ICT AS Level Coursework:- Florabunda Nurseries

Investigation

Before implementing my design, and finalising my specification, I interviewed the end user to decide what they require from the solution, and asked them to what extent they already used ICT in their business. A copy of the transcript is as follows:

Question: What are 'Florabunda Nurseries' main areas of business?

Answer: The main focus of our business is landscape gardening, but we also operate a nursery business, where we bring in seeds or young plants and cultivate them before selling them on. We grow most of our own stock and sometimes sell at the local market.

Question: To what extent do you use a ICT in your business?

Answer: We have a computer in the office, which is mainly used to print headed paper, to email our suppliers with orders, and just for general word-processing.

Question: How is the stock checked/ re-ordered?

Answer: We do not do much stock checking at all. We usually go around the suppliers and select what we need from there, so we have no real way of checking what we need and when we need it.

Question: How do you currently place orders with suppliers?

Answer: Most of our orders are sent by fax to suppliers, but some are emailed.

Question: What hardware/software does your computer have?

Answer: Well, we have 2 inkjet printers, a scanner, Windows '98 OS, Microsoft Office, a Pentium processor and a 20Gb hard drive with 256Mb of memory.

Question: What would you like to see improved in the new system that you currently find difficult with your currents system?

Answer: The biggest area that can be improved on it the current stock checking and re-ordering system. It would be a great help if the stock levels could be automatically calculated and if we could be notified of when to re-order stock. A model for the landscape gardening would also be very useful in deciding quotes for the customer.

I will go back to the end user after I have implemented my project, and will ask them to evaluate the new system for me.

The Current System

As established in the interview, the current system for stock checking and reordering stock is not very organised. The owners/employees go around to the suppliers and basically guess at what they need, which is not a very efficient way of keeping track of stock, as it is easy to forget which items have ran out of stock.

The main data flows through the system are as follows:

As you can see, there are lots of manual operations included in this data flow diagram. The aim of my project is to cut out these manual operations, and to make the whole system computerised, including the process of stock checking, reordering and sales reports. The new revised data flow diagram that I aim to complete is shown on the next page.

Adam Spencer

02/05/07