The existing manual system has the following disadvantages:
- Slow Retrieval of data
- No Cross-referencing
- Messy handwriting- hard to read and correct
- Bulky and space-wasting- 3 filing cabinets.
- Very susceptible to human error
Feasibility study
Although the computerised process would save time in the long term, there is the short term cost of buying and setting up the computer equipment. However, I think this would save the company time and money in the middle/ long term. To keep the firm efficient whilst it expands, computerising the administration system would free up staff time, making the workforce bigger than it needs to be. The workforce may even be reduced, but this is all part of the process of mechanisation, and can’t be helped.
In all, I think the middle- and long-term benefits far outweigh the short term costs. We could, however, carry on using the manual system, and make the following improvements:
- Have one filing cabinet with each employee’s details on one large card instead of three large ones.
- Make the cards easier to sort, e.g. use colour coding.
Evaluation Criteria
The Ultimate measure of success in this sort of solution is a rise in profits. This was the initial aim, and if this is accomplished, then the solution will be a complete success. If there isn’t a noticeable rise, then there could well be other things that have improved. Other measures of success could include:
- Improved staff morale, due to easier paperwork for them. We could also interview staff to see what they think of the new system.
- We could also see what the manager thinks of the new system, since he will be working with it in the future.
Specification
The program developed to solve the problem should be widely compatible with most widely available platforms, so that the records can be viewed on other computers, in case the shop computer is inaccessible. The new system should also be easy to use and straightforward to operate. This will mean that the shop assistants can use the system quickly and easily, and so reduce operating time and shop stress. So, I think a windows ’98 system (stable, and needs a modest spec to run) with access XP or 2000, whichever is cheaper.
After a sale is made, the quantity of each product available is reduced by the appropriate amount, and the product number is added to the employee data. This way we can easily find who sold what, and how many sales each employee has made.
The solution program must be:
- Easy and intuitive to use
- Able to operate on a low spec – The firm may want to keep the spending on hardware to a minimum.
- Able to search for records, for quick access to data.
- Protected by a password + anti-virus software, under the data protection act.
- Easy to backup:
- Must support floppy disk backups
- Must be a standard format (e.g. must be able to be read on most machines, etc.)
Design
Old system
New system
As you can see, the new system is simpler, so there are fewer margins for human error. This will reduce the chance of error, which will save time in the long run.
The solution will probably be made up with Microsoft access, since it is a widely used program and is very stable and intuitive to use. Using access will also enable us to transfer the data onto backup disks easily, because the program has been adapted to deal with this sort of thing.
Hardware Specification Required
At the moment, we are going for a very cheap, reliable system. Following the recent leaps in processor speed, you can pick new Pentium 3/ duron processors at stupid prices. I recently bought a new 1-gig Pentium 3. Because the chipset is obsolete (although not for what I need), I got it for a “grand” total of £42.50. Obviously, we can now do this very cheaply. RAM has also become cheaper, which is just as well, because we’re going to need 128 Meg in each machine in order to maintain a good level of stability. I just got one of those for about £40. We won’t bother with DDR Ram; SDR is cheaper and has no noticeable downgrade in performance.
CPU: 450-mhz p3 – Less than £30 if used.
HDD: 4-gig ATA 66 – Old, cheap + reliable. Perfect.
RAM: 128 MEG, SDR.
Motherboard: Old ABIT models have legendary reliability. About £50 used.
Case: Minitower case. They’re cheap (ish) and save space on the desk. About £30.
Cheap 4-meg Graphics card. Cheap, unknown brand, about £20.
Since there is a computerised till on each floor, and a PC in the office, we could set up a small network to quicken up file transfer. This wont cost much, and is expandable, so adding more computers isn’t a problem. What might be a problem is the initial start-up period, where the staff will adjust to the new system, and the initial cash outlay may disrupt the normal processes of the shop.
Software resources required
For this sort of application, we really have no choice but to use a database/ spreadsheet program. As for an operating system, it seems windows has a much larger user base than Linux or Macs, so we will get technical support more easily. Since we are looking for ease of use and flexibility
Implementation
To create the system we are after, we will need to create relationships between the data, and use these to cross-refer our data. But first, we need our data. We already have the stock amounts and names, so we put these in a table first.
This gives us the main data, which will move around the most in the database.
Now, we put all the employee’s details on a similar table.
This allows a lot of information to be shown clearly, as well as providing an easy to use primary key, in the form of the employee key. There is also an automatic validation check that the primary key must contain a valid number, or it gives the user an error message:
This stops incorrect data from being put into the database, which might cause problems with cross-referencing later on.
