Q.2: Okay, so what exactly do you want the new system to store?
A.2: The new system should have details of all my stock, which I’ll enter into it, it should be able to subtract items as soon as items are sold and add items to the stock as soon as the order is bought from a wholesaler. Besides this, it will also need to calculate Vat and tax automatically on goods sold and bought.
Q.3: In the present system, how do you store this information?
A.3: I have got separate files made for sales, stock and orders, namely the Sales, Stock and Completed Orders files respectively. Another file that I have to maintain is the Incomplete Orders file, which has details of all the items that are needed in the shops as well as the unavailable stock, which has to be ordered at a later date.
Q.4: What is the procedure if you have to order an item from a wholesaler?
A.4: Every evening, when its time to close, me and my wife take note of all the items that have either been sold out or, are in less quantity, note their item numbers, make an order and take it or mail it to the wholesaler, who either gives us the stock then itself, or delivers it.
Q.4: What is the procedure in the current system when orders have been received from a wholesaler?
A.4: When clothes are bought from the wholesaler, I note down the invoice number of the order, date of delivery, wholesaler’s name, items bought and total cost of items on a sheet of paper that goes into my Completed Orders file. I pay the wholesalers by cheque and also note the cheque number in the same sheet. Then I update my master Stock file by adding the respective items and if any new items have been bought, a new sheet has to be taken and the orders filled in, which is very tedious.
Q.5: And what is the procedure when you sell something?
A.5: When customers buy something, they use their credit cards. The automated credit card machine takes out slips, of which one goes to the customer, and the other to me. I store this with the number of items sold in my Sales file. Again I have to update my Stock file by subtracting the sold items from it.
Q.6: Are there any other bits of important paper involved?
A.6: Yes, there are two reports that I have to produce – one is the daily sales report which has details of all the items sold, total income of the day, total Vat on the sales and total profit. This report is kept in the Daily Reports file which is maintained by my wife. The other report is the Monthly Report which is given to our accountant and contains all the purchases and sales done in the month with Vat and tax calculated.
Q.7: Right, and how long do you keep all this information for?
A.7: We are required to keep this information for exactly one year, because the taxman comes every six months or so to check the records.
Q.8: Exactly what is the expected output from the system?
A.8: The system will need to produce the daily sales reports, monthly sales reports, and details of all the stock to be ordered every day.
Q.9: Are there any employees in your company?
A.9: No, being a small business, it’s just me and my wife taking care of it.
Q.10: How much experience do you have in using computers, and who is going to use the system?
A.10:Both my wife and I have moderate experience in using computers, as both of our kids are computer whiz kids. We can easily use the Net, work with the mandatory computer facilities and use softwares, and have appropriate knowledge about the basic tasks it can perform. In fact, we actually appreciate the sheer productivity of computers, and that’s why have opted for a system for our business too.
Q.11: What computer facilities do you have at present (if any), and where would you like the new software to be installed?
A.11: At present, the computer we use at one of our shops is a PIII-600 Mhz machine with 128 MB RAM and 40 GB hard-disk space. We would like to Install the new software in the same machine.
Q.12: Is a password system needed?
A.12: Yes, definitely. Though security is not the foremost issue in my case, a password system will give me complete peace of mind.
Q.13: Should provision be made for automatically backing up the data?
A.13: No.
Q.14: Do you have any limitations about the interface of the new system?
A.14: Yes, the interface should be a good one to look at and easy to follow too. No complications anywhere.
(b) Current System
Figure 1.1 shows a page from Perfect Crafts Ltd’s Stock file
Figure 1.2 shows a page from Perfect Crafts Ltd’s Sales file
Figure 1.3 shows a page from Perfect Crafts Ltd’s Incomplete Orders file
Figure 1.4 shows a page from Perfect Crafts Ltd’s Complete Orders file
As elicited by the initial interview in pages 2-4, Mr Arora maintains all the files. When orders are delivered, he fills in the invoice number and all the other details of the stock delivered, by hand, in a sheet of paper and keeps it in the Completed Orders file. Then the Stock file is updated by adding new items to the file, which is also done by hand. Mr Arora has to go through a similar process when he sells something. First, the details of the customer’s credit card is entered into the sheet from the automated card slip from the machine plus the details of the items sold. Then again, the stock file is updated by rewriting the details of the stock sold. At the end of each working day, he and his wife note down the item numbers of the items they have sold or don’t have much in stock, and put the order form (fig. 1.5) in the Incomplete Orders file, which also has details of unavailable stock. The form is carried or mailed to the wholesaler who proceeds with the order thereafter.
In addition to all the above files, Mr Arora also has to keep record of the daily sales which he gives in to Mrs Arora. A page of the report of daily sales is in fig. 1.6. Also, the company has to submit a report monthly to the accountant which describes all the sales and purchases in the month and the total Vat on them. A page of the monthly report can be seen in fig. 1.7.
(c) Problems with the current system:
- It takes hours to add new stock, because it involves updating both the Complete Orders and the Stock file by hand.
- Subtracting items from the stock also pose the same problem, when items are sold.
- Writing a daily report by hand with all the same columns is repetitive and a lengthy process.
- Searching for a particular item in the stock is a lengthy process.
- Issuing all the reports and keeping track of stock is evidently inefficient and, of course, once written they may still change with errors and late additions. At present, they may have to be rewritten by hand in such a case.
(d) Data source(s) and destination(s)
(e) Entity-Relationship Models
(f) Data-flow diagrams (DFDs)
Level 0 DFD
Level 1 DFD
Level 2 DFDs
Process 1: Taking Orders
Process 2: Selling items
(g)Input, processing and output requirements
- Wholesalers file
- Sales file
- Master stock file
- Details of wholesalers and purchase invoices
- Details of sales with customer’s credit card details
- Details of each and every item in stock
- Orders arrive from wholesalers
- Update master stock file with new stock
- Items are sold to customers
- Update master stock file with the stock sold
- Calculate total daily sales
- Calculate Vat on daily sales
- Calculate profit on daily sales
- Calculate total monthly sales
- Calculate total monthly purchases
- Calculate Vat on total monthly sales and purchases
- Calculate Tax on total monthly sales and purchases
- Daily sales report
- Monthly sales report
- Monthly purchases report
- Daily stock report
(h) Objectives of the new system
The main aims of my new system are to:
Reduce the amount of paperwork required from the manager, Mr Arora, as the new system will create all the reports.
- Save time and effort for Mr Arora who is currently producing all the reports manually.
- Find information about a particular item quickly.
- Produce reports on a daily and monthly basis regarding the sales and stock of the business.
- Have an easy-to-use system, as both Mr and Mrs Arora are computer novices.
- As required by the user, the interface of the new system has to be intuitive and exciting.
Figure 1.1: A page from the Stock file of Perfect Crafts Ltd
Figure 1.2: A page from the Sales file of Perfect Crafts Ltd
Figure 1.3 A page from the Incomplete Orders file of Perfect Crafts Ltd
Figure 1.4: A page from the Completed Orders file of Perfect Crafts Ltd
