The reason I have decided not use other programs such as Microsoft word is because it does not as have as many suitable functions as Microsoft Excel for keeping detailed it can only do a limited amount of things such as word processing and text formatting. The appearance of the document can be improved easily through font style and word art but this is not necessary in the spreadsheet I plan to design as it isn’t relevant. Word can be used to do this as it has many features such as mail merge, creating templates, using macros, importing information and spelling and grammar checking but it would be extremely difficult for the teacher to keep all the files neat and tidy and also the calculations will have to be done manually as word cannot do calculations unlike excel where it was one of its most useful features. Other softwares such as publisher which is used to design artistic leaflets and brochure would be unsuitable and power point which contains slides and each slide contains a number of frames (like a Desk top publishing software) which are for presentations complete with music and animations can be needed which is pointless in Ms Perry’s spreadsheet.
My task is to transfer Ms Perry’s paper based system to a comprised system where she can work out and record the grades and percentages of pupils based on their exam results.
The data input in the spreadsheet will be taken from the register and exam papers and will be:
- Name of students- This is so the results do not get mixed up within pupils and Ms Perry will find it easier to find pupils results and they got also be alphabetised.
- Form class of pupils- This is to categorise pupils so Ms Perry finds it easier to find the pupils necessary information and also to keep her files neat and tidy.
- How many questions the pupils got right out of the total- This input is vital as the formulas I use will need this data in order to work out the grades and percentages.
The data output in the spreadsheet will be:
- Percentage of the marks received- In order for Ms Perry to see if her pupils have gained a higher or lower mark then their last examination and approximately how much of the exam paper was answered correctly
- The grade they have received- This will be needed to put on pupils references and reports and allow Ms Perry to see how well the class did overall and how many A-C grades her class gained
- Two lists to show whether the pupil has failed or passed- This shows Ms Perry if a pupil received a A-C grade or a D-U grade without her even looking at any of the other outputs.
These can be validated if necessary by a character count, a presence check, file lookup or a range check, this enables the computer program to check the data being entered and report any errors. These checks help ensure that the program processes the results accurately and that no pupils have their grades and percentages mixed up and therefore the teacher receives the incorrect data.
Hardware needed
VDU - So I will be able to look at the information in the computer I have entered and use the Windows Icons Menus and Pointers.
KEYBOARD – So I will be able to enter the characters via keystrokes and change case quickly.
MOUSE – To make moving from programs and selecting options much quicker and easier.
DESKTOP –The store of the CPU (central processing unit), backing store, programs, files, and documents etc.
PRINTER – to print out documents.
FLOPPY DISKS – To save important documents if they are needed elsewhere.
Software needed
The software I will be using is Microsoft excel to store the input and output, this is the only program I need to produce a spreadsheet for Ms Perry as it has all the functions needed.
Security Strategy
Due to the fact that the information is confidential and shouldn’t be accessed by anyone else other than Ms Perry as the contents of the spreadsheet are very important and students might to try to hack into the files so I have decided to encrypt a password on my system. I have shown how I have done this using screen shots:
1)
2)
From this window I have been given a option to password protect my spreadsheet making it inaccessible by other people and I also have a choose to make the file read-only so people can access the document but not make any changes to it but Ms Perry has said that the information in her spreadsheet is strictly confident so I would choose the first option. She can also make her file signature binding but I feel this would sometimes cause her trouble when trying to access the document.
Flowchart for data input and output
Backup Strategy
Ms Perry can also keep her spreadsheet saved in her computer documents but to make sure this is kept confidential when using a network computer she should have a user name and create her own password, this will limit unauthorised access to the network, but she should change her password frequently. She can also make back up discs but again she is in danger of losing this, she could also make back-up files which should ideally be kept in a different location from the network. She can also copy or move some of her files somewhere for long-term storage (archiving).