Weaknesses of the current system
The weaknesses of the current system are:
- All documentation is carried out on paper.
- All letter to customers are created individually.
- The business does not use e-mail to communicate with its customers or suppliers.
- The business does not have a web site advertising its service and goods.
- If vital business documents are lost, there is no backup.
- There is no form of a factory outlet.
Objectives for the new system
- Store details about the customers permanently.
- Store details about the suppliers permanently.
- Easily be able to input data concerning the ordering of materials. For example, style, material, size, colour etc.
- Be able to print out order details for the worker to use.
- Check his status with the suppliers. For example, material ordered etc.
- Send out letters to customers using mail merge for better efficiency.
- Print out an update of all deadlines to be met.
End-user and functional requirements
Store details about the customers permanently
The database will need to store details of the name of the company, its address and the telephone number.
The user will sometimes want to display details of all the customers. It will be useful if the customer company names are in alphabetical order.
The user might want to send the customers letters which means that the postcode will have to be stored in a separate field.
Store details about the suppliers permanently
The database will store details about the suppliers. For example the user will sometimes want to list the names in alphabetical order this means that the first name will have to be stored in a separate field to the middle and last name.
If the user wants to send the customers letters to inform them about orders etc he will need to store the post code part of the address in a different field.
Store details about the suppliers permanently
The database will store details about the suppliers name and address. The suppliers table will be similar to the customer table. But the user will send letters to the suppliers concerning the orderinf of raw materials etc.
Easily be able to input data concerning the ordering of materials. For example, style, material, size, colour etc.
The user will easily be able to in put the data using Microsoft access instead of inputting the data on paper using a hand made table where he could be creating a more efficient table using access.
Be able to print out order details for the worker to use.
The user will be able to print out details of the customers orders. For example, the number of garments, style, material etc.
Check his status with the suppliers. For example, material ordered etc.
The user should be able to access details about what he has ordered and what there is to pay at the touch of button
Send out letters to customers using mail merge for better efficiency.
The user will be able to send out letters to the customers and suppliers quickly and efficiently using mail merge with Microsoft Access and Microsoft Word
Print out an update of all deadlines to be met.
The user will be able to print out a list of all deadlines to be met of all of the customers so the workers can work efficiently.
Working Constraints
End-user skill level
The end-user(s) have used modern computers before based upon Windows 95. The user has used a modern computer to create letters and do calculations on Microsoft Excel. The user can only do simple calculations and nothing too complicated.
The user can create letters for suppliers and customers by using a word processor. Mr Jordan is new to Microsoft Word but is getting the hang of it. He does not know much about the advanced features of the software. Mr Jordan will need some form of support in using the advanced features.
Mr Jordan can use any simple software, but will have to apply himself slightly to be able to get the hang of the advanced features. His experience with IT is very limited. The new system must be easy to understand so that the vital functions can be successfully carried out. No errors should occur, everything should be clear.
Availability of hardware and software
The previous software that Mr Jordan was using is called Lotus Word Pro96 but has recently purchased a new PC with Microsoft Office 2000 on it. This new computer is manufactured by Compaq and has the following specification:
- Cannon Bubble Jet printer BJC4200
Mr Jordan has an ideal specification if not too good for the functional requirements. The software in the school will easily correspond with Mr Jordan’s PC since in school Microsoft Office 97 is available.
Time constraints
The deadline for the project is to be completed for the 30th March. This gives approximately nine weeks for development, testing and documentation. Documentation will take up a great deal of the time this means that time will be a major constraint upon the completed system.
Initial time plan
Consideration of solutions
Data such as company names and address’s will need to be stored along with ordering details etc. this means that a database must be used. A word processor will also be needed because letters have to be created for the customers. Mail merge could be used.
There are two choices for the type of database: relational or Flat-file.
Flat-file
A Flat-file database will not be suitable because it would mean that all of the field would have to be stored in one table. For example, supplier, customer and order fields will all be in the same table. This would then lead to there being data in the table that is not needed. For example, each time a customer made an order their name and address will have to be recorder in that record. If this type were to be used then it would take up a lot of space and hold useless data. It would also make it hard to search in the basic ways that you do. It will be hard to develop it so that the end-user will be able search for a certain supplier or customer without all of the other irrelevant details coming up. It would also make it increasingly difficult to use the mail merge facility.
Concluding this we now know that a spreadsheet is not suitable for our purpose because it is just like a Flat-file if not nearly enough the same thing.
Relational database
This form of storage is much more flexible than Flat-file because it allows the data to be split up into separate tables. This is more efficient because each table contains information about a single entity. Now that information is in its individual tables, data redundancy is avoided. By linking all of the tables the whole structure will be able to be searched in a variety of ways.
There are a great amount of relational database options in the market but the two main ones are Microsoft Access and Lotus Approach. These are both very suitable choices. Out of the two I will use Microsoft Access because it is more common compared with Lotus Approach and also because I am more familiar with the Microsoft environment. Overall I feel that Microsoft Access is easier to understand the instructions are clearer which makes it easier to follow. The terminology used in Access is better than that used in Lotus Approach.
The form will be used to enter record of orders, suppliers and customers etc. This will make the business more organised and thus more efficient.
The queries will be used to see who is ordering what and how much is owed to suppliers or owed by customers.
To produce the templates for the letter I have chosen Microsoft word because it can easily be linked to Microsoft Access. It will also enable the letter to look professional as you can set any of your own preferences. For example, margin width, header and footer etc.
Functions in Microsoft word such as MacroButtons, Date fields can make the end-user develop the letter template for his suitability. Other functions like AutoCorrect and AutoText will give the user an option for creating many types of customised letters for different kinds clients.
My other options for word processors were Lotus WordPro, WordPad, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Paint and Word Perfect. These were not as suitable as Microsoft Word because some of them do not allow me carry out the advanced features that I wish to and also because most of them will not be able to link with Microsoft Access.
File names, file location and installation
There will be two files – a database and a letter template.
Name of database file – AirLtd.mdb
Name of letter template – StandardLetter.dot.
These files will be stored in different locations on the end-users local computer.
AirLtd.mdb
C:\My Documents
StansardLetter.dot
C:\Program Files \Microsoft Office\Templates
All of this package not holding any information should fit on a floppy disk. These files will be archived using WinZip self-extractor. The archive will extract the files into their correct locations.
The installation will be designed for the end-user to carry out.
Entity definitions and relationships
The database requires three entities:
CUSTOMER - (CustomerID, Company Name, Contact name, Address 1, Address 2, Post Code,
Telephone, Fax, E-mail)
ORDER - (Style, material, colour, size, Amount, fittings)
SUPPLIER - (SupplierID, Supplier Name, Contact Name, Address 1, Address 2, Post Code,
Telephone, Fax, E-mail, Account Number)
The relationships can be shown in the following diagram:
Company Manufacturer Raw Materials
To link the order to the customer foreign keys could be entered into either entity. For example:
The CUSTOMER entity could be:
(CustomerID, Company Name, Contact name, Address 1, Address 2, Post Code,
Telephone, Fax, E-mail, Current Status)
The ORDER entity could be:
(OrderID, CustomerID, Date of order, Style, material, colour, size, Amount, fittings)
The second option is preferred because it is easier to link the order with the customer, now that the date of the order is a field a record can be kept of past orders. The order deadlines can be kept in a separate entity.
So now having evaluated, the entities are as follows:
CUSTOMER - {CustomerID, Company Name, Contact Name, Address 1, Address 2,
Address 3, Post Code, Telephone, Fax, E-mail}
ORDER CONDITIONS - {CustomerID, Date Ordered, Time Given, Profit}
ORDER - {OrderID, CustomerID, Style, Material, Colour, Size, Number, Fittings}
SUPPLIER - {SupplierID, Supplier Name, Contact Name, Address 1, Address 2,
Address 3, Post Code, Telephone, Fax, E-mail, Account Number}
The entities contain no repeating attributes, there is no irrelevant data held. The entity relationships look like this:
Field definitions
Customer Table
Order Conditions Table
Order Table
Supplier Table
Queries
Forms
General Properties
All of the forms will contain the following features:
Background – Transparent
Titles – font = Times New Roman; Size 18
Labels – font = MS Sans Serif; Size 8; Type plain
Text Boxes – Style = sunken / raised; Backstyle = flat; sizes 3 or 4cm
Buttons – Width = 2.3; Height = 0.9
List boxes – normal
Short Cut Keys
The following short cut keys will be used on all of the forms:
[ALT] + H = HELP
[ALT] + C = CLOSE
[ALT] + A = ADD
[ALT] + D = DELETE
