 Implementation amp Testing Developing the system Test plan Test the system Test results Developing User Manual Cumulative total hrs for phase 4 112 Phase 5 Deployment amp Evaluation Deployment at The Paper Shop Acceptance Test Plan Review resources and performance Evaluation Write up Cumulative Total hrs for phase 5 74 a Overall time taken for each phase 1 Project Milestones 2 sige 1 Mid Pro
61. command line or a GUI The command line interface requires more knowledge of the product but can be more easily scripted and automated The GUI is a multi platform java client that contains a variety of wizard s ideal for novice users Therefore DBMS s like Microsoft Access FileMaker Pro Oracle or SQL Server are all software development tools which allow for data to be organised flexibly Each of these includes facilities to add modify or delete data from the database query specific data in the database and generate reports With the variety of different options available taking into consideration what tools are available and the knowledge required to use them there will be a focus into five software applications which could be used to develop the system these will be FileMaker Pro Lotus Approach Microsoft Access Microsoft SQL Server and Corel Paradox these are discussed in section 2 6 7 2 6 4 Types of Data Reading Devices There are various different types of technologies which are available to input data into the system Barcodes are used predominantly in the retail industry Firstly it is necessary to see what data is being read and how this can be captured with the various devices on the market 2 6 4 1 Barcodes All products have UPC bar codes printed on them UPC stands for Universal Product Code and the barcodes allow inventory to be tracked more easily George J Laurer invented the UPC in 1973 These UPC s origi
62. could only be performed on site 7 3 Documentation and Training of Users A user manual has been developed in order to guide a user through the system Other users may use the guide to navigate through the system The user manual can be found in Appendix Z Within the changeover period it is important that the users know how to use the system This will be conducted on site during deployment After this time if any additional help and support is needed this will be available from the developer On the job and or one to one training would be sufficient to train the users on how to use the new system 7 4 Conclusions In conclusion a direct method of changeover has been selected The dates for the deployment will be during late March and Early April which will allow for the system to be evaluated against the original requirements A couple of weeks for deployment will be sufficient to ensure that the system is up and running All the existing stock items on the shop floor will need to be detailed and input into the system Data input will take a period of time which would need to be conducted when the business is closed to avoid distractions and ensure that the correct information is input into the system Using the barcode scanner will allow the products to be identified The deployment phase of the system was successful and the owner now has the solution which can be used During this time other extensions and the requirements which were not i
63. cription of Data Type Length Sample Type of Validation Contents Values Expected AccountID AutoNumber None AutoNumber DateFrom The date that the user Date Time Short date 01 03 06 Required field wants to view the 116 accounts from DateTo The date that the user Date Time Short date 31 03 06 Required field wants to view the Tasa Te ta to goods sold numbers ed The total amount of Currency ee 00 Only accepts goods which have been numbers purchased TotalProfit The total amount of Currency 5 00 Only accepts goods sold total numbers amount of goods purchased File Name Product Account table Purpose To keep a log of all the accounts for the products Field Name Description Data Type Length Sample Values Type of Validation Expected of Contents AccountID Primary Key AutoNumber Long fd None AutoNumber Integer ProductBarcode 072417105555 Required Field File Name Product Barcode Purpose A link table to ensure all the product barcode have one to many relationships Field Name Description Data Type Length Sample Values Type of Validation Expected of Contents ProductBarcode 072417105555 Required Field 117 Appendix Q Final ER Database ER Diagram Catone Product Category O BOF Account Product A CategoryID es CategoryName oo AcoountiD ProductBarcode Product B Supplier Employee Order OrderID SuppkerID EmployeeID OrderDate 118 Appendix R
64. ct Both these error messages prompt the Delete Category Delete Product user before products and categories are deleted A This category will be deleted from the database produet Til be deleted from the database from the system Macro Check Print This checks with the user to ensure that they want to print the specific report i Are you sure you want to print this report Data Duplication If the product is already in the database and the user enters or scans the This Product already exists dose the form and change details in the Edit product form barcode into the system the user is prompted that x the product is already in the database Therefore illuminating data duplication Microsoft Access Add Product Microsoft Access p r The user gets confirmation that the product has been added to the database Ly Ly 136 Appendix V User Interface Testing Inventory Control System Expected result Actual result Pass Fail Stock Management Menu Open up the stock The stock management menu management menu opens up Administration Menu Open up the administration The administration menu menu Open up the reports menu The report menu opens up PASS a product form Messages The message form opens PASS Log Sales Transactions Open up the sales form The sales form opens up PASS Exit Database Exits the system The database closes down PASS Stock Management Menu E
65. ct for the user Conducts activities to meet requirements the developer will discuss requirements with the owner to ensure that the activities carried out meet the requirements 84 Use Case Name The name as it appears in the Use Case Model Primary Actor Actor that initiates Use Case Product details User Other Actors Value Proposal to Actor s The goal of the Use Case from the Actor s perspective Basic Course of Events The Normal Flow Alternative Paths Other paths through the use case which result in a successful outcome typically variations to the basic course of events determined by the actor and their needs Exception Paths Other paths through the use case which result in an unsuccessful outcome typically when something goes wrong Assumptions Pre conditions Users database The user can add amend delete and view a products detail The user can also add new products and print out lists of products The use case begins when the user accesses the product menu The user can then choose one of the options available and then follow each individual step from there the system allows the user to change or delete a current product details and allows a new product details to be entered If the product details wished to be viewed on screen or printed out these options are also available An alternative path may be if upon scanning the product with the barcode reader tha
66. ct numbers Non minimal requirement 4 has been satisfied by test 1 18 See Appendix W which has confirmed that the system can generate a report gross margin of products by category In summary the minimum and non minimal requirements have been achieved evidence for this can be found in Appendix W which details system requirement testing along with the results 43 8 4 Evaluation against Appendix L Table 1 A List of Requirements The original objectives of the project were outlined which were both technically feasible and realistic The users needs were clearly specified as needing a system to manage his inventories more efficiently The correct requirements for the system were documented and analysed The user agreed that barcode technology would be suitable for the data input Technical difficulties were resolved by further background reading and research By evaluating the user requirements which were outlined in the analysis phase against the delivered solution is one instance of analysing the whole project As aspects of the RAD methodology were adopted it states that user needs can change over long development times Keyes 2002 Feedback from the user allows these requirements to be modified by the developer As one of the requirements was to improve business efficiency the system has been tailored to meet these needs In order to successfully evaluate the underlying functionality of the system and in turn determine if th
67. ctions using rules providing multiple user interfaces representing complex relationships among data enforcing integrity constraints and providing back up and recovery all of which will be useful for development purposes and improving business efficiency Elmasri and Navathe 2000 Commercial DBMS s use two types of data models these are the relational data model and the object data model Elmasri and Navathe 2000 Having considered the types of database structures available prior knowledge suitability to the problem identified and how to create and implement a database application it would be feasible to implement a relational database management system for the purposes of supporting the inventory control system 2 6 3 The Relational Database Management System RDBMS There is a variety of relational database system software which is available to create databases Ingres was an early relational database management system created as a research project and spawned Microsoft SQL server Oracle s relational database management system runs on more than 80 platforms and supports Windows operating system which could be used for development An additional possibility could be using a relational DBMS from Microsoft that runs on Windows NT servers These are Microsoft s high end client server databases and a key component in its suite of server products A further tool may be DB2 which is like Oracle and can be administered from either the
68. d contain details for the user on how to register the software so that there is a valid license There should be information to implement and change passwords for security Brief details should be covered about the possibility of networking with the costs involved to make this fully functional There will need to be details to indicate if separate installation software is needed The proposed solution requires the use of third party software for the database These software packages include Microsoft Access and Outlook with Windows operating system The proposed system takes into consideration a more than one user licence for Windows However should Mr Patel want to increase the user licences for the licence to any more than 2 people he can easily expand this limitation by contacting the relevant third party software manufacturers directly therefore a single user licence has been recommended The components of the proposal that are not provided by any outside parties are free for Mr Patel to use as he wishes therefore there are no limitations or constraints on them All the main components used will be on a single server The developer with knowledge of computing can install the system manually There will be further support available should this be necessary after the installation should this be necessary 1 8 Product Features This section will include features of the high level capabilities of the system that are necessary to deliver benef
69. d if errors are made they are easily recovered Lastly satisfaction the system 27 should be pleasant to use In Nielsen s view usability and utility together determine the usefulness of a system This usefulness is one of several aspects that then determine the practical acceptability of the product which reflects overall system acceptability The system or any graphical user interfaces GUI implemented should take these usability aspects into consideration whilst also meeting user requirements Optimised user interface design requires an ordered approach to the design process Therefore when looking at designing human computer interaction Microsoft Access allows for the use of forms these provide text boxes to receive and display information as well as provide buttons that can run macros to perform operations on the data and enable navigation through to different screens 4 7 Design Considerations The design of the forms and the way that the components are used will also have to be taken into consideration These are as follows The use of drop down menus referential integrity can be achieved with the use of drop down menus for instance selecting a category to assign a product to a drop down menu can be used to restrict the user from entering invalid information and breaking the integrity rules Validation rules data which is entered into the system in this case either via a barcode reader or manually by the user the dat
70. d that the chosen methodologies have been followed throughout the project and indicate that the project objectives have been met Analysis of the current system and defining an initial problem statement allowed for a list of requirements to be drawn up even though some of the functional requirements were not met conclusions which can be drawn indicate that the initial problem has been solved Although some features were not implemented in their entirety the groundwork is sufficient These remaining features along with other enhancements have been scheduled to be implemented by September 2006 The initial project schedule had to be reviewed and the appropriate action was documented It is very difficult to match user s needs exactly as these needs may change throughout the course of a project and can lead to producing a solution which is not consistent with user needs Reasons for this can be based in differences of interpretation and or lack of consultation Feedback and iteration can help eliminate these problems however constraints need to be considered There has been consideration into the advantages over the previous system and a comparison of the system with other available software on the market has been conducted End user feedback has indicated that the system is useful but has potential to be improved It has been established that despite the room for improvement the system still has a sufficient level of learnability The chapter concl
71. delete supplier details C view suppliers 89 3 2 Supplier details Activity Diagram This is an activity diagram detailing how the user could add delete and update supplier details All options and possible choices are listed until the user leaves the supplier menu stock control system user select supplier option 2 wi oes the user Pa ba ant to do update supplier delete a supplier add a supplier details search for supplier updatr details and delete details and add detials and save save save bar 90 Use Case Name The name as it appears in the Use Case Model Primary Actor Actor that initiates Use Case Category details User Other Actors Value Proposal to Actor s The goal of the Use Case from the Actor s perspective Basic Course of Events The Normal Flow Alternative Paths Other paths through the use case which result in a successful outcome typically variations to the basic course of events determined by the actor and their needs Exception Paths Other paths through the use case which result in an unsuccessful outcome typically when something goes wrong Assumptions Pre conditions Users database The user can add amend delete and view category details The user can also add other categories The use case begins when the user accesses the category menu The user can then choose one of the options available and the
72. deleted from the database 4l Snacks 5 Cards Giftwr 6 Foods CategoryID 16 7 Baby Produc 8 Household It Cog tae mao z 9 Dairy Produc 10 Alcohol 11 Cigarettes 12 Tea Coffee 13 Canned Foo 14 Other 15 Frozen Food Stock Management Menu Main Menu Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 10 A category can be The category Ice changed Creams has been changed to Ice Pops Test 1 11 The system will assign each employee an ID A new employee John Smith has been added to the database Employee i d Employee Details FirstName Johr LastName Smith Vew Exgboyes Detske E The Paper Shop Employee Table ContactNumber 0116 20409499 File Edit View Insert Format Records Tools Window Help xX a 6RY ai Yay d EmployeelD FirstName LastName ContactNumber bl Rosemary Johnson 0116 2040400 Administration Menu Main Menu 2 John Smith 0116 2040949 AutoNumber CL Expected Result ActualResult Pass Fail ___ To be able to add a An employee John new employee to the Smith has been database added to the database Test 1 11 143 Test 1 12 The system will generate an order report to send to supplier Order Form OrderID 1 OrderDate 30 03 2006 A Pr Orde S SupplierName snow King ril
73. der system design 23 Chapter 4 Design This chapter includes an entity relationship diagram of the objects that will be in the database and their relationships Once these have been normalised it will form the table design There will be a consideration of the integrity constraints and business rules Normalisation will be conducted to form the table structure Also is a consideration of the interface design and usability is discussed A usability framework is outlined along with a navigation map of the system The database ER diagram will provide a structural understanding of the system data storage and data consistency checking mechanisms The user interface design will provide an explanation of the surface level view of the system and help maintain a feel of consistency throughout it 4 1 Entity Relationship Modelling ER models allow for the formation of high level conceptual data models Elmasri and Navathe 2000 These can be used once the requirements have been collected and analysed to create conceptual schemas which form graphical representation of the database design Elmasri and Navathe 2000 The ER model consists of entities which is a thing in the real world with an independent existence Elmasri and Navathe 2000 Each of these entities have attributes which are the properties which describe the entity As for restrictions on space the attributes for each of the entities will be outlined later Below is the initial E R
74. diagram 3 Employee KS Product mj Shop details Supplier Figure 5 Initial ER Diagram 24 4 2 Normalisation Normalisation is the process by which a top down approach is taken to evaluate each of the relations against the criteria for decomposing relations and normal forms Elmasri and Navathe 2000 There are four basic rules which are known as normal forms 1NF 2NF 3NF BCNF Advantages of using these rules ensure that the data is efficient so that there is no data redundancy which improves data integrity columns are indexed for faster searching and sorting smaller entities that reduce table locking data contention and query optimisation Maciaszek 2005 This process allows for organising data fields into groups of tables which can be linked when required Stephen 2004 Normalisation was first proposed by Codd Elmasri and Navathe 2000 the normal forms are outlined below 1 Normal Form This is the simplest stage of normalisation and involves making sure that each individual field within a table can only hold one piece of data and no repeating groups they should not be multi valued attributes and the relations should be simple 2 Normal Form In any case where a table has a primary key dependent upon more than one field if another field within that table is only dependent on a part of the key unnecessary redundancies could result Separating these two fields into another table will decrease duplication o
75. ding of the problem area understanding the needs of the user looking at alternative solutions and verifying that a computer system is needed Avison and Fitzgerald 2003 If all these issues are addressed then there is the scope to produce a solution which will benefit the user 8 6 Evaluation of Project Schedule Evaluating the proposed schedule which is outlined in Appendix B allows for the original schedule to be compared against the actual development times and has indicated that a schedule was needed The early stages of the project matched with the schedule however the project did face set backs during the design and implementation phases Not having envisaged 46 the set backs the schedule was affected and more development time was needed therefore this delayed the progress of the project The implementation phase should have been identified as a phase that could severely influence the progress of the project Also the lack of VB programming experience also highlighted implementation set backs Therefore due to an underestimation of the development time it was necessary to revise the project schedule which can be found in Appendix C Due to pressures on time the decision was taken to evaluate what had been implemented to determine if the requirements had been met 8 7 Advantages over the current system As a result of producing the solution these are some of the advantages over the current manual system which are summarised
76. discussed that the system required needs to be uncomplicated and the novice user should be kept in mind There are many different types of stock control systems available for instance vendors like OrderWise and Blue logic provide software applications The solutions they offer are both costly and for the larger business which conducts more complex business activities Another vendor Artisan Brandt plc also provides solutions similarly very costly Inventris Itd offer a simple stock control solution which uses hand held devices however in this instance would not be practical as these are suited to tracking moving inventories There are positive aspects in developing tailor made software where it allows for matching requirements of the user so that the user can define these requirements and the developer can understand them However there are some problems with inventory control systems they are based on assumptions that businesses have accurate ideas of costs and actual levels of stock and sales Most automated services are based on the inventory principle that states Opening stock level add receipts in minus sales equals new stock level Slack et al 2004 1 6 Investigation Methods Information about the requirements for the system can be obtained in various ways The information collected will be interpreted and analysed accordingly Referral back to the information collected will allow for cross referencing what is being done and what is
77. ditional things which you would like the system to do Mr P It would be useful to be able to search for products have a record of the suppliers and employee contact information At the moment use postic notes which get lost Also at the moment all my accounts are on paper it would be useful to be able to view my costs and profits It would be useful if could place orders with Snow King a bit quicker DP Do you have any thoughts about how the system should look in particular the way it will be designed Mr P Easy to use don t really like lots of things on the screen so simple would also be useful as long as the buttons take me to what I want to do Also Rosemary should be able to use it so it needs to be straightforward DP Thank you think that should be enough for now I am sure I will be back to speak to you soon and show you what I have come up with if there any alterations or changes which you think need doing or you have changed your mind about anything in particular then we can discuss these later 61 Appendix F Stakeholder and User Descriptions Stakeholder Summary Name Represents Role Owner 1 9 1 Make purchasing decisions based on the Ensure that he has enough data and reports to make the information provided by the reports purchases given his cash flow Employee 1 9 2 Manages the shop counter by providing Ensure that they fulfil their job role customer service assists in stocking shelves checkin
78. duct from the list and then delete e details Check the details before they are deleted barcode into the system and then enter the following details These are text boxes allowing for user input These command buttons take the user to each of the forms The main menu is in the bottom right hand corner on each of the forms Scan the product barcode or select the product from the list and then update the details Edit Category Beets gory Select the Category to change and then change the name click update to save Select the fe hal iP ag aa ec S Chek 121 Administration Menu these are screen shots of the development of the administration menu which are all in design view Employee Form Order Form The shop details are displayed The supplier details are displayed Order Form Allows the user to print the report Allows the user to mail the order to the supplier Per Allows the user to view the order in a report format Takes the user back to the menus Reports Menu these are screen shots of the development of the reports which are all in design view Best and Worst Product Reports Product Stock Levels by Category Best and Worst Products Reports Product Stock Levels by Category 122 Reorder Level Report Overall Product Sales Reorder Level Report Overall Product Sales Query I
79. duct tasks and activities to meet the user requirements The value proposal to the developer would be to design and implement a successful software solution for the user The use case begins when a problem that has been posed needs to be solved The developer investigates the problem initially to see if it is feasible Once this has been established the developer will consider building a software solution to try and solve the problem that the user is faced with An automated system would allow for more effective and efficient business procedures There are not many alternatives for the path of events To build any software solution the activities are ordered in precedence An exception path that needs to be considered is the possibility of creating an incorrect solution for the user This would result in the user s initial problem not being solved That the system is working and the user is able to navigate and use the system which is being put in to place User has working PC and knowledge of how to use the software effectively Related Non Functional requirements Usability Performance Security Any non functional requirements that are specific to this Use Case rather than the system as a whole Project Author Date The usability of the system should be user friendly The novice user needs to be taken into consideration As the database is not significantly large the time taken to access the data will not be t
80. e chart the variation in inventory level Adapted from Slack et al 2004 p416 The economic order quantity EOQ formula can be used in attempts to find the best balance between the advantages and disadvantages of holding stock Conclusions which can be drawn from this principle indicate that as long as the cost of holding stocks is not greater than the cost of ordering stocks an economic order quantity can be established Total Costs Costs Holding Costs Order Costs Economic Order Quantity EOQ Order Quantity Figure 4 Graphical representation of the economic order quantity Adapted from Slack et al 2004 p418 21 If replenishment orders do not arrive instantaneously but have a time lag between the orders being placed and arriving this can calculate the timing of a replacement order For instance if the lead time for an order to arrive is one week the re order point ROP is the point at which stock will fall to zero minus the order lead time The re order level ROL is the level at which replenishment orders for inventories need to be made This assumes that both demand and the order lead time are perfectly predictable which in reality will differ The result is that buffer stocks are still being held in stock when the replenishment order arrives Orders are placed to allow for a certain level of safety stock until the new order arrives The level of safety stock is influenced by the variability of both demand and the lead ti
81. e human error of manual entry of barcodes into a system Having records of inventories can also enforce reduced costs as the stock information the system provides can aid in decision making so that orders and purchases are made only when necessary It also has the benefit of tracking inventory levels which can also save costs by providing faster access to information about stocks 2 6 4 2 Types of Barcode Readers There are different types of barcode readers on the market which use slightly different technologies to read and decode barcodes There are pen type readers e g bar code wands laser scanners CCD Charge Coupled Device readers and camera based readers For the purposes of this system there is interest in the types of hand held devices 2 6 4 3 Types of hand held Barcode Readers There are three types of hand held barcode readers fixed portable and batch Fixed readers remain attached to their host computer and terminal and transmit one data item at a time as the data is scanned whereas portable batch readers operate on batteries and store data into memory for later batch transfer to a host computer Portable RF Readers are battery operated and transmit real time online data Significantly the real time two way communication allows the host to instruct the user what to do next based on previous actions A basic bar code reader consists of a decoder and a scanner and a cable is also required to interface the decoder to the compu
82. e initial problem has been solved the system features can be evaluated against the functional requirements specified The initial problem defined in Chapter 1 allowed for a list of functional requirements of the system to be established see Appendix L Table 1 These requirements have been used to test the system full details of the testing conducted can be found in Appendix W and Appendix Y details a summary of these requirements by cross referencing the requirements with the tests that were conducted Conclusions which can be drawn from cross referencing the tests with the requirements indicate that some of the requirements which were outlined were not all met These have been identified in Chapter 6 section 6 4 and as stated there have been plans made to implement the rest of these features by September 2006 As previously identified within the testing phase the requirements which were not met have been indicated by a FAIL in the tests column in Appendix Y Due to pressures on development time it was agreed with the user that these requirements could be implemented at a later stage as long as the basis for what could be done is there The accounts requirements were not met which included viewing daily weekly monthly and yearly costs and profits In summary the performance of the system is sufficient but it could have incorporated more functionality deadlines and pressures on time have constrained attempts to keep on trying to implement ot
83. e system Conclusions which can be drawn from testing indicate that there is much scope for enhancement and improvement User interface testing can be found in Appendix V System requirements testing and results can be found in Appendix W User satisfaction which includes effectiveness and learnability testing and results can be found in Appendix X 6 1 User Satisfaction Testing User satisfaction testing is used to ensure that the system when deployed will be used and replace the current system If the users do not accept the system or choose not to use it then they are likely to revert back to old processes and the project would be unfeasible This aspect was tested by introducing the user to the system by ensuring that there was a basic understanding of how the system works A table was provided with short tasks to perform with additional space for comments this table along with the results can be found in Appendix X Table 1 The owner was then asked a series of questions for which he had to give a score between 1 and 5 in response to the questions 1 poor to 5 very good these questions and results can be found in Appendix X Table 2 Conclusions which can be drawn from the user satisfaction testing are that the user is able to navigate through the system fairly easily The user has also made useful suggestions to indicate how to further improve some of the functions like the product search facility which is one of the functions to be
84. el all together Stop a stop error message demands that the user either take one action or another for instance the entering of a restricted area Appendix R shows which error messages will be used in the tables these will either be defined in Visual Basic or with the aid of using macros 4 11 Internet Connections In order for the owner to send orders to the suppliers via email the system must be connected to the Internet Recommendations have been made for a suitable method of connection There will be a mail order button on the order form which will enable the user to send the order via email The report will be attached to the email and the user can select which supplier to send the exported report to via Microsoft Outlook The supplier s details will be grouped so that the user only has to select the name of the supplier The owner s details will be defaulted at the end of the email Sending the order via the email is a quicker and easier process and will free up significant amounts of the owners time The internet facility can also be used for other business purposes 4 12 Conclusions This chapter has outlined the ER model and the tables have been normalised to form the initial database schema The various constraints which need to be taken into consideration at the database level have been discussed this includes integrity constraints and business rules Usability and design considerations have enabled a usabilit
85. ely identify a record within a table and foreign keys are the values of a primary key in another table within the database This will ensure that the values entered in each of the tables are consistent and therefore properly linked together 4 5 Business Rules Business rules are defined as the requirements that the system must meet these exist at a higher level and are there to ensure that information within the system reflects the rules that the business operates by The business rules that have been identified can be found in Appendix N These business rules dictate some aspects of the inventory control system These include that the system must allow for updates deletes and inserts to be made Initially the user must register with a licensing agreement to ensure data protection for all the data held on the database about suppliers and products The database can only be accessed with the use of a password 4 6 Interface Design and Usability The user will need to be able to use the system therefore there will be user interface design and usability considerations Nielsen 1993 defines usability in terms of five usability attributes these include learnability the system should be easy to learn efficiency the system should be efficient to use so a high level of productivity can be achieved Memorability the system should be easy to remember so there is no need to re learn aspects Errors the system should have a low error rate an
86. er Shop Category Table fa File Edit View Insert Format Re xX a 6Ry e Edit Category CategoryID CategoryName gt l Confectionar 2 News Items 3 Soft Drinks 4 Snacks 5 Cards Giftwr 6 Foods 7 Baby Produc 8 Household It Select the Category to change and then change the name click update to save i The category Ice cream has been changed to Ice Pops 10 Alcohol 11 Cigarettes 12 Tea Coffee 13 Canned Foo 14 Other 15 Frozen Food 16 Ice Pops AutoNumber CategoryName fice Pops 9 Dairy Produc Stock Management Menu Main Menu Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 9 A category can be The category Ice changed Creams has been changed to Ice Pops 142 Test 1 10 The system will allow the user to delete a category E The Paper Shop Category Table fie Edit View Insert Format Re Delete Category The category Ice Pops has been deleted from the category table Select the Category to change and then change the name click delete Check to make sure that the products are not in the category 1 Confectionar Delete Category 2 News Items 3 Soft Drinks a IA A This category will be
87. er to amend products already in the database The products in the database base are displayed the update button will allow the user to save the changes Edit Product Scan the product barcode or select the product from the list and then update the details ProductBarcode I UnitPrice SelingPrice ReorderLevel 5 ete Unitsinstock g Categoryame Froxen Foods z SuppherName now King I Stock Management Menu Main Menu The user can navigate p through the records Record 14 T _ gt ot pk of 5 Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail The edit product form The edit product form displays all the allows for product products in the details to be amended database Test 1 5 The system will allow the user to delete any products which are no longer being sold from the database Delete Product Se eee SSS g The user is prompted before can the product barcode or select the product from the list and then delete A the details Check the details before they are deleted the product is deleted from the database Delete Product ProductBercode 5000305940030 This product willbe deleted from the databass ProductName Wakers Crisps z UnitPrice 20 35 Delete Product SelingPrice 20 45 ReorderLevel 10 UnitsInstock 24 Stock Management Menu Main Menu Expec
88. ero is 3 2 1 1 space bar space bar The zero is 3 2 1 1 space bar space bar The one is 2 2 2 1 space bar space bar The seven is 1 3 1 2 space bar space bar The zero is 3 2 1 1 space bar space bar In the middle there is a standard 1 1 1 1 1 space bar space bar space these are important because it indicates that the numbers on the right are optically inverted The four is 1 1 3 2 bar space bar space The nine is 3 1 1 2 bar space bar space The nice is 3 1 1 2 bar space bar space The four is 1 1 3 2 bar space bar space The zero is 3 2 1 1 bar space bar space The six is 1 1 1 4 bar space bar space The stop character is a 1 1 1 bar space bar 66 Appendix H Images of the Phoenix II barcode reader 67 Appendix Comparison of alternative software development applications Features File size FileMaker Pro 2GB per file Lotus Approach adx file 471 KB Microsoft Access Cannot exceed 2GB Microsoft SQL Server 32 TB Paradox Application size Number of characters in field name 26MB 60 160MB Part of WordPerfect Office Suite 1 048 516 TB Number of fields in table Does the software allow for cross product integration Does the software have a relational YES database structure YES Does the software allow for group password protection Does the software allow for individual password protection Unlimited YES YES
89. ers i e frozen food suppliers The query for the orders for frozen foods restricts the supplier ID to 2 which is the frozen food supplier UnitsInStock UnitsOnOrder ShopFax ShopEmailAdc ee ess a oom SubTotal UnitPric SupplierID Cateaoryf gt si o Group B Group B Group B E aa Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 13 The report should The report only PASS only contain foods selects frozen foods which have been and selects supplier purchased from details which are Snow King and displayed on the select products from report category Frozen Foods 144 Test 1 14 The system will generate a report of the best and worst selling products The best and worst products have been selected from the system Prod ween ame Un isin 8took Un lisin fook Proc uotName 12 Ribena Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 14 Both reports should Both reports indicate PASS contain stocks which that the system have been selling and generates reports of stocks which have not best and worst been selling product Test 1 15 The system will generate a report of product sales by category The products which are in stock with the number of units in stock separated into categories are displayed Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 15 The s
90. ers The success may be defined by completing a successful project The developer carries out all the phases leading to the end product Deliverables The inventory control system with user manual will be the deliverables Comments Issues The success may be comprised if the developer does not fulfil responsibilities of completing activities 63 User Profiles 1 9 1 Novice User Deliverables anak ee es dS Oe If incorrect information is input into the system this will compromise how accurate the reports generated will be Comments Issues 1 9 2 Experienced User Success Criteria Success is defined if the user organises the correct data to be input into the system Involvement The system is used to aid the user Deliverables Ee a ee eee Comments Issues If incorrect information is input into the system this will compromise the information which will be displayed on various reports 64 Appendix G Calculation of check digit and how the barcode is decoded Using the barcode in section 2 6 4 1 below is how the check digit is calculated based on the other 11 digits following this is how the barcode is decoded This is based on the barcode 5001270499406 Add together the value of all of the digits in odd positions digits 1 3 5 7 9 and 11 5 04 1 7 4 4 21 Multiply that number by 3 21 3 63 Add together the value of all of the digits in even positions digits 2 4 6 8 and 10 0 0 2 0 9 0 11 Add this
91. f data A non key attribute of an entity must depend on the entire primary key 3 Normal Form This form of normalisation states that a table must contain no transitive determinants meaning that all fields must be determined directly by the primary key If this is not the case then the transitive determinant field should be transferred to another table with the field that determines it reducing redundancy further Boyce Codd Normal Form BCNF This is stricter than the 3NF where only superkeys determine attributes where a superkey is the set of all attributes that can be derived from the functional dependencies related with the schema involved permitted only if this set of attributes is the total set of attributes Within the E R model there are seven entities and five relationships which are either 1 1 1 M or M N Now that the E R model has been defined these entities need to be mapped to the database table schema Looking at the ER diagram the relationships will have to be depicted so that the data is normalised 25 A category is assigned to a product therefore many products can have a category this is a one to many relationship Many accounts have many products therefore many products make up many accounts in this instance a link table will have to be implemented which will hold product_account details This table will have both a primary key and a foreign key to ensure that the information is related Many products make up
92. form the tasks relatively easily however issues which arose include that the times are not exceptionally quick however this does not suggest that the system is not effective on observing it can be seen that the user is not particularly a speedy computer user The user became familiar with the system fairly quickly which does suggest sufficient levels of learnability 48 8 11 Future Improvements for the system As identified there are opportunities for enhancing and improving the system which has been developed The solution provided is a workable system and allows the user to control his inventories the barcode reader allows for quicker and more efficient data input However sales have to be manually input into the system at the end of each business day Therefore there is the possibility of extending the system so that it can integrate sales and stock information simultaneously Other possible enhancements which could be made is to complete development of the accounting feature There are various different types of accounting systems which are available the user can either opt for an integrated or modular system Woodford 1992 The stock control system could be integrated with a sales and purchase ledger As the business grows there may be the need for UPC s barcodes to be looked up providing item details which would eliminate for manual entry of the product details This would enhance the product lookup feature and also reduce hu
93. g created is what is required Another method to gather information will be using the observation technique where appropriate this initially will provide first hand experience of current business processes Bennett et al 2002 Due to the nature of the project the internet and published material will be used as sources of information to find out about other solutions and investigating possible technologies to enable suitable recommendations to be made 1 7 Analysis of the Current System It is essential to determine what system is currently in place at The Paper Shop and to ensure that this is fully understood in order to undergo and identify the justification for a new system Initially a look at the users of the system and current processes will provide the basis for this 1 7 1 System Users By gaining an insight into the main users of the system some of the specific requirements can then be determined At present only one type of user comes into direct contact with the system the owner and the shop staff Both are responsible for checking the stock when it arrives from suppliers stocking it onto shelves and processing items through the till when customers make purchases For the purposes of this system the customer will not need to have any interaction with the system 1 7 2 Inputs Processes and Outputs The process of stock control within The Paper Shop consists of three main areas firstly the stocks are purchased from who
94. g deliveries and answering telephone calls Customer 1 9 3 A quicker response when requesting To be able to purchase the products which they require products Developer 1 9 4 Involved in developing a software solution Ensure that there is enough information to make effective for the end user decisions and meet deadlines to ensure that the task role is fulfilled User Summary Stakeholder Novice User also a Either the owner or an employee or anew user Represented by Stakeholders 1 9 1 amp 1 9 2 potential customer who may have purchased the software Experienced User Experienced users who will use the system aid Represented by Stakeholder 1 9 1 amp 1 9 2 also a potential their business practices customer Summary The target users of the inventory control system will want to use the system to process orders and generate reports To overcome security issues passwords can be implemented The user being able to update product details fast and effectively can reduce the amount of time that the user spends on organising information within the database Details on any products and suppliers can be accessed quickly and efficiently The amount of time the users spend locating specific items will be reduced by the search facility within the new system 62 Stakeholder Profiles 1 9 1 Owner More convenient methods of managing stocks in and out of the shop The user who uses the system Type The owner will essential
95. gn develop and create a prototype software solution for testing Create a user manual of the system for the owner What was achieved The above objectives were completed and a successful inventory control system was installed at The Paper Shop There were minor adjustments made to the minimum requirements which were Satisfied The system provides a solution to the problem of manual inventory control within the business It allows for the input of product information via a barcode scanner allows orders to be sent via email to suppliers allows sales to be logged manages employee and supplier information has a wide range of effective reports including best and worst products and has a product search facility Testing and evaluation have indicated that there are possible extensions which could be made to enhance the system further Acknowledgements would like to thank the following people for their help support and assistance throughout the course of this project Mr Patel from The Paper Shop for being patient and making useful suggestions to help me My family especially my father for his unconditional help and support which has provided me with the motivation to persevere in trying times My friends for all their support and advice even in times when they were under the same academic pressures John Stell my supervisor for helping me and reading through the many draft pages sent to him SOC
96. h the user and the developer it would be unfeasible and unpractical to rely on heavy user involvement 2 8 Conclusions In conclusion the SDLC OOA techniques and RAD are the chosen methodologies which will be used to conduct the project and it seems plausible to use aspects of all three methodologies The SDLC will be used as the basic framework which will keep the project flowing from one phase to the next OOA techniques will be used to investigate existing processes generate a requirement specification and assisting in producing software modules for design aspects of the product The RAD approach will be used to ensure that there is user involvement through the implementation stage so that user feedback from the prototype can be used iteratively to produce the final solution Microsoft Windows has been chosen to be used as the platform to create the RDMS in Microsoft Access Recommendations to install a broadband cable modem for internet access along with a pay as you go secondary broadband line have been made so that orders can be sent The Peninsula Phoenix Il CCD Barcode Reader has been recommended for purchase Suggestions have been made to use Norton Personal Firewall and Anti virus software for internet security along with recommendations to archive the system on a weekly basis in the event of unexpected system or power failure Chapter 3 Analysis As the background to the problem has been understood appropriate choices of met
97. he final product to assist the employee in fulfilling their job Deliverables Comments Issues 1 9 3 Customer The success may be compromised if an employee is dissatisfied in any way that prevents them from achieving their goals this may be long term for instance being promoted to manager or short term to enjoy recognition in the form of bonuses for working hard This providing that profits reflect performance Representative A quicker response when requesting products Description A customer which comes into the shop to make a purchase Responsibilities Their interest is to be able to purchase the products they require from the store The customer does not interact with the system but will benefit from the system being in place They are rewarded by the store having the item they require in stock which they can then purchase The final product will reduce the time it takes to search for a product Deliverables The item or items they wish to purchase Success of the system will be maintained as long as there are customers who make purchases Comments Issues from the shop 1 9 4 Developer The developer analyses implements and develops the system The developer tests the software to ensure that it meets the requirements The developer is technically efficient and is an experienced user Responsibilities The developer is interested to ensure that all requirements are met to develop a software package attractive to potential us
98. help desk Pritpal for helping me recover as much work as possible from my now expired laptop Owen Johnson for being understanding and issuing my first and last ever academic coursework extension Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1 Purpose 1 2 Significance to Degree Program and Prior Knowledge 1 3 Current Systems 1 4 Problem Statement 1 5 Have there been any previous attempts to solve the problem 1 6 Investigation Methods 1 7 Analysis of Current System 1 7 1 System Users 1 7 2 Inputs Processes and Output 1 7 2 1 Ordering stock from the supplier 1 7 2 2 Purchasing stock from the wholesalers 1 7 2 3 Receiving stocks from the supplier 1 7 2 4 Delivery of goods from wholesalers 1 7 2 5 Selling stocks to the customer 1 8 Analysis of information collected 1 9 Conclusions Chapter 2 Project Management and Literature Review 2 1 Comparison of methodologies Figure 1 Scope of methodologies 2 2 Systems Development Life cycle SDLC 2 3 Object Orientated Analysis and Design OOA 2 4 Rapid Application Development RAD 2 5 Understanding Inventory 2 6 Analysis of development tools 2 6 1 The Operating System and the Database model 2 6 2 Considering different technologies 2 6 3 The Relational Database Management System RDMS 2 6 4 Types of Data Reading Devices 2 6 4 1 Barcodes Figure 2 Image of barcode 2 6 4 2 Types of Barcode Readers N ODO Ta aarkK KR HR HR NHB NBS a A 2 6 4 3 T
99. hem into the system User has working PC and knowledge of how to use the software effectively and that the user already has details of current products so that entering of data can be done with ease Related Non Functional requirements Usability Performance Security Any non functional requirements that are specific to this Use Case rather than the system as a whole Project Author Date The usability of the system should be user friendly The novice user needs to be taken into consideration As the database is not significantly large the time taken to access the data will not be timely so performance is not compromised Security will be considered as there will be more one than one user therefore passwords will be implemented Information has to be entered manually into the system PD32 Specialist Project Dipika Patel adapted from Owen Johnson s IS21 module material 25 November 2005 88 3 1 Supplier details Use case The Diagram below is showing the interaction that that the user would have when accessing the supplier menu This is a high level view of what this option allows you to do however there is a more detailed diagram of this in the form of an activity diagram following In this diagram the box represents the boundary that the supplier menu holds and what functions are accessible through this menu cS _ add supplier details 2 B _ f aie amend supplier details user
100. her parts of the system 44 8 5 Evaluation of the Project Life cycle An initial feasibility study was conducted and the project purpose was identified With recognition of the limited time scale in which the project was to be complete a Gantt chart for the project was devised Each of the phases were sub divided into tasks these tasks were given an approximate duration for completion The project objectives were as follows 1 Conduct an investigation and develop an understanding of the current system and business processes Investigate and assess possible technologies for improving the current system Design develop and create a prototype software solution for testing Create a user manual for the owner Objective 1 has been satisfied as initial investigations were conducted with the owner an understanding of the current system and business processes was outlined in Chapter 1 section 1 7 Objective 2 has been satisfied by investigating various development technologies along with technologies for improving the current system Chapter 2 sections 2 6 2 2 6 3 and 2 6 4 detail the investigations Within Chapter 2 in particular section 2 6 4 illustrates the investigations into barcodes and barcode technologies to determine if these would deem feasible as means for improving the current system Objective 3 has been satisfied and can be confirmed by Chapter 4 which details the various design considerations which were made Appe
101. hodologies to follow have been selected along with critically reviewing appropriate literature there is the need to look at the specific requirements Therefore collecting and analysing the information will allow for requirements of the system to be established This chapter outlines the user requirements both minimum and non minimal along with a product proposal It also includes a summary from the UML system requirement specification and critically analyses the order process There is a discussion into how project and system evaluation will be conducted An early interview which was conducted with the owner outlines some of the requirements the interview transcript can be found in Appendix E 3 1 User Requirements These are the set of minimum requirements which have been generated which will form the basis for evaluation 3 1 1 Minimum Requirements The system will be able to input product information via barcode technology The system will be able to generate best and worst product reports The system will allow categories to be added updated and deleted ae a a The system will generate a report of stocks at re order level 3 1 2 Non Minimal Requirements Time permitting these are the non minimal requirements that have been outlined 1 The system will allow for a product search indicating the units in stock and price of the product 2 The system will be able to add new suppliers to the database with a printable
102. i LEM SHEL OOMS OOOH beswapsBleceser Nese Init ci NNSS2AE OU1D25006I0 011592500600 sonkingBEsaicook 134 Appendix U Error Messages and Validation Following are the error messages which appear in the system some of them have been created using macros The numbers are cross referenced to the tables in Appendix O Reference 101 Product Barcode When products are being added to the database this ensures that the product barcode is not x The barcode should not be more than 12 digits more than 12 digits The message is displayed as a critical warning indicating that the user needs to check the details Barcode Error This checks that all the telephone numbers are 11 digits long This allows correct data to be held in the database This checks that all the fax numbers are 11 digits long This allows correct data to be held in the database The supplier form requires correct email addresses to be entered for means when order for frozen foods is sent A This is not a valid email address Please re enter the address Therefore it is important to check the email address is correct The code ensures that a symbol is included See Appendix X a Microsoft Access 135 Following are the additional validation measures which were implemented to allow for usability and consistency within the database Macro Delete Category Macro Delete Produ
103. ib a FThe Paper Shop OrderiD OrderDate Address Meridian Industrial Este ass n a ee m ShopCity Leicester 30 03 2006 5 ae REE TAE Print Order ShopPostCode JLE20 OPH ai ShopTel 0116 25969040 ShopName The Paper Shop SupplierName Snow King PhoneNumber 0115 2500600 nen eee ea co ee shopCity Leicester Address Meridian Industri k de Mail Order ShopEmailAddress thepapershop hotmai EmailAddress snowking tiscall co uk ShopPostCode LE20 0PH Norfolk ShopTa 0 25 N56 2 Order Sub Form hop 0116 25969040 NN56 2AE Product Name Unit Price Units on Order SubTotal ShopF ax 0116 25969040 0115 2500600 P Fish Fingers 0 99 wf 9 90 ShopE mailAddres thepapershop ho 0115 2500600 Cost of Order 9 90 10 Total Units Ordered snowking tiscali ProductName UnitPrice UnitsOnOrder SuyTotal Record Id 1 gt t of 1 Fish Fingers 0 99 10 9 90 0 99 10 9 90 Administratio The date the order is being placed is displayed The Both the owner s and quantity of goods to be supplier s details have been ordered is displayed merged onto the order form Expected Result___ Actual Result Pass Fail ____ Test 1 12 A report is generated A report has been PASS based on category ID generated with both and supplier ID to supplier and shop generate a report for details with frozen the frozen foods foods to be ordered Test 1 13 The system will only select products for orders from specified suppli
104. ic suppliers The use case begins when the user accesses the order report the report can be viewed before it is sent to the supplier The user will then select the File option on the database toolbar then send to mail recipient after selecting the format which he wishes to send the order in the suppliers email address can be selected and then the email with the order report attached can be sent The system will have only selected products to be ordered from specific suppliers For instance frozen food suppliers The system will select the products from the category and take the products which are at re order level and merge these into the order report The owner s details details will be defaulted on the email This will then be sent to the supplier An alternative path may be if the user wanted to manually enter more products onto the order report to order extra supplies the user can still add these products onto the order report before the form is sent to the supplier i e adding other products to the bottom of the list before the email is sent An unsuccessful outcome for the course of action would be if the order report could not be sent for some reason for instance if the internet service provider s server were experiencing difficulties that was restricting the user from connecting to the internet The user would then have to ring the supplier to place the order The only real assumption that is that the order details are readily
105. ile Name Product Table Purpose To add new products to the database Field Name Description of Data Type Length Sample Values Type of Validation Contents Expected Product Barcode 072417105555 Check not duplicate CategoryID Composite Ke ProductName The name of the Text 50 Mars Required field product UnitPrice The unit price of the Currency 8 0 45 Only accepts numbers product SellingPrice The selling price of Currency 8 0 49 Only accepts numbers the product which are in stock Integer UnitsOnOrder The number of units Number Long 10 Only accepts numbers which have been put Integer on order ReorderLevel The level at which Number Long 5 Only accepts numbers stocks are to be Integer replenished File Name Sale table Purpose To keep a log of all the sales which have been made Field Name Description of Data Type Length Sample Values Type of Validation Contents Expected SalelD Primary Key AutoNumb Long 012 None AutoNumber er Integer ProductBarcode 072417105555 Check not duplicate SaleDate The date the sale was Date Time Short Date 27 04 06 Required Field made Quantity The quantity of units Number 50 2 Only accepts numbers which have been sold SubTotal The sub total of the Currency 1 50 Only accepts numbers products sold 0 175 Only accepts numbers VAT This is the VAT which Number is added to each of the products when they are sold Total The total price of the Currency 8 22 50
106. imely so performance is not compromised Security will be considered as there will be more one than one user therefore passwords will be implemented PD32 Specialist Project Dipika Patel adapted from Owen Johnson s IS21 module material 25 November 2005 103 Use Case name The name as it appears in the Use Case Model Conducts tasks to meet requirements Primary Actor Developer Actor that initiates Use Case Other Actors Developer Value Proposal to Actor s The goal of the Use Case from the Actor s perspective Basic Course of Events The Normal Flow The developer will each conduct tasks and activities to meet the user requirements The value proposal to the developer would be to design and implement a successful software solution for the user The use case begins when the developer decides on the tasks allocated to meet the requirements of the user Each requirement will be taken in turn and used to implement ways to fulfil the requirement Alternative Paths Other paths through the use case which result in a successful outcome typically variations to the basic course of events determined by the actor and their needs The use case begins when the developer uses the allocated tasks to establish the requirements of the system The information is analysed to determine the best way to fulfil the requirement There are not significant differences in the path of events for this particular u
107. ion if the owner wanted to search for a specific product to check its price he would then also have to manually go and pick it up from the shelf The product search facility will have a dual purpose benefiting the customer thus improving customer service and will reduce the time taken to go and search the shelves by assisting the owner when searching for specific products The new system in place with simple but effective search capabilities will allow a product search of the database and provide instant results without the effort of manually searching 1 9 Conclusions The key problem with the existing system is that once products have been sold there is no record of the items that need to be re stocked This poses difficulties for the owner in determining what stocks he needs to re purchase as the information is heavily relied upon his knowledge and memory Unsold stocks represent an accumulation of resources which remain idle until sold tying up capital Ritchie et al 1998 A key problem with the existing method of inventory control is that products are not organised in a systematic way and there are no records of all the items The user requires a user friendly uncomplicated system to maintain records which includes updating details deleting details and inserting new details The system will provide a more efficient method of keeping records about stocks Problems with the current paper based system are that sometimes papers are l
108. ion menu at present these are View Orders Supplier Details and Employee Details This order form which is used for you to Supplier Supplier Detais Employee Epopee Deto 4 1 Orders The first option View Order s will take you to the next screen Order Form OrderID SupplerNamet Preview Order Address City PostCode PhoneNumber FaxNumber EmailAddress Order Sub Form Meridian Industrial Este Norfolk NN56 2AE Print Order 0115 2500600 0115 2500600 fnowking tscal ci Mail Order Product Name Unit Price Units on Order SubTotal d 0 99 uf 9 90 Costof Order 9 90 Record I4 1 bif of 1 10 Total Units Ordered Administration Menu view the products which will be ordered from the frozen food supplier The supplier details are on the left hand side The shop details are on the right hand side of the screen The system calculates the total units and total cost of the order There is the option to preview the order and print the order There is the option to mail this order to the frozen food supplier Click on the Mail Order option the following screen will appear 159 4 1 1 Mail Order The following screen will appear select text files and click ok Record 14 lt T Lot pt of 2 The following screen will then appear On the toolbar click Insert
109. ions and a longer than anticipated development time not all the functional requirements were implemented This could have been overcome if prepared my self more for the complexity of the implementation process feel that did not manage my time during the implementation phase as well as could have The RAD methodology which was adopted did mean that was iteratively trying to improve the interface functionality and then ensuring that the system was working correctly did not develop the framework for testing until after a lot of tests had been conducted repeatedly If a framework was devised before hand the result could have been recorded throughout feel that was more organised both with time and written work throughout the first semester in comparison to the second purely due to the high demands of the second semester In summary given the opportunity to conduct the project again would ensure that more effective project management and planning was conducted Planning and organising are both key elements in ensuring that projects are completed on time and meet user needs would also make sure that conducted sufficient background information to the problem and that feasible requirements are made and agreed if an external party is involved Most project failures occur if project objectives are not fully specified bad planning and estimating of time and inadequate project management or methodologies adopted to avoid project failu
110. ions the product proposal outlines the new system features and requirements 3 4 UML System Requirement Specification To allow for a better understanding of the requirements a UML system requirement specification has been outlined The requirement specification uses UML diagrams and notation which is consistent with the choice of using OOA techniques to understand requirements The full requirement specification can be found in Appendix M at the end Table 2 shows the requirements cross referenced with the use cases The summary shows how the system requirements have been separated into different parts of the system and provides an understanding of what the system will be capable of doing 20 3 5 Analysis of order process In order to understand the patterns of when to replenish stocks using an inventory profile can allows for visual representation of the inventory level over time Every time an order is placed items are ordered the replenishment order arrives in one batch or delivery Demand for the item is then steady at rate D units When demand has depleted the stock of the items entirely another order of Q items is ordered Slack et al 2004 The following diagram shows the variation in inventory level Steady Order and quantity Q predictable demand Slope demand rate D Average inventory Q 2 Inventory Level 4 o gt Instantaneous deliveries at rate of D Q per period Figure 3 Inventory profil
111. iptions User control and freedom this allows for support in instances where users make errors there should be options to go back or exit if necessary These should be clearly defined Consistency and standards the incorporation of using Microsoft Outlook as a tool for sending reports allows for consistency between office products therefore the user can recognise the interface and should be more efficient Error prevention the inventory control system design should prevent a problem from occurring for instance prompting the user before they delete information Recognition rather than recall system instructions should be relatively visible and easy to find The user should not have to remember information from one part of the system to the next Flexibility and efficiency of use allow the more experienced user to work quickly allowing users to tailor frequent actions Aesthetic and minimalist design the inventory control system should only present information that is relevant to the user to ensure that the user is not overloaded Help users recognise diagnose and recover from errors the inventory control system should represent errors in relevant terms suggesting an approach as a solution for the user Help and documentation eventually the system will be able to be used without the use of documentation however there should be some form of documentation available should the need arise for further a
112. itions Related Business Rules Reference to your Business Rules list Related Non Functional requirements Usability Performance Security Any non functional requirements that are specific to this Use Case rather than the system as a whole Project Author The usability of the system should be user friendly The novice user needs to be taken into consideration As the database is not significantly large the time taken to access the data will not be timely so performance is not compromised Security will be considered as there will be more one than one user therefore passwords will be implemented PD32 Specialist Project Dipika Patel adapted from Owen Johnson s IS21 module material Date 25 November 2005 100 7 1 Account details Use case The Diagram below is showing the interaction that that the user would have when accessing the order menu This is a high level view of what this option allows you to do however there is an activity diagram below In this diagram the box represents the boundary that the account menu holds and what functions are accessible through this menu a P view costs daily weekly monthly yearly ET gt wZ view profits daily weekly a monthly yearly i gt information via reports user stock adjustments 101 7 2 Account details Activity Diagram This is an activity diagram detailing how the user has the
113. its to the users Each feature is an externally needed service that typically requires a series of inputs to achieve the needed result The use case model may be updated as the descriptions refer to the use cases It should provide the information needed to create a use case model The features provide the basis for product definition scope management and project management Each feature will be expanded in greater detail in the use case model Product Features Relation to User Needs The product system This feature will provide the user with the ability to access delete create and print the product information A list of products will be maintained by the system for the user The accounting system This feature will provide user with the ability to calculate the costs and profits incurred The reporting system This feature of the system will provide the user with the ability to view and print reports 74 The order system This feature will generate an order of products to be sent to specific suppliers Supplier details This feature will allow the user to enter the details of the suppliers so that the correct orders are placed with suppliers Category details This feature will allow the user to categorise the products so that they are managed more effectivel Employee details This feature will allow the user to keep details on employees contact details 1 9 Constraints amp Dependencies Constraints that need to be considered
114. ject Report 9 December 05 CL Time taken for each of the activities to be completed by 7 2 Submit Report 2 May 2006 Revised time for each phase 58 Appendix D Interview transcript for Interview with employee Anyone who conducts a project which is proposing a system for another user should be aware of any other system users In order to understand part of the requirements a short interview was conducted with an employee Rosemary Johnson the transcript below is a summary of the meeting Date 21 October 2005 Time 14 00pm Location The Paper Shop Interviewer Dipika Patel DP Interviewee Rosemary Johnson RJ Dipika Patel Do you remember the old barcode reader which was brought Did you use it and did it work Rosemary Johnson Yes remember when Mr Patel brought it but it didn t really work for some reason it didn t fit with the computer so he never used it again DP So is that the only reason why it was never used RJ Well yes I never asked Mr Patel about it again we sort of forgot about it after that DP Barcode readers are a really useful of capturing data like product information if was to look for compatible and an easy to use barcode reader would you consider using it to input information into an inventory control system RJ Yes as long as you show me how to use it properly DP Of course thank you for your time will have look at what s available and take your thoughts into
115. l ensure that the system is developed correctly 2 5 Understanding Inventory The following discussion allows for a better understanding into the specifics of inventory and how it can impact the business Inventory is the stored accumulation of materials and resources Slack et al 2004 Inventories exist because there is a difference in the rate of supply and demand therefore when supplies exceed demand inventories increase and when demand exceeds supply inventories decrease Slack et al 2004 If the business can match supply and demand rates it can also reduce inventory levels Small businesses still have to justify holding inventories to support business performance however there are negative effects of holding inventories therefore it is important to have fuller control over the amount of inventories held Slack et al 2004 Storing inventories may be a result of taking advantage of the best quality stocks when they are available for example purchasing additional fresh produce The availability of stocks are essential for fast response to demand in this instance the customer can buy products and take them away immediately if these are not in stock business is lost and customers will go elsewhere Additional stocks may be held as insurance just in case supplies cannot be purchased delivered or any unforeseen events therefore holding stocks ensures dependable supplies of certain product lines Stocks may be held to cater for seasona
116. l fluctuations in demand for example holding more supplies during the Christmas or Easter period Suppliers offer discounts on products in order to reduce their operating costs therefore these are reflected in offers and discounts they offer to retailers However there are drawbacks of holding inventories the main disadvantage is that it ties up money in the form of working capital therefore inventory has an opportunity cost Inventories may become obsolete as alternative products become available they could get damaged or deteriorate they could get lost or hidden amongst other stocks and they may take up excessive storage space compared to their value Different industries have different types of inventories buffer stocks are predominately used in the retail industry This safety stock can compensate for any fluctuations in demand It can also compensate for uncertainties in the process of supply of goods from suppliers 2 6 Analysis of Development Tools The following section will consider and outline the various methods and technologies for software development with justifications for the choices made 2 6 1 The Operating System and the Database Model Microsoft Windows is the most widely available operating system which after consideration is the chosen platform that the system will be developed on Other platforms such as LINUX could be used however user familiarity of Microsoft Windows implies that this is a more suitable o
117. lable for installing the system on site There will be a brief discussion into these types and a selection of the most appropriate one will be made Direct changeover this is when the use of the old system stops and the new one begins this method has the advantage that it is fast and efficient for small scale businesses and organisations There is minimum duplication of work requires minimalist support and there is no need to integrate interfaces between old and new systems However if the new system fails this it might cause disruption to the business In this case the system is not dependent on any other part of the business This option holds greatest risk as the new system may not perform satisfactorily Ritchie et al 1998 Phased changeover or pilot running in this approach the new system is tested in one department or area and if the tests are successful the system is introduced to the rest of the organisation Ritchie et al 1998 This method is used within larger organisations and would not really be appropriate as the system will be deployed all at one time Parallel in this approach the new system runs alongside the old until it is reliable and the old system is phased out slowly This method is expensive but a secure approach Ritchie et al 1998 In this case as there was no current system apart from the paper based system therefore it would not be feasible to use this method In conclusion after considering the option
118. lesalers or have been ordered from suppliers Secondly the stock is either delivered by the supplier or delivered by the owner Lastly the stock is sold to the customers and leaves the store The three main processes are detailed in the following 1 7 2 1 Ordering stock from the supplier Stocks that are ordered from the supplier are frozen food items The owner uses a product list distributed by the supplier which has a list of all their products he then manually goes around the fridge areas looking into the fridges marking on the product list any products which are to be re ordered At any one time only the goods which need to be ordered are ordered and no additional stock is ordered due to limited storage capacity Once the list is complete the goods are ordered via a telephone order 1 7 2 2 Purchasing stock from the wholesalers Stocks which need to be purchased from the wholesalers are determined by a written list The owner manually walks around the shop looking at various items which need to be re ordered He generates a paper list of all the stocks to be purchased Once the list has been completed he goes out to purchase all the goods Appendix K shows a business activity diagram for how the owner makes purchasing decisions There are certain factors which influence how much to purchase These include the price discount costs which are offered by suppliers stock out costs working capital costs and storage costs Costs usually decre
119. list of the suppliers 3 The system will be able to hold contact information about employees 4 The system will provide a gross margin by product category report 3 2 Stakeholder and user analysis As identified stakeholders are those people who have an interest or stake in the system A detailed stakeholder and user analysis which was conducted can be found in Appendix F Conclusions which can be drawn from this analysis are that the owner is interested in improving the way stocks are managed the employee will be able to search for products in a timelier manner therefore making their job easier The developer is interesting in developing a software solution which will be used There is the responsibility of completing activities successfully which aid in the successful completion of phases resulting in a complete project Both the novice and experienced system user will be considered throughout the development 3 3 Product Proposal After analysing the information collected and consultation with user a product proposal has been outlined following the format of the Vision document Appendix L details the full product proposal and Table 1 at the end of the appendix outlines a list of the requirements The product proposal includes a summary of capabilities of the system assumptions and dependencies costing issues licensing and installation product features which includes health and safety issues and constraints of the product In conclus
120. ll allow you to navigate back to the Report Menu and the Main Menu depending on the option which is selected 162 5 1 Best and Worst Products Best and Worst Products Reports Worst Products 5 2 Overall Product Sales Overall Product Sales 5 3 Gross Margin by Category Preview Report Reports Menu Gross Margin by Category CategoryName ProductName GrossMargin frozen Foods Preview Report This screen allows you to view the best and worst product sales in the shop There is also the option to print the reports Also you can navigate back to the Reports Menu and the Main Menu by clicking the options at the bottom of the screen This screen allows you to view the overall product sales in the shop There is also the option to print the report Also you can navigate back to the Reports Menu and the Main Menu by clicking the options at the bottom of the screen This screen allows you to view gross margin by category of product sales There is also the option to print the report Also you can navigate back to the Reports Menu and the Main Menu by clicking the options at the bottom of the screen 163 5 4 Product Stock Levels by Category This screen allows you to view the product Product Stock Levels by Category stock levels by category within the shop There is also
121. ly be a novice user but once familiar with the new system can become an experienced user Responsibilities The owner is responsible for making sure that the business is making a profit he is involved in the decision making of business activities Success could be defined by the higher profits the new system will allow for tighter control on invento Involvement The final product is to assist the owner Deliverables User manual Comments Issues 1 9 2 Employee Representative Success of the system can be maintained as long as the business makes sales therefore stocks can be managed If the market and environment in which the business operates is affected in any way the business would be affected by a reduction of sales made from the store therefore the businesses profits would suffer inevitably resulting in a reduction of stocks and purchases made Manages the shop counter by providing customer service assists in stocking shelves checking deliveries and answering telephone calls The user who uses the system Responsibilities The employee is a novice user but once familiar with the new system will become an experienced user They have responsibility to provide high levels of customer service so that customer return this would essentially incorporate friendliness and being helpful where appropriate Success Criteria This stakeholder may define success either by monetary value like higher wages or job satisfaction T
122. man input error Therefore the owner may want to invest in purchasing this database which can then be integrated into the solution Other enhancements include developing data access pages which would allow the user to access the database from home access to the reports could aid in allowing for preparation and planning for the next business day An extension to the system could be to implement a recommender system whereby the system recommends items which that have sold out faster than expected the system can then prompt the user to view the report so that he can make better informed decisions based on sales trends before purchasing This enhancement would be a powerful feature as it would seem like the system is intelligent Another possible enhancement could be to integrate the shop security with the system so that the user can view the security cameras on the premises when the system is idle Currently there is a television monitor which displays the images from the camera The scope of this idea would be beyond the scope of this project but it was a suggestion which came up during consultation with the user 49 8 12 Conclusions There have been a number of elements used to evaluate both the project and the system The system has satisfied both the minimum and non minimal requirements and system testing has indicated that not all the requirements have been implemented Evaluating the project life cycle and schedule has identifie
123. me of supply a combination of these results in a lead time usage distribution Using re order level as a trigger for placing replenishment orders allows for inventory levels to be reviewed Slack et al 2004 Generally a small proportion of the total range of items contained in inventory will account for a large proportion of the total usage value This is known as Pareto law which is referred to as the 80 20 rule Slack et al 2004 This states that 80 per cent of business sales are accounted for by only 20 per cent of all stocks Slack et al 2004 Using an ABC inventory control system will allow the owner to concentrate on more significant items of stock Slack et al 2004 3 6 Evaluation of the project In order to determine if the project is successful there needs to be a method of evaluation there will be a consideration of the following areas for evaluation 3 6 1 User Satisfaction Feedback from the user the owner and employees will be obtained in the form of a check list and a set of short tasks will be devised once the system has been implemented It is essential that the user accepts the system so that it will be used User satisfaction testing will enable end user feedback to be analysed for evaluation purposes 3 6 2 System Requirements The minimum and non minimal requirements which have been outlined in section 3 1 will be used to assess if the system has met these requirements System testing will be conducted in 2
124. message to be left for the employee Edit Product Delete Product Delete Prodi IScan the product barcode or select the product from the list and then update Scan the product barcode or select the product from the list and then delete the details the details Check the details before they are deleted Add Category Edit Category Select the Category to change and then change the name click update to save 129 Delete Category Order Form Delete Category Select the Category to change and then change the name click delete Check to make sure that the products are not in the category Cost of Order 9 90 10 Total Units Ordered Record 14 4 1 _ pI p of 2 Supplier 130 Gross Margin by Category Product Stock Levels by Category eal Product Stock Levels by Category Reorder Level Report Reorder Level Report Query Output Best Products Worst Products Find Product 45 Walkers Crisps 90 Ribena 131 Order form for Frozen Foods E The Paper Shop Order For Frozen Foods GE fie Edit View Insert Format Records Tools Window Help Type a question for heip me ml X TACLE IEAS TIEI IEE RA FELCE MER City 1 30 03 2006 Snow Kin Meridian Indust Norfolk NN56 2AE Product Stock Levels Account Prompt Total Units on Order E The Paper Shop Product Stock Levels Select Q EI Ble Edit View Insert Format Records Tools w BS S6RY sBe o 4
125. mmended include Norton Personal Firewall or ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite a package which offers firewall anti virus and privacy protection There is also much separate anti virus software on the market which can be used for example McAfee or Norton Anti virus software Recommendations have been made to use Norton Personal Firewall and Anti virus software to enforce internet security 2 6 6 1 Archiving Information After the system has been installed it would be useful to have an archive of the system Archiving can be useful for many reasons for instance if the database was to get corrupt hardware failure or power failure having a back up of the system will ensure that not all the data is lost It also allows records to be kept for auditing purposes and can be used in the event of stock discrepancies A recommendation has been made to archive the database onto a CD on a weekly basis these can be labelled week 1 2 etc the CDs can then be stored for 6 months and then these can be re used if necessary In accordance with the Data Protection Act the supplier details which are kept on the system should be correct consistent and up to date 2 6 7 Comparing alternative software development applications After careful consideration of the software applications that could be used for development see Appendix This shows a detailed analysis that compares the features of five specific software development tools that are available on
126. mon format which is used for all menus within the system The Paper Shop Main Menu making it completely consistent throughout All parts of the system are accesses via a series of menus which are assessed by clicking the grey buttons with the descriptions taking you to the appropriate section 156 Stock Management Menu This section deals with aspects of product flows and category information flowing throughout the business Administration Menu This section enables you to send orders view and update supplier information and holds employee information Reports Menu This section allows for a series of reports to be accessed such as best and worst product reports overall product sales gross margin by category and reorder level report The stock levels can also be found here with a printable product list Exit Database This button allows for the user to exit the system This is the only way to exit the system so returning to the main menu is important in order to do this 3 Stock Management Menu Stock Management Menu Click the button to select one of the options Products Edit Product Delete Product Categories Add Category Edit Category Delete Category Before the system can be used effectively key information must be entered into the system The products can be entered via the Add Produc
127. mplementation these are screen shots of the development of the queries in the system which are all in design view Best Products Find Product El The Paper Shop Find Product Select Query Stock left has been setto E WM SAY g MG o m Ge t Sr a E The Paper Shop Best Products Select Query 8al4RaY se lo g EE Fle Edt vew Insert Query Tools Window Hel any items less than or Fl gie Edit View Insert Query Tools Window Hel Product name selling equal to 10 to determine price and units in stock the best products Product have been selected to allow for a product search Product 123 Gross Margin by Category E The Paper Shop Gross Margin by Category Select Query B BR S4eay JBB ooa ern FN BA B File Edit View Insert Query Tools Window Help The gross margin has been calculated by selling price unit price UnitsOnOrder ReorderLevel SellingPri AST Z ProductName Price t z Order for frozen foods E Balans talo hela eA File Edit View Insert Query Tools Window Help The frozen food order only selects products from the category 15 which is frozen foods and supplier id 2 which is the frozen food supplier a aT ShopName Shop See SSS SSS E SSSS _ Le EmailAddress UnitsOnOrder SubTotal UnitPric___ Supplier1D CategoryID 3 Supplier
128. mplemented as part of the system were discussed clarified and as previously stated will be implemented before September 2006 41 Chapter 8 Evaluation This chapter begins with identifying the evaluation criteria with the justifications for these choices The process of evaluation allows for the project to be reviewed and identify positive and negative outcomes Young 1998 however evaluation is both a subjective and objective process Ritchie et al 1998 Evaluation criteria will be used to evaluate elements of the project There will be an evaluation of the system against the minimum and non minimal requirements technical evaluation against the system requirements evaluation of the project life cycle and schedule end user evaluation and evaluation of effectiveness and learnability Evaluation will also be conducted to compare the solution against other systems This chapter concludes with drawing on potential future enhancements for the system 8 1 Evaluation Criteria There are a number of ways in which a project can be evaluated to determine if it has been successful however as stated it is a subjective and objective process Ritchie et al 1998 An evaluation of the system against the minimum and non minimal requirements as defined by the user will determine whether the project meets the needs of the user whilst solving the initial problem There will be an evaluation of the initial requirements as outlined in Appendix L
129. n devices the system will be operating on or with Printer Operating System Printer software Barcode software 13 Glossary Actor an actor is something or someone who is needed in order for the system to operate Use Case a use Case is a technique for capturing the potential requirements of a new system Each use case provides one or more scenarios that may convey how the system should interact with the end user Business Actor Business use case a role describing the people within the system being modelled Business Actors are outside the system but interact with it Business Use Case a transaction between the system and one or many actors to it that results in measurable value to at least one business actor Business workers workers inside the business who control the internal processes Business entities these are objects in the business Component a software component of the system being modelled Will contain one ore more classes and present one or more interfaces 107 Deployment node a physical hardware device in the system being modelled Can contain components and packages State State chart a state that an object of a specified class may transition into Activity Activity an activity that may be performed as part of an activity diagram Object Collaboration or Sequence an individual object of a specified class Class a class of objects
130. n follow each individual step from there the system allows the user to change or delete a current categories and the descriptions of products belonging to the category and allows new details to be entered An alternative path may be if if a category needed to be updated with more products the user can just go into the category and add these products and update these would update the database This can be done without creating new categories If the user was trying to amend a category name or the description and the new details that were being entered were not valid then the system would not allow it returning error messages where appropriate For instance the description field should only contain characters The only real assumption that is that the product details are readily available and the user will know how to enter them into the system User has working PC and knowledge of how to use the software effectively and that the user already has details of current products so that entering of data can be done with ease Post conditions Related Business Rules Reference to your Business Rules list Related Non Functional requirements Usability Performance Security Any non functional requirements that are specific to this Use Case rather than the system as a whole Project Author The usability of the system should be user friendly The novice user needs to be taken into consideration As the database
131. nate from a company called the Uniform Code Council UCC which is an organisation responsible for the management and distribution of standardised barcodes worldwide The UCC issue a manufacturer a six digit identification number in any standard 12 digit UPC code The data in a bar code is a reference number which the computer uses to look up associated computer disk record that contains descriptive data The bar codes found on food items in stores do not contain the price or description of product it just has a 12 digit product number When read by a bar code reading device it is transmitted to the computer the computer then finds the disk item record which is associated with that item number The disk file contains the price supplier name and quantity on hand The computer performs a price lookup by reading the bar code and then registers the item As the bar code scanner is passed over the barcode the light source from the scanner is reflected by the light spaces A photocell detector in the scanner converts the light into an electrical signal after it receives the reflected light The UPC barcode printed on a package has two parts the machine readable bar code and the human readable 12 digit UPC number The structure of the UPC number is X YYYYY ZZZZZ C where X number system character NSC YYYYY manufacturer s number assigned by Uniform Code Council Inc UCC ZZZZZ unique item number assigned by the manufacture C Check
132. ncluded in the category The system will assign each employee an ID The system will allow the name of the employee to be stored The system will allow for a contact number for the lemployee to be stored The system will allow each employee to enter the system with a password The system will alert the employee upon logon of lany messages which have been left by the owner The system will generate an order report to send to suppliers The system will only select products for orders from specified suppliers i e frozen food suppliers The system will merge the owners details on to the order form The system will merge the supplier details onto the order form The system will enter the date onto the order form The order form will indicate the quantity of goods to be purchased The system will provide receipts for transactions for customers The system will allow the user to view the daily costs Category details Category details Category details Category details Employee details Employee details Employee details Employee details Employee details Order details Order details Order details Order details Order details Order details Product details Account details 110 The system will allow the user to view weekly costs 1 41 Account details The system will allow the user to view monthly costs 1 42 Account details The system will allow the user to view yearly costs
133. nd mark on the products which are running low Either or another staff member will then ring them and place the order This can be time consuming and can get interrupted especially if have customers in the store at the same time DP How are the goods checked Mr P The delivery note which comes with the order is checked against the goods that are delivered 60 DP asked Rosemary about the old barcode reader which you brought she told me that it had the wrong connection point what was the problem with the old barcode reader Mr P Yes I did buy one before not very expensive it came with a different connection point and didn t look like it fit with the computer so never bothered to and haven t had the time to see if could use it in any way DP If I found a compatible barcode reader would you consider using it to input product information into the system Mr P Yes don t see why not as long as it s not too expensive and if it makes life easier for both me and staff it would be useful DP Are there any specific requirements which you can think of which you would like in the system Mr P As long as I can see what stocks have so that there are records of the items be able to look at what s selling and other stocks which are not it would be good to have some idea of profits which make on items It would also be useful to have an idea of the stocks which I need to buy and order DP Are there any ad
134. nd sub total for each of the sales is calculated The total number of items which has been sold is displayed along with the total price of all the sales There is the option to go back to the main menu The sales form allows for logging sales Sales Scan the product or enter the barcode manually then enter the quantity of items which have been made this can be a The price can be changed if necessary process which can be conducted at the SoleDate Sa sur end of each business day Product Barcode Product Name Quantity Seling Price SubTotal VAT Total a P 5000213018879 2f ug9f 398 0 6965 4 68 Number of Items 2 GrandTotal 4 68 Record I4 T_ pif of 2 a Main Menu 8 Messages The Messages button on the main menu will take you to the following screen this screen will allow to place messages for your employees then click the Save Message button to save the message There is the option to go back to the main menu Messages At present there is only the option of Type in the message to be left for the employee saving the message which will stay there until a new message has been posted Save Message 165
135. ndix S details evidence for the software implementation Appendix W confirms that the system has been tested against the original requirements which were outlined and a summary table can be found in Appendix Y Objective 4 has been satisfied and this can be confirmed in Appendix Z which holds a system user manual The methodologies which were chosen compromised of Systems Development Life Cycle Object Orientated Analysis and Design and aspects of Rapid Application Development The project has clearly followed the methodologies in a consistent manner Initially conducting investigations then analysing the information this led to using OOA techniques to develop a requirement specification Lastly using RAD to obtain feedback from the user to develop the system according to the needs identified There was also a discussion with the user to inform 45 him that not all the requirements would be able to be implemented and it was agreed that these requirements could be implemented at a later date The two major milestones identified in the project were submission of the mid project report and final report submission which have been met Project review meetings were built into the project planning in the form of a progress meeting to understand at what stage the project was at and also in the form of conversing with the user to develop the working prototype of the system Communication was initiated between the user and developer to ensure that
136. new supplier The system will allow the user to update or edit supplier details The system will allow the user to delete any suppliers no longer used for business The system will allow the user to create a new category for stocks The system will allow the user to enter the name of a new category The system will allow the user to amend a category The system will allow the user to delete a category The system will allow the user to enter a description of the contents to be included in the category Test 1 3 Test 1 3 Test 1 3 Test 1 3 Test 1 3 FAIL Test 1 6 Test 1 7 Test 1 7 Test 1 7 Test 1 7 Test 1 7 Test 1 7 Test 1 7 FAIL Test 1 8 Test 1 8 Test 1 9 Test 1 10 FAIL 151 1 28 1 29 1 30 1 32 1 33 1 34 1 35 1 36 1 37 1 38 1 39 1 40 1 43 The system will assign each employee an ID The system will allow the name of the employee to be stored The system will allow for a contact number for the lemployee to be stored The system will allow each employee to enter the system with a password The system will alert the employee upon logon of lany messages which have been left by the owner The system will generate an order report to send to suppliers The system will only select products for orders from specified suppliers i e frozen food suppliers The system will merge the owners details on to the order form The system
137. nvestigation and analysis system design implementation review and maintenance A positive feature of this methodology is that it divides the development of tasks into more manageable sub divided tasks providing the opportunity for control over the development process Avison and Fitzgerald 2003 Although origins of this methodology do incorporate aspects of hard systems thinking it would be useful to adapt the processes so that they have an integrated flexible and iterative nature which will be more practical Appendix J shows these stages in a UML activity diagram 2 3 Object Orientated Analysis and Design OOA For purposes of documenting existing business processes and potential requirements for the system aspects of the Object Orientated Analysis and Design methodology will be applied OOA consists of five major activities finding class amp object identifying structures identifying subjects defining attributes and defining services Avison and Fitzgerald 2003 For the purposes of this project it would be more effective to use iterative processes around the activities in a variety of sequences Within this methodology the Unified Modelling Language UML notation will be used for the purposes of appropriate diagrammatic representation of requirements UML consists mainly of graphical language to represent the concepts Bennett et al 2002 Being able to model such business processes in a diagrammatic form can
138. o back and make these changes and then proceed further This follows the RAD methodology to provide a working prototype solution quickly and addressing any needs if requirements change inital plan investigation and analysis requirement A specification design of system software implmentation software testing Y evaluation of software documentation for user 69 Appendix K Business Activity Diagram for Owner making purchasing decisions owner owner prepares a list owner P owner checks cash flow to buy stocks business C2 no action taken no do stocks need to be yes e purchased _ do the stocks need to be lt gt rom the supplier no supplier alks around store making a list of stocks running low a owner places order via telephone to supplier wholsaler owner returns to business with new stocks C owner aa tO goes to wholesalers to purchase stocks 70 Appendix L Product Proposal 1 Purpose The purpose of the product proposal is to provide a brief outline of a possible solution to the requirements The proposal will examine the general solution from an abstract point of view then analyse the products benefits dependencies cost features constraints and requirements 1 2 Product Overview This section will provide a high level view of the products capabilities this includes how it interfaces
139. o try and prevent problems instead of incurring them The user can be warned if they attempt to delete information that may affect the information in connected tables which could compromise the accuracy of the data Confirmation of the action taken should be displayed 4 9 Navigation Map There is the need to consider the way that the user will navigate through the system the quickest way to establish this is with the use of a navigation hierarchy map Each screen has the ability to return to the previous screen and the main menu Each form will link back to the previous form allowing for ease of navigation The user should always be able to get back to the hub of the system Appendix O shows a navigation hierarchy map of the inventory control system 4 10 Error Messages The main types of error messages which can be found in most systems consist of entering of null values entering of erroneous data and or boundary data being entered The solution to these errors is to ensure that there is adequate validation in each of the modules in order to inform the user of their error and give them the opportunity to enter the data again There are a number of types of error messages which can be used in Access 30 Caution this would be used in messages which advise the user of a problem and the result prompting the user to continue without first resolving the problem This usually gives the user a choice if they want to continue or canc
140. ock Control and Sales Order Processing Software Solution On line Accessed 3 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http www blue logic co uk default asp gt DB2 Information From Answers com On line Accessed 15 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web 22_1 amp linktext DB2 gt 51 FileMaker Pro Working with related tables and files On line Accessed 18 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http www filemaker com help 07 Related 20files html gt HCIRN 1998 2006 Usability What is Usability On line Accessed 18 Dec 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http www hcirn com atoz atozu usa php gt Ingres Information From Answers com On line Accessed 15 Nov 2005 2222 1 amp linktext Ingres gt Introduction to barcode How a barcode reader works On line Accessed 2nd Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web http www taltech com TALtech_web resources intro_to_bc bcpwork htm gt Inventris providing bar coded inventory and asset management solutions On line Accessed 3rd Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http www inventris co uk applications html gt Invoiceit invoicing software Inventory Management On line Accessed 8 April 2006 Available from World Wide Web lt http www scrambled card com tour02 htm gt Jesty P H Stakeholder Needs Template SE22 Documents On line Accessed 3rd Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http
141. oductBarcoce er eres ia man wens Product Search for a Product Sales Form S Search for a Product p Sales pa a a ee ee gt Type the name of the product into the box and the price units in stock will be Scan the product or enter the barcode manually then enter the quantity of items displayed he price can be changed if necessary I I I E2 Falevate eam S Poe ee ee Te STR e Te RR e a a E Fam Header Preductvame Ti TrodietBercsHe rodukt T p Ena Pree Sapro ar ate TT al L B jostai j ae A o Forres Pacraa Tor Toot a o flsramrocter Ea vennenu Messages Messages oe ESET r Type in the message to be left for the employee T aT T T a ead inboard 120 Stock Management Menu these are screen shots of the development of the stock management menu which are all in design view Delete Product Scan the product barcode or select the pro
142. oes not really matter how much a plan is followed any number of events can set back projects therefore this should be countered for It is imperative to ensure that the problem is investigated fully before the schedule s devised as this would allow for a more realistic schedule to be drawn up All final year students should be aware that there is never enough time to fit all other final year demands with the project therefore would recommend that time is organised as efficiently as possible 55 One of the key lessons which have been learned is firstly not to underestimate how long design and implementation of a system can be Unforeseen circumstances like equipment failure should be considered by ensuring back up copies of work Having first hand experience of my own laptop crashing and losing considerable amounts of work would urge and remind any student to back up their work Another lesson which could be learned from this project is that although the concept of inventory control seems quite simple it is actually a complicated process so not to underestimate the complexity of the task in hand Lastly would recommend that anyone who is not already experienced at database design and implementation should not seek to attempt a project which requires a full and thorough understanding of concepts as the learning curve can be even steeper if the developer does not have fundamental knowledge or sufficient experience Due to time restrict
143. of stock delays between the transactions made and records being updated and items which may be stolen from the business Slack et al 2004 Therefore these factors should be taken into consideration In conclusion the user has a basic working system allowing him to log product information with the use of a barcode scanner keep records of inventories hold supplier employee and category information and also send orders to suppliers Although the system is fairly basic in functionality there is much room for enhancement in terms of implementing the requirements which have not been completed It has been agreed via consultation with the user that these functions will be implemented by September 2006 and any other enhancements the user requires will be discussed This will provide the user with a more powerful and sophisticated solution given that a basic structured framework has been grounded 35 Chapter 6 Testing After implementing the minimal and non minimal requirements of the system and even though there was not enough time to fully implement all of the requirements it is still necessary to test the system This chapter considers the main areas of testing which has been conducted firstly the system should be technically feasible to ensure that it is working correctly There will be an element of user satisfaction testing This has been split into two parts user satisfaction testing and testing the effectiveness and learnability of th
144. one order therefore one order has many products this is a one to many relationship where the information can be related An employee places an order therefore many orders can be placed by one employee again this is a one to many relationship Many products can make up many orders therefore many orders are made by many products and therefore there will be the need again to have another link table called order_details An order is sent to a supplier therefore a supplier receives an order this is a one to one relationship and lastly the shop details entity will hold owner details and information within the database The database schema will be normalised into BCNF if the ER modelling is correct This will be the case for all the tables within the schema For instance the order table could have contained the category id s of all the items for that order but it would have had a multi value attribute Therefore order_details table was created to deal with this so that it is now in 1NF The same rule applies to the accounts table with the product_account also making this into 1NF 2NF has been achieved because the two link tables order_details and product_accounts which both have a multiple attribute primary key show that no subset of this key determine the non key attributes BCNF is satisfied because every table is completely dependent on the primary key throughout the schema Given the information collected from the re
145. option to select reports from the system depending on the decision to be made All options and possible choices are listed until the user leaves the reporting area of the system stock control system select reports menu which report is used to assist in urchasing decision worst products report best products report stocks at minimum levels report re ad _ lt gt ptfthased user need to be owner checks cash flow for purchasing C owner makes decisions on what purchases to make from reports owner hasa list of necessary purchases 102 Use Case name The name as it appears in the Use Case Model Primary Actor Actor that initiates Use Case Other Actors Value Proposal to Actor s The goal of the Use Case from the Actor s perspective Basic Course of Events The Normal Flow Alternative Paths Other paths through the use case which result in a successful outcome typically variations to the basic course of events determined by the actor and their needs Exception Paths Other paths through the use case which result in an unsuccessful outcome typically when something goes wrong Assumptions Pre conditions Post conditions Related Business Rules Reference to your Business Rules list Provides a completed software solution for the user Developer Developer The developer will con
146. ork in Linux or another operating system The speed is relevant to the performance of the machine The system needs to be compatible with the Windows operating system so that the system complies with their standards 1 9 6 User requirements The user a fairly novice user is somewhat familiar with the software package used for the proposed system The menus and screens will have to be detailed and documented in order to minimize confusion for the user Assuming the user having some background knowledge is helpful in terms of ensuring that the user will be able to cope adapt and navigate through a new system to be implemented 1 9 7 Documentation requirements A physical manual that covers basic operational use of the proposed system will be produced An online user manual has not been specifically requested there may be the possibility of producing one Any additional documentation or material to for the use of the database can be found within Access help documentation 1 9 8 Imposed There is the limitation of the size of the system as it will be stored on the users existing computer The system will consist of a 12 GB hard drive If the user wanted to expand his business and implement a more complex inventory control system there would be scope for this This would be incorporated within the existing inventory control system implying that more memory will be needed so that all the files and extra data held within the system can function
147. orm This order form can then be viewed and printed and there will be the facility to email this order to the supplier which will reduce significant amounts of time spent manually placing telephone orders Therefore this will indicate how much to order every time an order is placed and when to order goods showing the level at which stocks should be replenished More effective and efficient means of analysis At the moment the owner has no formal means of detailing which stock items are his best products and which are his worst products other than the owner knowing what these are according to past sales trends It can be quite difficult to keep a mental note of all these types of products especially as product ranges increase within the business There is only a limited capacity of storage space to hold stock and limitations on the amount of ready money to spend on stock therefore the new system can provide reports into what his best and worst products may be This can ensure he continues to retain supplies of his best products and allow him to make decisions on whether to re purchase products which are not selling Improve the way products can be located At present if a product is requested by a customer and the shop assistant is asked if they have that particular item in store there is no way of establishing if the product is in stock but to go and manually check the shelves where the item may be In addit
148. ost or misplaced These inefficiencies could be avoided by keeping records of inventories The system will allow the user to know exactly what stocks are on hand at any time The system can allow for a more manageable process of stock taking which is an audit of all the goods in the store The owner is interested in improving the way stocks are managed the employee will be able to search for products in a timelier manner therefore making their job easier Customer service can be enhanced so that the number of stock outs or the number of incomplete orders can be regularly monitored Inventory replenishment decisions should be made with a clear understanding of forecasting future demand which can be conducted by comparing actual demand against forecast and adjust forecasts with actual levels of demand Slack et al 2004 In conclusion the justifications for the new system include a more effective order process More effective and efficient means of analysis reporting can allow for better sales and product information and improve the way products can be located Chapter 2 Project Management and Literature Review Included within this chapter is a discussion into relevant methodologies to assist with providing a framework for structuring the project A literature review of inventories is also included Suitable development tools both software and hardware have been reviewed and justifications have been made for the choices made Security i
149. ow the barcode is decoded Appendix H Images of the Phoenix Il Barcode Reader Appendix I Comparison of alternative development applications Appendix J UML Activity Diagram of Stages in Project Appendix K Business Activity Diagram for Owner making purchasing decisions Appendix L Product Proposal Table 1 A List of Requirements Appendix M UML System Requirement Specification Table 2 A List of Requirements cross referenced Use Cases Appendix N Business Rules Appendix O Navigation Map Appendix P Files and Data Structures 42 42 42 43 43 44 46 47 47 48 48 49 50 51 56 57 58 59 60 62 65 67 68 69 70 71 77 81 109 112 113 114 vii Appendix Q Final ER Database ER Diagram Appendix R Tables of Error Messages Appendix S Screen shots of software development Appendix T Final System screen shots Appendix U Error Messages and Validation Appendix V User Interface Testing Appendix W System Requirements Testing and Results Appendix X User Satisfaction Testing Table 1 User satisfaction testing Table 2 User satisfaction results Table 3 Effectiveness and Learnability results Appendix Y A List of Requirements cross references to Tests Appendix Z User Manual 118 119 120 128 135 137 138 147 147 148 149 150 154 viii Chapter 1 Introduction This initial chapter provides an insight into The Paper Shop business and the outlines the in
150. ox represents the boundary that the order menu holds and what functions are accessible through this menu C view order op send order to supplier gt print order 98 6 2 Order details Activity Diagram This is an activity diagram detailing how the order process within the system will work All options and possible choices are listed until stock control system system selects products i from specific categories the ones at re order level are merged into the order report order is sent to no supplier the user leaves the order menu user what does the user want to do send order to supplier user checks the order report oO changes yes user adds any other products if necessary 99 Use Case Name The name as it appears in the Use Case Model Primary Actor Actor that initiates Use Case Account details User Other Actors Value Proposal to Actor s The goal of the Use Case from the Actor s perspective Basic Course of Events The Normal Flow Alternative Paths Other paths through the use case which result in a successful outcome typically variations to the basic course of events determined by the actor and their needs Exception Paths Other paths through the use case which result in an unsuccessful outcome typically when something goes wrong Assumptions Pre conditions U
151. plementation these are all the user interface forms in design view Main Menu Stock Management Menu Stock Management Menu The Paper Shop Main Menu Click the button to select one of the options Stock Management Menu Reports Menu Products aT scarce O catered sete rote Adninistration Mena Product Search 7 7 i Categories LC etDsebase Log Sals Tranacions addcatesry dt categs Dale Category f Administration Menu Reports Menu Reports Administration Menu Click one of the buttons to select from the following options Click on the buttons to select from the options Orders View Orders Bestand Worst Products Product StockLevels resis lel mE Supplier sures Deals Proc Seo m T i I Employee Employee Detals Gross Marcin by Category x m L LI Pr
152. ption Training user s to use another software platform like UNIX would be time consuming and a lengthy process The system will need to cope with storing medium to large amounts of data therefore a flat file architecture would be unsuitable and a database architecture would be more appropriate A database allows a developer to address issues of data duplication replication and inconsistencies This will address a limitation of the current manual system as a database model can eliminate the information inconsistencies 2 6 2 Considering Different Technologies Initially there would need to be some consideration into what advantages a database has to the specific problem in hand then into the different types of database that the system would be most suited A database uses a source from which data is derived which requires some degree of interaction with events in the real world and an audience which is actively interested in the contents of the database Elmasri and Navathe 2000 For the purposes of this problem information will be held in the database which the user then interacts with therefore it would be feasible to have a computerised database which will be created and maintained by a database management system Elmasri and Navathe 2000 There are a number of benefits of using a DBMS as it allows for controlling redundancy restricting unauthorized access providing persistent storage for program objects and data structures permitting a
153. quirements and entity relationship model the following attributes have been defined to create the initial database schema 4 3 Tables and relationships 4 3 1 Initial Table of Attributes Tables Attributes Primary Key Foreign ke Product ProductBarcode ProductName UnitPrice SellingPrice UnitsInStock UnitsOnOrder ReorderLevel CategorylD SupplierIlD Order_details Order OrderlD OrderDate EmployeelD SupplierlD Employee EmployeelD FirstName LastName ContactNumber Supplier SupplierID SupplierName Address City Postcode PhoneNumber FaxNumber EmailAddress CategorylD Account AccountID DateFrom DateTo TotalSold TotalPurchased TotalProfit 26 Product AccountID ProductBarcode Account Shop details ShopID ShopName ShopAddress ShopCity ShopPostCode ShopTel ShopFax ShopEmailAddress 4 4 Integrity Constraints During the process of database normalisation and before final normalisation can take place there are constraints which need to be addressed so that data consistency is achieved Entity integrity constraints indicate that no primary key value can be a null value there is a referential integrity constraint specified between two relations and is used to maintain the consistency among the two relations Elmasri and Navathe 2000 Given these rules they are to be applied to ensure that the keys are properly defined in this case primary keys which uniqu
154. re need to be taken into account The system offered has been customised and tailored to the owners needs and he is satisfied with the results Additionally plans to implement the rest of the features have been agreed to be complete before September 2006 8 9 End User Evaluation The end user is satisfied with the results as the inventory control system allows him to keep a track of all the stocks within his store The barcode reader allows for easier data input however it was agreed that the accounting aspects of the system were not as essential and could be incorporated at a later date There will be some follow up to develop the accounting system so that it integrates with the inventory control system Thereafter the system will be maintained by the owner The following suggestions were made to enhance the system implement a better search facility so that the user is presented with a list of items Also the messaging function which was implemented is not fully functional and there is scope to enhance this feature 8 10 Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Learnability The effectiveness and learnability of the system is important as it should be more effective than the previous manual paper based system This was assessed by asking the user to perform some tasks The user was given some sample data to perform the tasks on the data These results can be found in Appendix X Table 3 Results indicate that the user is able to navigate and per
155. re these elements should be considered and addressed appropriately feel that have gained much experience from completing such a complex project and providing a working solution for the user has been satisfying 56 Appendix B Initial Gantt to show elapsed time for each of the Phases October November December February March Month Week ending Phase 1 Investigation and Analysis Aim and Minimum Requirements Understand the problem Initial plan Devise Schedule and Investigation Research amp Background Reading Objectives Understanding required system Evaluating all solutions Cumulative total hrs for phase 1 96 Phase 2 Requirement Specification User Needs Stakeholder needs Business modelling System Requirements Cumulative total hrs for phase 2 78 Phase 3 Design of System Framework structure of intended product Deciding the software to be used Software design for the system Cross ref with requirement specification Cumulative total hrs for phase 3 102 Phase 4 Implementation amp Testing Developing the system Test plan Test the system Test results Developing User Manual Cumulative total hrs for phase 4 112 Phase 5 Deployment amp Evaluation Deployment at The Paper Shop Acceptance Test Plan Review resources and performance Evaluation Write up Cumulative Total hrs for phase 5 74 O Overall time taken for ea
156. reated using the wizards and then slightly modified so that they were consistent with the user interface The reports which are in design view can be seen in Appendix S 5 5 Visual Basic Implementation Visual Basic was used as a means to control the navigation between the user interface to allow the user to go to and from the menu screen and then also taking the user back to the main menu The format of each of these macros include close the current form and then open the target form Below is the visual basic code which was used for this feature DoCmd Close acForm Stock Management Menu DoCmd OpenForm Add Product acNormal 5 6 Macro Implementation The macros which were used were used as validation checks within the system An example of the delete category macro is below All the other macros used for checks and validation checks were developed in a similar fashion 33 Message This category will be deleted from tt Beep Yes Type Warning Title Delete Category Figure 6 Example of macro implementation 5 7 Start Up Options Microsoft Access allows for a defined set of start up options which allow for modifications to the properties of the database when it loads The default has been set to the main menu as it is the central control point of the system All the check boxes have been disabled as there is no need for tool bars and full menus as the system has been developed to allow navigation through the buttons
157. reviewed so that it can be further enhanced 6 2 System Requirements Testing The system requirement testing assesses the system against the original requirements which were outlined in Appendix L Table 1 Initially the user interface will be tested to ensure that the user can navigate accordingly through the system the results have been recorded in tables to 36 test each of the different areas of the user interface of the system which can be found in Appendix V The expected result was noted along with the actual result during testing Indication that the test has been executed successfully has been presented by a PASS in the last column Conclusions which can be drawn from the user interface testing indicate that the system enables a good level of navigation through the user interface Effort free navigation was one of the design considerations outlined which the system has satisfied Following this there is a need to test the various aspects of the system The system was tested against the list of requirements which were initially outlined Again the expected result of the test was noted along with the actual result once the test had been executed Appendix W shows all the tests which were conducted along with evidence of the results Indication that the test was executed successfully has been indicated by a PASS in the last column A summary of the initial list of requirements have been cross referenced with each of the te
158. rity nav2006 gt Norton Personal Firewall Overview Symantec Corp On line Accessed 1 Feb 2006 Available from World Wide Web lt http www symantec com home_homeoffice products overview jsp pcid is amp pvid npf2006 gt Pedyn 2003 Manufacturing and Engineering Operations ERP Software Program On line Accessed 15 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http www pedyn com access index htm gt Pugh Computers Ltd 2001 Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition 9 8 On line Accessed 19th Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http www pugh co uk Products lotus smartsuitemillenium 9 8 htm gt 53 Phoenix II barcode readers for connection to Mac or PC USB On line Accessed 15 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http www peninsula group com barcodereader default html Buynow gt Ritchie B Marshall D Eardley A 1998 Information Systems in Business International Thomson Business Press Seely J 2002 One Step Ahead Writing Reports Oxford University Press Slack N Chambers S Johnson R 2005 Operations Management 4 Edition Pitman Publishing Stephen M 2004 Teach Yourself Access 2003 Hodder Headline Stock Control and Order Processing Software OrderWise On line Accessed 3 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http Awww orderwise co uk index htm gt Stock Management Software from Artisan On line Accessed 3 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web
159. rossM amin Prod eoin ame Bellin gP rice untPrise Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 18 The products along The report indicates PASS with the gross margin which is being made on the products should be displayed which products are generating more gross margin grouped by category The user can click the print Test 1 19 The system will allow the user to print any of the reports report button which will allow the user to print the specified Print Report p report CC Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 19 Each of the reports Each of the sub report menus has an option to print the report should have the option to print them 146 Appendix X User Satisfaction Testing and Results Table 1 User satisfaction testing Task Comments Start Up Opening up Simple and reasonable basic click on the icon and enter password the system Main Menu Simple not too clustered Stock Management Easy to use suggestions were made to modify the text size on the form Menu Add Product All the details can be added correctly identified that because of the way that the tables are linked the product barcodes need to be input into the product barcode table first Edit Product Fairly simple the product details can be amended Delete Product Prompt if the user is sure that they want to delete the product however wh
160. s this will be implemented The system will allow the user to view weekly profits this will be implemented The system will allow the user to view monthly profits this will be implemented The system will allow the user to view yearly profits this will be implemented Aspects of the system were tested during development and although there were problems encountered during the implementation phase feedback from the user suggests that although not all the requirements were implemented he is still pleased with the results of the system as it can be used It would have been ideal if there were more user testing iterations conducted so that feedback from the user would have ensured that a more robust solution was provided However time and location constraints meant that not as many testing iterations were performed As plans have been made to incorporate the remaining functions of the system the user has agreed to assist with providing regular feedback of the work completed and will test the system when requested 39 Chapter 7 Deployment The system has been implemented and tested and now needs to be deployed on to the owners PC The owner has all the necessary hardware and software requirements This includes the barcode scanner which will be connected up to the PC There will be a discussion of the methods of changeover and training and support to be offered 7 1 Methods of changeover There are three main options avai
161. s IS21 module material 25 November 2005 104 10 System Concept Level Class Diagram This diagram is trying to illustrate the basis of the system and how each of the individual elements of this system interacts with each other and in what way that they interact order report ae category products 2 ji DN customer Y reciept order supplier DN user owner or employee A accounts reports 105 11 System Scope For the purpose of the system the system scope is constrained to the requirements of the user The diagram shows indicates that the developer is out of the actual scope of the system This indicates that the developer is an object that provides the solution where the scope contains what the system functions should be Although the user compromises of both the owner and employee for instance the wages paid to the employee would be outside the system scope product details user provides completed software solution for user Lo A Developer conducts activities to meet requirements 106 12 System Component amp Deployment Diagram The component and deployment diagram demonstrate the major software components used in the proposed system and their dependencies on each other The deployment element of the diagram shows the mai
162. s and methods of changeover the nature of the system and the number of users which it will affect it would be most suitable to conduct a direct method of changeover so that the user can begin to use the system straight away As there was no current system in place this option is feasible although it is a risky option as the system could fail it is the one most appropriate in this situation There will be no disruption with customers and any problems which may arise will not affect business procedures Both phased and parallel methods are more suited to deployment of systems within the larger organisation which in this case is not suitable 40 7 2 Software Installation and Installation Testing To deploy the system the Microsoft Access database and the icon image were copied onto a CD which was prepared previously The shortcut icon was placed on the desktop and the database was copied to the hard drive Installation testing ensures that when the system has been installed onto the users PC and the barcode scanner is connected the system and the hardware integrate effectively Checks were made to ensure that each of the buttons navigated accordingly One of the main aspects which were performed during installation was the configuration of Microsoft Outlook with the mailing facility so that orders can be emailed to suppliers The users details were configured and the Outlook Address book was updated with supplier details as this task
163. s in the Use Case Model Primary Actor Actor that initiates Use Case Employee details User Other Actors Value Proposal to Actor s The goal of the Use Case from the Actor s perspective Basic Course of Events The Normal Flow Alternative Paths Other paths through the use case which result in a successful outcome typically variations to the basic course of events determined by the actor and their needs Exception Paths Other paths through the use case which result in an unsuccessful outcome typically when something goes wrong Assumptions Pre conditions Users database The user can add amend delete and view employee details The user can also add employee details The use case begins when the user accesses the employee option The user can then choose one of the options available and then follow each individual step from there the system allows the user to change or delete a current employee details and allows new details to be entered There is not much variation in the course of action as any employee details will have to be manually entered into the system by the user If the user was trying to amend an employee name and the new details that were being entered were not valid then the system would not allow it returning error messages where appropriate For instance the employee name should only have characters entered into the field The only real assumption that is
164. se case Exception Paths Other paths through the use case which result in an unsuccessful outcome typically when something goes wrong Assumptions The use case begins when the developer establishes the requirements based on the needs of the user These requirements will then be implemented to produce a system However if the developer fails to establish correct requirements the wrong information will be implemented This will result in parts of the solution that has been produced for the user that are incorrect That the system is working and the user is able to navigate and use the system which is being put in to place Pre conditions Post conditions Related Business Rules Reference to your Business Rules list Related Non Functional requirements Usability Performance Security Any non functional requirements that are specific to this Use Case rather than the system as a whole Project Author Date User has working PC and knowledge of how to use the software effectively The usability of the system should be user friendly The novice user needs to be taken into consideration As the database is not significantly large the time taken to access the data will not be timely so performance is not compromised Security will be considered as there will be more one than one user therefore passwords will be implemented PD32 Specialist Project Dipika Patel adapted from Owen Johnson
165. sers database This allows the user to access various accounting information for instance costs and profits on products this can be realised with the use of various reports The normal flow consists of the user choosing the report which is required Depending on the decision to be made the report will be chosen accordingly For instance if the user wanted to see his best and worst products this information can be obtained from the best and worst report With this the user can then make any stock adjustments that need to be made for instance change the worst products re order quantity to zero so that they do not appear on the re order report Alternative paths could be if the user wanted to view what categories were making the most profit this information can be obtained from the reports option Allowing the user to view costs and profits on a daily weekly monthly and yearly basis An unsuccessful outcome would consist of if the information which has been entered into the system is incorrect therefore this would report inaccurate information back to the user This could ultimately make the process ineffective The only real assumption that is that stock details are readily available and the user will know how to enter them into the system User has working PC and knowledge of how to use the software effectively and that the user already has details of current products so that entering of data can be done with ease Post cond
166. should be the option to delete any supplier information The system will allow the user to enter a description of the contents to be included in the category initial discussion at the implementation stage indicated that this was no longer necessary therefore this will not be implemented The system will allow each employee to enter the system with a password at the moment there is one password to enter the system that is presently sufficient however there are plans to implement a password for each different user The system will alert the employee upon logon of any messages which have been left by the owner at the moment the messaging facility does not have full functionality and users have to click on the messages option to view the message which has been left Plans to implement a type of pop up messaging facility have been made The system will provide receipts for transactions for customers as discussed with the user this requirement is no longer feasible as the customer is not involved with the system and will not be implemented The system will allow the user to view the daily costs this will be implemented The system will allow the user to view weekly costs this will be implemented The system will allow the user to view monthly costs this will be implemented 38 The system will allow the user to view yearly costs this will be implemented The system will allow the user to view daily profit
167. ssistance The principles outlined by Nielsen allow for a basis for GUI design Therefore a usability framework can be outlined 4 8 Usability Framework The usability framework has emerged from taking all the various issues into consideration which can assist in the interface design and guidelines for systems development The feedback 29 will relate to the universe of discourse enabling all users to be capable of understanding the system outputs The buttons that correspond to specific functions of an entity will have real world names and be consistent with other entities words such as add edit delete will be used on buttons which will reinforce the consistent look and feel of the system The processes by which the buttons execute should allow for recognition rather than recall the buttons will be positioned close together which will enable the system to be used easily The system will allow for clearly defined exits there will be the option to go back to the main menu or to log out of the system This feature will assist user control and offer freedom of movement All interfaces will be consistent in allowing for the learnability and memorability of the overall system consistent with Nielsen s ideas and will aid the owner and other users to become familiar with the system this feature will essentially reduce the time needed to train other employees in using the system The system will also employ rules t
168. ssues are also addressed and a schedule for completion has been outlined The chapter concludes with a summary of the choices that have been made When developing an information system it would be useful to use a methodology as it follows a series of recommended steps and procedures Avison and Fitzgerald 2003 The majority of methodologies have procedures techniques tools and documentation aids which can aid a developer Bennett et al 2002 There are a collection of different types of methodologies available 2 1 Comparison of methodologies Below is a framework adapted from Avison and Fitzgerald 2003 that compares the scope that different methodologies offer By comparing the various methodologies and the scope they offer it can allow for an appropriate methodology to be selected and used to conduct the project Methodology O orwzaiw zoruw Key The methodology Strategy ily the stage in Feasibility The methodology Analysis addresses the aea but in less detail and depth Logical Design Physical design Areas which are only briefly mentioned in the methodology D E Programming Testing Imple mentation Evaluation Maintenance Figure 1 Scope of methodologies adapted from Avison and Fitzgerald 2003 p 568 By taking a broad overview perspective of these methodologies and considering the strengths and weaknesses of them the project will focus on three methodologies in particular These are firstly
169. sts conducted which can be found in Appendix Y Conclusions that can be drawn from the system requirements testing indicate that not all of the initial requirements which were outlined have been implemented which has been indicated in Appendix Y as FAIL within the last column The majority of the initial requirements have been implemented and the system works sufficiently In conclusion the system has basic functionality and testing against the requirements have indicated that there is much scope to improve some of the functionality of the system so that it works better and that the enhancements which have been discussed with the user will produce an even better solution 6 3 Effectiveness and Learnability Testing The effectiveness and learnability of the system is critical as this determines if the system will be used This was assessed through a series of tasks which the user was asked to perform The user was left with the system for a short while to become familiar with the different parts of the system Then the user was asked to use and input some sample data which was then timed these results can be found in Appendix X Table 3 The times that have been recorded indicate that inputting product information even with the use of a barcode reader seems to take some time however bearing in mind the level of experience of the user it can be seen as sufficient for the novice user The results have indicated that the user is able to use the s
170. sum to the value in step 2 11 63 74 Take the number in Step 4 To create the check digit determine the number that when added to the number in step 4 is a multiple of 10 74 6 80 The check digit is therefore 6 Sometimes large manufacturers use shorter bar codes which are called zero suppressed numbers from the full numbers leaving out the zeros forms these Reasons for having the zero are that the suppressed numbers is to create smaller barcodes for small product packages The first digit of the manufacturer s identification number is called the number system character 0 is the standard UPC number it must have a zero enable zero suppressed numbers The bars can be decoded to illustrate how they are mapped to the numbers taking the barcode from section 2 6 4 1 which is 5001270499406 it can be seen that the first bar on the left can be called one unit wide The start of any barcode is 1 1 1 which is starting from the left hand side one unit wide black followed by one unit wide white space followed by a one unit wide black bar bar space bar Following is how the barcode can be decoded 65 Following the start code the digits are encoded like this 0 3 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 3 1 4 1 1 4 1 1 3 2 5 1 2 3 1 6 1 1 1 4 7 1 3 1 2 8 1 2 1 3 9 3 1 1 2 The code embedded in the bars is 001270499406 The bar code starts with the standard start code of 1 1 1 bar space bar The z
171. system will allow the user to select a supplier rom where the product was purchased 1 8 he system will allow the user to select a category o assign the product to EA he system will allow the user to enter the unit price of the product he system will allow the user to enter the selling price of the product he system will allow the user to enter a re order quantity he system will allow the user to scan products out hich will adjust the stock levels he system will allow the user to search for products 2 sunate he system will allow each supplier to be assigned D 5 he system will allow the user to enter the name of he supplier he system will allow the user to enter the address of the supplier he system will allow the user to enter telephone umber of the supplier he system will allow the user to enter the fax umber of the supplier he system will allow the user to add a new supplie he system will allow the user to update or edit supplier details he system will allow the user to delete any suppliers no longer used for business he system will allow the user to create a new 3 Category ategory for stocks he system will allow the user to enter the name of new category he system will allow the user to delete a category he system will allow the user to enter a description of the contents to be included in the category od he system will allow the user to amend a category 78 he system will
172. t the product is not read by the system for some reason there is still the option to manually enter the product details There is still the option to view and print out the product information If the user was trying to amend a products name or any other details and the new details that were being entered were not valid then the system would not allow it returning error messages where appropriate The only real assumption that is that the product details are readily available and the user will know how to enter them into the system User has working PC and knowledge of how to use the software effectively and that the user already has details of current products so that entering of data can be done with ease Post conditions All the products have barcodes on them so they can be entered into the system Related Business Rules Reference to your Business Rules list Related Non Functional requirements Usability Performance Security Any non functional requirements that are specific to this Use Case rather than the system as a whole Project Author The usability of the system should be user friendly The novice user needs to be taken into consideration As the database is not significantly large the time taken to access the data will not be timely so performance is not compromised Security will be considered as there will be more one than one user therefore passwords will be implemented Information
173. tatistics can be generated by the database at a moments notice giving user instant feedback Accounts are created and stored on a regular basis allowing trends to be observed Transparency of operations Regular breakdowns and summary reports allow the user to quickly gain insight into costs Scalability The product can easily handle thousands of records creating enormous time and efficiency savings i e not paper based The system will allow the user to enter additional products with ease Financial records are stored in the database over fixed intervals like monthly and yearly allowing trends to be observed over time Summary pages generated by the database are easily accessible throughout the system Database archival and search features allow hundreds of records to be kept only a few keystrokes away The design of the database allows new types of records to be defined and added to the database record listing easily Full control over stocks saving time in preparing manual purchasing lists Stocks will be automatically summarised controlled and monitored by database software Warnings can be set for products that may be entered again if they already exist i e avoid duplicating information Improve the way products can be located The system will allow for instant searches of products 72 1 5 Assumptions and dependencies It would be assumed that the user has access to a computer
174. te up a list of items which are purchased from the wholesalers Telephone calls are made to the frozen food supplier to re order frozen food items when needed this can take up significant amounts of time especially if the sales assistant is managing the shop counter alone The stakeholders who are affected by this problem include the owner employees and the supplier The impact of the problem outlined is that the current business system does not allow for efficient business practices which essentially can be costly to the business and generating stock information can be time consuming for the owner The system will allow the user to keep track of his stocks At any given time the user should be able to see the stock available print out reports of specific queries and update prices when they change Currently there is no indication of when the stocks need to be replenished 1 5 Have there been any previous attempts to solve the problem Most commercial systems of stock control share some common functions They update stock records they generate orders which indicate how much and when to order stocks they generate regular reports of stock value for different items stored which can help monitor inventories Slack et al 2004 Off the shelf inventory control systems are available from various software merchants However initial investigations into the market indicate that the software packages available are complex and expensive It has been
175. ted Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 5 The user can access The user is prompted the delete product before the product is form deleted from the database 140 Test 1 6 The system will allow the user to search for a product The user starts to enter the product name and the rest of the field is filled in the name of the product units in stock Search for a Product Type the name of the product into the box and the price units in stock will be displayed and selling price are all displayed Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 6 Find a product the product Mars Bar PASS has been located Test 1 7 The system will allow the user to give each supplier an ID The supplier ID has been assigned The rest of the supplier details have been stored in the supplier table as shown below Therefore allowing the user to add a Supplier SupplierID SuppierName _ Sisone supplier to the system Address Beaufont Way ae aa The records are all displayed PostCode LE45 6HH roan one PhoneNumber 0116 22030040 FaxNumber 0116 22030040 EmailAddress foisons cashandcarry and can be edited which are saved on closing the form There is the option to print off all the supplier details Administration Menu E The Paper Shop Supplier Table f Fie Edit View Insert Format Records Tools Wi M Baay tm ait YY A a
176. tended project There will be an investigation into current business practices the problem statement and if there have been previous attempts to solve the problem Various investigation methods to be used will be outlined and an analysis of the information collected The chapter concludes with a better understanding of the problem 1 1 Purpose The purpose of the inventory control system is to save the owner time and encourage more organised and efficient business processes This will allow the owner to know what stocks are presently available enabling him to manage and organise his business more effectively The software package should be general purpose for users who have similar inadequacies with their existing inventory control system allowing the user to manage stocks more efficiently 1 2 Significance to Degree Program and Prior Knowledge In undertaking such a project there are some relevant School of Computing modules which will support and aid in the process of understanding and coherently demonstrating an appropriate and feasible project These include drawing knowledge from Software Project Management Databases Principles and Practice People Cantered Information Systems Development and Object Orientated Analysis and Design modules however these are not exclusive resources Due to the nature of the project the process of analysing designing implementing and evaluating the software project will be relevant for a final year Inform
177. ter The Paper Shop Inventory Control System Version 1 0 User Manual April 2006 154 Contents Page 1 Start Up 2 Main Menu 3 Stock Management Menu 3 1 Product 3 1 Category 4 Administration Menu 4 1 Orders 4 1 1 Mail Order 4 2 Supplier 4 3 Employee 5 Reports Menu 5 1 Best and Worst Products 5 2 Overall Product Sales 5 3 Gross Margin by Category 5 4 Product Stock Levels by Category 5 5 Reorder Level Report 6 Search for a Product 7 Sales 8 Messages ee N DO GO A FP oOo O ONN 10 10 155 1 Start Up To open the system double left click the mouse on the icon The Paper Shop shown below g The Paper Shop This will load up the software application you will then be asked to enter a password The password is set to papershop This must be entered in lower case letters as the password function is case sensitive Once entered left click the most on the OK button Password Required 3 Enter database password cme Password Required IS Enter database password 2 Main Menu After logging into The Paper Shop Inventory Control System you will be presented with the main menu screen This is the main control board of the system an all areas can be accessed from this screen It is also where you can exit the system This will open the database and the main menu form will automatically load which looks as follows This screen uses a com
178. ter or terminal A decoder is usually a separate box which takes the digitised bar space patterns decodes them to the correct data and then transmits the data to the computer over wires or wireless immediately or on a batch basis Considering the different ways in which to capture information and having established that the user s existing barcode reader is not compatible with the Windows s operating system as it does not have USB capability there was the need to explore the market for other compatible devices The Peninsula Phoenix II CCD Barcode Reader was recommended as a suitable solution Images of the barcode reader can be found in Appendix H It has Windows operating system compatibility and USB capability which would be ideal for the system 2 6 5 Internet When considering how the system will improve business efficiency the orders which are currently placed with the frozen food supplier via the telephone will be sent in the form of a report via an email attachment Email is very flexible allowing for whole files to be sent in the form of attachments an easier and quicker way of conducting business processes Williams 2002 Internet Service Providers ISP provides the physical connections that will allow the user to access the Internet A modem is used to dial into a point of presence POP which will connect the user to the Internet The ISP will also supply software such as a web browser In conclusion after looking at
179. that the employee details are readily available and the user will know how to enter them into the system User has working PC and knowledge of how to use the software effectively and that the user already has details of current products so that entering of data can be done with ease Post conditions Related Business Rules Reference to your Business Rules list Related Non Functional requirements Usability Performance Security Any non functional requirements that are specific to this Use Case rather than the system as a whole Project Author The usability of the system should be user friendly The novice user needs to be taken into consideration As the database is not significantly large the time taken to access the data will not be timely so performance is not compromised Security will be considered as there will be more one than one user therefore passwords will be implemented Information has to be entered manually into the system PD32 Specialist Project Dipika Patel adapted from Owen Johnson s IS21 module material Date 25 November 2005 94 5 1 Employee details Use case The Diagram below is showing the interaction that that the user would have when accessing the employee option This is a high level view of what this option allows you to do however there is an activity diagram following In this diagram the box represents the boundary that the employee option
180. that use case also an activity diagram showing the route of possible actions in the use case Additional documents in the specification will include e A list of use cases cross referenced to specific user needs identified in section e An abstract class diagram showing the various components of the system to be designed e Acomponent diagram showing the software layout of the system e Adeployment diagram for showing the primary physical layout of the system as a whole 81 Contents Page for UML System Requirement Specification 1 10 11 12 13 14 System Use Case Diagram 1 1 Business Use Case Descriptions UDFC product details 2 1 Use Case Diagram product details 2 2 Activity Diagram add product UDFC supplier details 3 1 Use Case Diagram supplier details 3 2 Activity Diagram add supplier UDFC category details 4 1 Use Case Diagram category details 4 2 Activity Diagram add category UDFC employee details 5 1 Use Case Diagram employee details 5 2 Activity Diagram add employee UDFC order details 6 1 Use Case Diagram order details 6 2 Activity Diagram generate order UDFC account details 7 1 Use Case Diagram account details 7 2 Activity Diagram accounts UCDF Conducts tasks to meet requirements UCDF Provides a completed software solution for the user System concept level class diagram System scope Component and
181. the database Similarly any deliveries which are made product details can be updated or added in this area 3 2 Category Add Category When this screen is loaded a blank form is loaded which will allow you to enter a new category to the database The add CategoryID sy aes Add Category CategoryName category button will allow you to add this category Stock Management Menu Main Menu Add Category Edit Category and Delete Category will open up the category form in different views The Add Category from will open up the form in add mode so that you can enter a new category into the database Edit Category will bring up all the categories you can navigate through to change or update any of the details Delete Category will open up the form so that the category can be deleted from the database There is the option to go back to the Stock Management Menu and the Main Menu by clicking the options at the bottom of the form All the product and category forms work in a similar fashion 158 4 Administration Menu By clicking on the Administration Menu option on the Main Menu screen it will take you to this page for the administration options Administration Menu Click on the buttons to select from the options Orders There are three options on the administrat
182. the Systems Development Life Cycle SDLC to provide a basic structure for project development and ensuring all phases are addressed Using aspects of the Object Orientated Analysis and Design OOA techniques to investigate existing processes generate a requirements specification and initial development of software modules DSDM uses aspects of RAD methodology which indicate that RAD can be used in the physical design stage Prototyping and iteration can allow user feedback to be generated to ensure the system is developed correctly and on time In conclusion it can be seen that the majority of the methodologies seem to be fairly weak on implementation evaluation and maintenance phases therefore an appropriate evaluation criteria will be outlined along with considering system maintenance after implementation The three methodologies will be considered below 2 2 Systems Development Life Cycle SDLC After consideration into the specific nature of the project the first type of methodology which is plausible to follow is the Information Systems Development Life Cycle SDLC more commonly known as the waterfall model The waterfall approach allows project completion times to be forecast with more confidence than with some more iterative approaches allowing projects to be controlled effectively Hughes and Cotterell 2002 This approach follows a basic characterisation of a number of steps It consists of the initial feasibility study i
183. the various technologies that are available for internet connectivity for instance using ISDN DSL or wireless technology a recommendation has been made to have a cable modem installed This will ensure that the existing phone line is not tied up at any point throughout the working day However if the cable modem was to fail at any point it would prevent the owner from sending his orders therefore it has been recommended to install a secondary broadband connection Tiscali s Pay As You Go dial up package does not require a monthly fee and would be reliable for the purposes of having a second point of connection in the event of the first point of connection failing Configuration of the database and email facility will have to be conducted during installation of the system 2 6 6 Security issues The use of the cable modem implies that the system will always be connected to the Internet therefore there needs to be some consideration into security issues There are two basic types of security that need to be addressed Firstly ensuring that the database is secure from the Internet to ensure business information is not compromised and secondly to ensure that each user has different levels of access which will be addressed by implementing user names and or passwords A firewall can be used to ensure that the information on the system is not accessible through the Internet and that it is secure from intruders Firewall software which has been reco
184. tionality 1533 has highlighted that needs of the user are significant in software development The project has also allowed me to develop new skills have found that have been able to manage my time more effectively especially with other academic pressures have gained an insight into development methodologies and the importance of usability There are a few key lessons which have been learnt from this project one of them being working with an external user Although familiar with the user it has not been easy to arrange mutual times for meetings as both parties have commitments Working with an external user has also highlighted the need for effective communication and ensuring that full clarification is established on what is required This can be a key experience as many software development projects fail due to lack of user involvement Another lesson which has been learnt is the need to document all the conversations informal and formal meetings accurately if had documented more along the way the final write up of the report would have been a more manageable task Initially a Gantt chart was devised to detail how long phases and activities would take which had to be revised see Appendix C as there were setbacks during the implementation stage The schedule which had devised did not really leave much room for unforeseen events like equipment failure so the plan had to be revised and re established This has taught me that it d
185. uded with looking at possible future improvements for the system In summary the system has satisfied all the minimum and non minimal requirements Feedback from the user suggests that it is a useful system and as identified there is room for improvement to enhance the system further 50 Bibliography 3 Square Why FileMaker Pro On line Accessed 18 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http Awww 3squareassociates com 3square whyfilem html gt Avison D E amp Fitzgerald G 2003 Information Systems Development Methodologies techniques and Tools 3 Edition McGraw Hill Anderson T 2002 Visual Basic Net Programming for Windows and the Web in easy steps Computer Step Bar Code General Information On line Accessed 15 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http www real star com Point 200f 20Sale Barcode 20Scanners barcode 20general 20info htm Whats_i n_a_bar_code gt Barcodes The History of Bar Code On line Accessed 18 Dec 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http inventors about com library inventors blbar_code htmm gt Bennett S McRobb S amp Farmer R 2002 Object Orientated Systems Analysis and Design using UML 2 edition McGraw Hill Blackwel G 2005 FileMaker Pro Still Designed for Small Business On line Accessed 18 Nov 2005 Available from World Wide Web lt http smallbusinesscomputing com biztools article php 355858 1m gt Blue Logic St
186. which has confirmed that the system allows for a generation of both best and worst products Minimum requirement 3 has been satisfied by test 1 8 1 9 and 1 10 See Appendix W which has confirmed that the system can add update and delete categories Minimum requirement 4 has been satisfied by test 1 17 See Appendix W which has confirmed that the system can generate a report of stocks at re order level 8 3 Evaluation against the Non minimal requirements 1 The system will allow for a product search indicating the units in stock and price of the product 2 The system should be able to add new suppliers to the database with a printable list of the suppliers The system should be able to hold contact information about employees The system should provide a gross margin by product category report Non minimal requirement 1 has been satisfied test 1 6 See Appendix W which has confirmed that the user can search for products which then display the number of units which are in stock and the price of the item is displayed Non minimal requirement 2 has been satisfied test 1 17 See Appendix W which has confirmed that the system allows for a supplier ID to be assigned to a new supplier which can then be added to the system There is also an option to print the full list of suppliers Non minimal requirement 3 has been satisfied by test 1 11 See Appendix W which has confirmed that the system holds employee name and conta
187. with the standard Window s Operating system platform The system will run on this platform with access to Microsoft Access Without the initial database software the system does not have scope to be deployed as there would be no platform to run the system on It would be assumed that even if a novice user were using the system they have some degree of familiarity with the concepts of using a graphical user interface system 1 6 Cost amp Pricing The product will not be sold to the client but has the scope of being sold on the market to the external customer This is an in house application cost and pricing issues that are involved include the use and purchase of diskettes and CD ROMs to ensure back up copies have been made of the system Other cost of product includes the printing costs of the user manual for the user The user already has a PC so this will not be an initial cost This includes a breakdown of all the costs invloved in providing this solution for the user including the cost and pricing constraints Estimated Cost Summary Hardware Device Quantit Estimated Cost Software Quantity Estimated Cost Operating System Incorporated in the cost of the PC Total Cost Total Estimated Cost excluding development cost 105 73 1 7 Licensing and Installation This section details information about the licensing and installation costs and requirements of the proposed system The product shoul
188. within the system 1 3 Product Perspective The product solution proposed for Mr Patel s problem is an independent and self contained database The database will store product data stock data accounts data supplier data employee data and category data Such a design would allow Mr Patel and any employees to access the system from a desktop terminal which will be placed on the shop counter This would provide the scope for improving efficiency enabling for scheduling for the next day The barcode reader will allow the user to input product information into the system The components of the system will include the following INPUTS PROCESSES and OUTPUTS DATA IMPROVED PROCESSES DATA CAPTURE i Barcode Reader VIEW AND PRINT y REPORTS DATA PROCESSING SQL Database Server Stores product accounts stocks employee and Rae PROCESSING supplier information BY USERS Add data update and delete information DATA COMMUNICATION 71 1 4 Summary of Capabilities Benefit Allows for quick access to reports Allows for records to be kept within database s history Having a user friendly easy to navigate user interface The developer can provide support Supporting Features The design of the solution allows for the reports to be generated quickl All details are held in the database allowing for previous comparisons to be made Bright colours logos
189. xpected result Actual result Pass Fail Add product Display product form New Product Form is displayed PASS Edit Product Display product form in edit Edit Product Form is displayed PASS mode Delete Product Display product form in edit Delete product form is PASS mode displayed Add Catego Display category form Add category form is displayed PASS Edit Category Display category form in edit Edit category form is displayed mode Delete Category Display category form in edit Delete category form is mode displayed Main Menu Take the user back to the main Takes the user back to the menu main menu Administration Menu Expected result Actual result Pass Fail Open the order form The order form is opened up PASS Supplier Details Open the supplier form The supplier form is opened up PASS Employee Open the employee form The employee form is opened PASS up Main Menu Take the user back to the main The details are saved and PASS menu takes the user back to the main menu Expected result Actual result Pass Fail Best and Worst Products Opens up the form displaying The best and worst product PASS the option to display best and form opens up worst product reports Product Sales Take the user to the total The product sales form opens PASS product sales form Gross Margin by Category Take the user to gross margin The gross margin by category by category form form is displayed Product stock levels Take the user to the product
190. y framework to be established A navigation hierarchy of the system has been outlined along with the error messages which will be used in the system This can allow for a move to the software development and implementation stage 31 Chapter 5 Software Development and Implementation This chapter outlines the development and implementation stage of the system The tables were created along with their relationships these were created in design view where all the table properties were entered Appendix P holds all the final files and data structures which were established to create all the tables During the implementation stage it was realised that there would need to be some changes in accordance with the requirements these adjustments were made with clarification with the user 5 1 Table Implementation Within the table implementation the following changes were made Sale table added This table was added for the purpose of holding information about which sales have taken place which will allow for the generation of the sales reports The sales can be logged at the end of each business day Product Barcode added This table was added as a central place to hold all the product barcodes and so that all the tables could be related by one to many relationships The category description field from the category table was not implemented Discussion with the user stated that it was not essential and may take up more time
191. ypes of hand held Barcode Readers 2 6 5 Internet 2 6 6 Security Issues 2 6 6 1 Archiving Information 2 6 7 Comparing alternative software development applications 2 6 8 Justification of development tools 2 7 Project Schedule 2 8 Conclusions Chapter 3 Analysis 3 1 User Requirements 3 1 1 Minimum Requirements 3 1 2 Non minimal Requirements 3 2 Stakeholder and user analysis 3 3 Product Proposal 3 4 UML System Requirement Specification 3 5 Analysis of order process Figure 3 Inventory profile chart the variation in inventory level Figure 4 Graphical representation of the economic order quantity 3 6 Evaluation of the project 3 6 1 User Satisfaction 3 6 2 System Requirements 3 6 3 Effectiveness and Learnability 3 7 Conclusions Chapter 4 Design 4 1 Entity Relationship Modelling Figure 5 Initial ER Diagram 4 2 Normalisation 4 3 Tables and relationships 4 3 1 Initial Table of Attributes 4 4 Integrity Constraints 4 5 Business Rules 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 21 21 21 22 22 22 23 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 4 6 Interface Design and Usability 4 7 Design Considerations 4 8 Usability Framework 4 9 Navigation Map 4 10 Error Messages 4 11 Internet Connections 4 12 Conclusions Chapter 5 Software Development and Implementation 5 1 Table Implementation 5 2 Form Implementation 5 3 Query Implementation 5 4 Report Implementation 5 5 Visual B
192. ystem and the times indicate that the user became familiar with the system relatively quickly once time was spent with the system This indicates that familiarity with the system can improve the effectiveness and learnability of the system 37 6 4 Conclusions Conclusions which can be drawn from all the testing conducted include that the user interface has been tested and works consistently Pressure to ensure that the system was created on time and as previously recognised that there was not enough planned time for implementation has meant that some of the original requirements which were outlined were not implemented The requirements which were not met are indicated with a FAIL in the test column in Appendix Y Below are some of the requirements which were not implemented and plans have been made to incorporate some of the necessary requirements via consultation with the user into the system by September 2006 The system will allow the user to scan products out which will adjust the stock levels this requirement has been identified as one that is no longer required during discussion with the user and will not be implemented The system will allow the user to delete any suppliers no longer used for business it has been agreed that presently as there is not a large number of suppliers which are used details can all be held within the system however in order to keep up to date information within the system there
193. ystem should The system displays a PASS display the products report indicating the which have been sold product sales by by category category Test 1 16 The system will generate a report of the overall product sales The overall sales which have been made and the number of units which have been left Seek ott Pros notiamo in stock are displayed 8 Fish Fingers Expected Result Actual Result Pass Fail Test 1 16 The system should The system displays a PASS display the overall report indicating the product sales overall product sales 145 Test 1 17 The system will generate a report of stocks at re order level Stocks which are at re order levels are indicated on the re order level report In this case Fish Fingers is at re order level and has also be order which needs to be sent to the supplier to re order stocks as indicated in Test 1 10 Expected Result___ Actual Result___ Pass Fail i Test 1 17 The stocks which are The stocks which are at re order level is generated ReorcerLevei at re order level should be displayed Test 1 18 The system will generate a report of the gross margin by category E wy We Products are grouped by category and then ordered by the gross margin for each of the products is indicated This allows for analysis on determining which products 00 09 0 are more profitable than Snacks others Category Name G

Stock Control System for a Small Business Proprietor

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