Forename/Surname
The reason why I decided to include this into my database is so that we know the person whom is buying the tickets. This is a vital piece of information. The tickets must be labeled to a certain person and the only way in which that is going to happen is if we find out the persons name. Once again, this is a category which is included on all of the booking system and all forms etc. It is a vital piece of information. The reason why I have decided to put the surname and the forename is in is because; I am expecting lots of people to use the facility, and I am predicting that out of all of the people who use the system, some of them will have the same name. In order to avoid sending the tickets to the wrong person we must have the forename and the surname, therefore we can make sure that the tickets go to the right person.
Address
The reason why I have included this category into the database is because; after conducting a survey and asking managers about other online cinema booking system I found that we are able to sell special preview tickets online. Also some people may want to buy tickets for the future and for that current day. If this is the case, and the tickets are for special previews etc. it would be better if the tickets were sent via post to the customers address. This is a category which isn’t always included on many of the booking system, especially the ones of cinemas. This is because; many of them don’t offer to buy tickets for special previews which may take place up to two months in the future. I also believe that it would be a good idea to collect their address so if in the future we may need to send information or advertisements about the cinema and trying to promote it we can do easily. (Thinking ahead for the future)
Name of film
The reason why I believe that it is essential to put the name of the film is so that we know the film which the customer would like to buy tickets for, and therefore we can process the tickets. I also noticed that all of the websites have this, and without this there isn’t really much point having a online booking system because the customers wouldn’t know which films where available to buy tickets for online.
Time of Film/ Start/ Finish
The reason why I have decided to include this category into my database is because; it is important that the customer knows when the film is scheduled to start and finish. The time of the film and the start of the film are slightly different in certain ways. I believe that the time of the film should be taken back 10 minuets from the scheduled time of the film time, just in case of any problems which may occur. The start of the film is the actual time that the film will actually commence. It is also important to put the time that the film finishes just in case the customers have to do something afterwards and they will require the running time of the film and the approximated finish time. With this information the customers will be able to decide whether they will have enough time to get to their next destination after the film. Also, it is a general guide to show how long the film is. The reason why I feel this information is crucial is because; this information is what people base coming to the cinema on, the fact whether they can make it or not.
Certificate
It is vital that we put the certificate of the films. The reason for this is because; the customers know whether the film is suitable for all, and whether they can take their children to the cinemas to watch certain films. If we do not put this information in to the database then we might find that there are 10 year old children turning up to the cinema to watch a 15 certificate film for example, and that is illegal.
Screen Number
This piece of information isn’t as vital as the other pieces of information which is in the database. The reason for this is because; once the customers get to the cinema they will also be pointed to the right screen to watch the film. The reason why I have put this on the website is because; I feel that it is extra information that can be given to the customers. It is information which can also be used at the cinema, just in case the computers print out the wrong screen number, least there will be some verification when they get to the cinema. The times at the cinema and the screen numbers may not be operational due to a technical fault so this is a just-in-case.
Email Address
The reason why I have decided to include this category into the database is because; just in case there are any problems with the tickets which we have supplied, or if the show time have changed for any reason we have a method of contacting the customers to let them know of the changes. This can also be used from a promotions sense of view. It is possible that we may want to promote the cinema one day, and with this information we can easily do this.
Number of Tickets (All 4 Sections)
The reason why I believe that it is essential to have this information in the database and on the booking system is so that; the customers can easily select the number of tickets they require for each age group and the booking system can automatically calculate the price for them. Also, there isn’t a standard price for all of the tickets, so it is important that the customers know this and it’s also important that they can see that the prices are different. Another reason is because; if we ever need to do promotions then we know whether we are directing the promotions at the right age range. The age range will be decided by the age range of the tickets which the customers buy. Also, this is a major section of making the money for the business.
Number of Tickets in Total
The reason why I believe that it is important that we put the number of tickets that someone bought is because; if the total comes to too much and the customer believes that we have accidentally over charged him then we can prove that we have charged the right amount because of the amount of tickets he bought. It is also very easy for the customer to select or type in the wrong amount of tickets for each of the age ranges and once again get over-charged. This is like a verification method, a basic one at that. The final reason for doing this is so that we can tell how many tickets we sell online and compare the figures to the actual amount of tickets we sell in the main complex. With this information we can make certain business decisions as-well. There might even be a possibility to rewards the most ticket buyers with prizes and free tickets as a incentive so they carry on buying online.
Ticket Collection Number
The reason why I have decided to put this on is because; the tickets are usually printed off and if the customer doesn’t have a printer then he can acquire the collection number and go to the special stands in the cinema to pick up his tickets, this will be quick and he/she wont have to wait in the queue for a very long time. This is also a number which contains the record of the certain order which is being processed. The number will hold the entire order in it, so this is also another verification method which can be used to make sure that the order is acceptable and to make sure that the customer knows what he is buying and for how much he is buying it for.
Credit Card Information
There will obviously have to be information on the booking system about the customer’s credit card. The information will be entered but it won’t be saved into out databases. The reason for this is because; there is too much of a high risk keeping very personal details like credit card numbers which can lead to fraudulent uses of cards if a server was hacked into and various card numbers where stolen. That is the reason why this information will be not kept in the database.
Nevertheless we will use an ssl encrypted security procedure to make sure that the credit card information is kept secret and not hacked into whilst the order is being processed online. This is one of the most reliable and the most up-to-date methods of making sure that the credit card number is not stolen.
