You need to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of someone in your
Specification B (Short Course) GCSE 3528
Ashmole School
(Centre Number 12204)
Ms Muller
Roya Hassanzadeh
1/BS3
Contents
SECTION A: Description of Problem 3
SECTION B: Analysis 4
SECTION C: Specification 4
SECTION E (i): Hardware 4
SECTION E (ii): Software 4
SECTION E (iii): Data Collection, Capture & Input 4
SECTION E (iv): Data Verification and/or Validation 4
SECTION E (v): Data and Program Structure 4
SECTION E (vi): Output Formats 4
SECTION F: Testing 4
SECTION G: User Documentation 4
SECTION A: Description of Problem
I plan to do my coursework on a local sports clothing manufacturer and sports equipment retailer called Just Sports. The company was established 18 months ago and sells a wide variety of customised sports clothes and equipment, ranging from footballs to exercise machines.
A sophisticated point of sale cash register captures all the sales, however there is currently no way for this data to be accessed for analysis of the business. To compensate, the company uses a manual, paper based system to capture product and customer information on a Sales Form at point of sale. Customer details are later transferred from the Sales Form to a card file system and are held in alphabetical order by surname or business name. There is no existing process to transfer product details from the sales forms to any other reports.
When the shop first opened, the owner worked full time along with a part time sales assistant. Competitive prices, informed customer service and a willingness on the part of the owner to find specialist sports equipment for customers resulted in dramatic sales growth over the 18 month period. The shop has recently won several important contracts with local schools and sports clubs to be the supplier of their official sports kit as well as sports equipment.
To meet growing demand, the shop now carries a wider range of products with an increased number and range of items held in stock. Although the owner still works in the shop full time, she now has to spend an increased amount of time each day either with suppliers or on stock related tasks. In addition, the increased levels of stock require more capital outlay for the owner so it has become more important for her to know what products are fast moving and popular and therefore need to be held on hand.
Staffing levels have had to grow to accommodate sales growth and the shop now employs a full time sales assistant, a total of 3 part time sales staff and has two people providing additional sales cover at weekends.
As a result of the growth in staffing, the owner is less well informed about her customers than when she transacted most of the sales herself. She relies more and more on the manual, paper based sales system to understand her customer's needs and to look for the sales trends in her business.
The staff are less conscientious than the owner at capturing all the relevant details on the customer and the sale in the paper sales form. Recently, there have been more frequent occasions when sales forms have not been completed at all.
The owner now has the opportunity to expand the business further by opening up a second shop in a major shopping centre 8 miles away. In addition, sometime in the near future the owner would like to extend the capability of the existing Just Sports Online website to include a catalogue of products for sale with shopping cart and payment processing support.
The owner recognises that the manual, paper based system of capturing sales, product and customer details has reached its capacity and is beginning to affect her ability to grow the business further and may even prevent her from being able to take advantage of this opportunity to open a second shop.
y store their customer information, sports equipment information and sales information. This system is no longer appropriate for this growing business, as an increasing quantity of data needs to be stored.
There are many disadvantages to this system. For example the filing cabinet in which the files are stored takes up a lot of valuable space in the shop. Also, if a customer changes address or phone number it is very difficult and time consuming to modify this neatly. It is also a very laborious task for the user search through the data that has been stored to find particular pieces of information.
In the following section I will attempt to find a suitable solution to these problems.
You need to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of someone in your company using a manual system..........
What would happen when a folder gets lost?
What are the problems with lots of filing cabinets in the office?
What would happen if someone put a folder back in the wrong place?
What would happen is someone spells something wrong?
What problems occur if someone has poor handwriting?
What happens if someone moves house and there address needs to be changed?
What happens when the paper gets old?
What happens if more than one person needs to use the data in the folder at the same time?
SECTION B: Analysis
The owner has recognised that the manual, paper based system of capturing sales, product and customer details has reached its capacity and is beginning to affecting her ability to grow the business further. An analysis of the existing procedures followed by the staff revealed specific problems presented by the existing paper based system include:
In order to improve on the manual database, I will gather information using a questionnaire. This is an example of the results:
What is your position in the company?
Sales Assistant
How do you keep your records?
We currently have a filing cabinet in which we keep all of our records including, customer details, sport equipment details and sales details.
How often do you use the current database?
Not at all Once a week Every day Several times a day
What is the most restricting aspect of the current database?
With the current system, which is manual, every time a customer changes their details a whole new form must be filled out. Also it takes a lot of time to search through the system for specific information.
What is the most important task which the new database should be able to carryout?
The database should be able to carryout searches for specific pieces of data quickly and accurately.
Identify Software to be used
In my research I discovered that using a database was the ideal application for my system because it enables me to store data easily, to create forms and records, its more efficient, cost effective, saves space and is time effective. It also has the ability to keep my system well organised in tables and under suitable field names, queries can be run to search for data that satisfies certain criteria that are set by the user. Other applications are not suitable for my system because they are not suitable to sort out data and run queries like the database does. Although some spreadsheets and word processors have the ability to sort out data in alphabetical order, ascending or descending order with bullet points and with numbers these are not sufficient for my system. I need to run queries and have validation checks, which mean that only a database can be used.
Package
A software package is needed where all the data can be inserted. A very popular and user friendly package is Microsoft Access. It will enable me to search and amend my database. It is available at school and I have it at home and I know how to use it. There are many other packages available but this is the best and most widely used. To type out my instructions to give to the users I will use Microsoft Word which is also easy to use and is available everywhere.
Now I have decided which software I will be using to implement the system, I can begin to design it. To start with, I will create a new database and save it under a suitable name (e.g. Sports Database). Throughout the implementation of this task, I will save it frequently on a floppy disk so that a crash in the school system means I will not lose my project.
Database Questionnaire
Name of Company:
Position held in company:
Size of company:
Yes No
Q1. Do you use any form of manual system to store data?
If yes what data do you store?
Q2. Do you use a computer at work?
Do you use a database?
Did you need training?
How often do you use it?
Is it easy to use?
What data is stored about...........?
What is good about the system?
What would you change?
Do you need a user guide to help you use it?
Is your system on a network or a stand alone PC?
Do you find it easy to search for data?
Is it better than previous manual systems?
Why?
SECTION C: Specification
The following table shows the features that would expect my database to have. I am going to design a computerised database in Microsoft Access. This database can then be judged accordingly based on my evaluation criteria.
Evaluation criteria
How it will be judged success
The database should enable me to add data
I will attempt to add a new client's details to the database. I will also attempt to add a new sale.
The database should enable me to delete data
I will attempt to delete the record of a customer. I will also delete a sale, thus simulating the way in which a sale could be cancelled.
The database should enable me to amend data.
I will amend to edit the address of a customer. I will also edit the telephone number of a customer.
The database should recognise when certain incorrect data is entered into the database.
I will deliberately enter incorrect data into fields with validation rules and specified data types.
I should be able to use queries to search through data.
I will run queries to search for sales by date. The results of this search will include the customer number and sports equipment number.
The database should be user friendly
I will create macros and buttons to ensure that members of staff can move from one part of the database to another and perform tasks with ease.
The database should enable me to save the database.
I will create an 'Exit' button which will automatically save all changes before it exits.
SECTION D: Specification
D Design of the ICT system
This section will include a 'database planning sheet' which shows all the fields in my 3 tables. The 3 tables are Customer details, Sales, and Sports Equipment.
Also in this section I have included a 'Fields of Data and Relationships' Sheet which shows the structure of the database including the links between the 3 tables. This is a relationships ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
The database should enable me to save the database.
I will create an 'Exit' button which will automatically save all changes before it exits.
SECTION D: Specification
D Design of the ICT system
This section will include a 'database planning sheet' which shows all the fields in my 3 tables. The 3 tables are Customer details, Sales, and Sports Equipment.
Also in this section I have included a 'Fields of Data and Relationships' Sheet which shows the structure of the database including the links between the 3 tables. This is a relationships design.
I am planning to use a data capture form, a data input screen and output. The database will be set up with search queries, for example to search for male customers. I shall also set up search for individual customers using the on screen prompt of parameter queries.
A search for a customer's record can be used if that record needs to be edited for example to change the address. Records in the customer table will be stored in alphabetical order and used to locate a customer quickly.
To add a new customer, validation of data will automatically occur in the following fields: postcode will be field length check; sex will be "1" or "2"; date of birth will be data type check.
Also when adding a new customer I am planning on-screen verification before the information is saved.
I chose to use a software package rather than write a depicted program as it is less time consuming. After considering whether to use Access or Excel, I chose to use Access as it has easy to use search features and tables can be linked in a relationship design. It is a more sophisticated relational database package.
I plan to write a user guide so that the staff can read how to use the database efficiently. I also plan to write a technical guide so that a computing technician can make changes to the structure of the database.
Before the database is used by the staff I shall test the input of valid and invalid data into the search feature by predicting in advance what my search results should be.
Database Planning Sheet
My database planning sheet shows the data that will be stored in the sports equipment shop's database. For each piece of data the field length is shown, the type of data needed, And the validation rule of "1" or "2" will make sure the correct data is entered into the sex field.
Fields of data and relationships
This diagram shows the three tables of data linked together. The first table is called customers. The second table is called sales, storing information about the sale of sports equipment to customers. The third table is sports equipment which will store information about all the sports equipment. So that it is easier to search for information the tables will be linked together. The customer number in the customer table will be inked to the customer number in the sales tables in a one to many relationship. Sports equipment number in the sales table will be linked to sports equipment number in the sports equipment table in a one to many relationship linking of tables also prevents repetition of data across the tables.
Database Planning Sheet
Table Name: Customer Details
Field Name
Field Length
Datatype
Validation
Customer number
Auto
Auto Number
First Name
20
Text
Field Length Check
Surname
20
Text
Field Length Check
Address
50
Text
Field Length Check
Postcode
8
Text
Field Length Check
Date Of Birth
Auto
Date/Time
Datatype Check
Sex
Text
Validation rule "1" or "2"
Home Number
5
Text
Field Length Check
Work Number
5
Text
Field Length Check
Table Name: Sports Equipment
Field Name
Field Length
Datatype
Validation
Sports equipment number
Auto
Auto Number
Sport
30
Text
Field Length Check
Description
30
Text
Field Length Check
Brand Name
30
Text
Field Length Check
Size
30
Text
Field Length Check
Selling Price
Currency
Currency
Data Type Check
Table Name: Sales
Field Name
Field Length
Datatype
Validation
Sales Number
Auto
Auto Number
Customer number
Auto
Number
Data Type Check
Sports equipment Number
Auto
Number
Data Type Check
Date
Auto
Date/Type
Data Type Check
Sales Assistant
20
Text
Field Length Check
System flow chart for adding a new customer
SECTION E (i): Hardware
" Go to PC world or another website and find the computer you think would be most appropriate for the company. Copy and paste an image of the PC and its specification into Word. You should also select any other hardware and software that will be useful to your company e.g. a suitable printer (Laser or ink jet?), will you need a scanner, internet access, anti virus software?
" Explain why the PC you have found is suitable for the company and why you chose it above the alternatives. (e.g. What features does your choice have that the others do not?)
" Finally explain why the choices you have made are better than the current school system you used to set up your database. (Eg have you chosen a PC with a greater memory or a faster processor?)
The School system:
The system I used at school:
The hardware available on the network is as follows:-
* IBM compatible 400MHz personal computers (speed)
* 64 Mbytes of RAM, (memory)
* 15" super VGA colour monitor
* 3.2 Gbyte hard drive
* 32 times speed CDROM.Printer
* HP LaserJet 1100 laser printer,
* HP Deskjet 2000 colour inkjet
The system I would recommend to the company would be:
Random Access Memory (RAM) is where the computer temporarily stores data on its way to or from the processor. Named for its role, random access memory allows you to perform random acts, such as launching an application or making changes to a file, with the speed you demand. RAM is the juggler, keeping all the balls in the air at once. The more RAM, the faster you work-and play. RAM is a type of storage, not to be confused with your long-term hard drive storage.
Memory modules
Upgrading memory is one of the most cost-effective ways to boost system performance. When you add memory you increase system performance as much as - or more than - if you upgrade your processor.
* Tests show that increasing memory from 128MB to 256MB increases system performance up to 37%.
Increasing memory from 128MB to 512MB improves system performance up to 50%!
What does this mean in terms of your everyday use? Until your RAM fills up, your processor accesses information quickly. As your RAM gets full, your processor has to go to your hard drive for new, fresh data. Therefore, the more RAM you have, the less your processor has to look for updated information in your hard drive, and the faster your processor - and your computer - runs.
Of course, RAM isn't the only powerhouse behind the agility of your Dell computer. A proper balance of memory and processor speed is what will really give your Dell computer the lightening quickness you want it to have.
The DELL Dimension PC uses Dual Channel DDR RAM and the 4600 series is expandable to 2GB
A video card is the part of your computer that transforms video data into the visual display you see on your monitor. The video solution plugs into your computer's motherboard, and is responsible for decoding and processing the video signal. The quality of video you see on your monitor depends on both the video card and the monitor you choose. More video card memory and faster graphics processors can result in more stunning and enjoyable visual effects when running programs with detailed graphic design.
Monitors
When purchasing a monitor, there are several things to consider:
Sizes
Monitors are measured in inches and refer to the diagonal length from one corner of the monitor box to the other. The actual viewable area (or screen measurement) is the measurement in parentheses and labeled vis (viewable image size). So you will see monitors listed like this: 17" (16.0 vis)
Keep in mind that most monitors are as deep as they are wide so if space is a limitation, you should consider purchasing a flat panel monitor.
Quality
Monitor quality is measured in dot pitch or strip pitch. The lower the number of pitch, the sharper the images. A measurement of .27mm is average for dot pitch. Monitor quality can also be measured in pixels referring to the resolution. The higher the resolution, the more that can fit onto the screen.
Design
Most monitors are shadow mask or aperture grille in design. If a monitor doesn't say what kind it is, it's probably a shadow mask. Shadow mask monitors clearly display text and graphics. The other kind of monitor, an aperture grille, is also known as a Trinitron. It's known for displaying richer colors and clearer images. Some monitors may also be referenced as having flat screens. Flat screens will appear different than traditional monitors because they are not slightly rounded and typically don't distort the display as much.
Benefits
Monitors with Trinitron Technology can give you:
* An exceptionally crisp picture
* A high-phosphor surface for bright images
* Increased contrast due to darker glass
* Reduced reflection
* Enhanced color purity
The operating system software is responsible for running basic PC functions. It instructs the PC how to interact with both internal and external peripherals, controls the user interface as well as controls the networking functions with other computers. Choosing the appropriate operating system greatly enhances the overall computing experience.
Dell offers Microsoft(r) Windows(r) operating systems to meet customer's needs. Whether buying for the home or business, Dell customers receive only components and drivers that have been tested for compatibility and factory installed for convenience and reliability.
Windows XP Home Edition
Windows XP Home Edition is designed to meet the needs of individual users.
Windows XP Professional Edition
Windows XP Professional is a superset of Windows XP Home Edition and is the best choice for networked business users and home users who demand the most from their systems.
Common Features of both Windows XP Editions
* New User Interface - Makes it easy to find what you need when you need it.
* A reliable foundation - Built on the Windows 2000 code base, XP keeps your computer up and running when you need it most
* Windows Media Player for Windows XP - Single place for finding, playing, organizing, & storing digital media.
* Network Setup Wizard - Easily connect & share the computers and devices in your home or office.
* Windows Messenger - The ultimate communications & collaboration tool with instant messaging, voice and video conferencing, and application sharing.
* Help & Support Center - Easy to recover from problems and get help and support when you need it.
Windows XP Home Edition Details
Windows XP Home Edition is the operating system home users have been waiting for, because it offers the stability of a business operating system with all the fun of a consumer operating system. It offers a number of new features that help you work smarter and connect faster to the Internet and with others. Unlock the full potential of your personal computer and enjoy a new standard in dependability and simplicity with Windows XP Home Edition.
Top Ten Features of Windows XP Home Edition
* Fast User Switching - Share a single computer with everyone in your family! Now you can access your own accounts without having to close each other's applications or restart the computer.
* New, Simplified Visual Design - The clean, simple design of Windows XP puts the features you use most often up front and center, so you can get to them quickly.
* Windows Media Player for Windows XP - Windows Media Player for Windows XP gives you a single, easy-to-use place to play DVDs, organize music, burn CDs, and more.
* Windows Messenger - Windows Messenger is the easy way to communicate with your friends and family in real time. You can see who is online and choose to communicate through text messaging, voice, or video with excellent performance and better quality than ever.
* Dell Solution Center - Offers quick and easy tools for recovering from problems, getting help & answering questions about your PC.
* My Pictures - My Pictures is the place to work with your digital photos. Here you can organize, preview, and even order prints of your pictures via a Web service.
* Internet Explorer 6 - Internet Explorer 6 includes new and better features to simplify Web browsing tasks, increase reliability, and help keep your personal information private.
* Remote Assistance - Remote Assistance lets you allow a friend or support professional who is also running Windows XP to remotely control your computer to demonstrate a process or help solve a problem.
* System Restore - System Restore actively monitors system file changes, so that if something goes wrong with your computer, you can restore your system to a previous state without losing data.
* Network Setup Wizard - Network Setup Wizard makes it easier than ever to set up your own home network so all the computers in your house can share printers, devices, files, and an Internet connection.
Windows XP Professional Edition Details
Windows XP Professional gives you all the benefits of Windows XP Home Edition, plus additional remote access, security, performance, manageability and multi-lingual features that make it the operating system of choice for businesses of all sizes and people who demand the most out of their computing experience.
Top Ten Features of Windows XP Professional Edition
Your computer's hard drive is its central storage unit, where you keep the operating system, applications, files, and data. Conventional wisdom says think big, considering that newer applications are getting larger. In addition, new capabilities such as manipulating digital video and storing audio files are now available to you - if you have the room.
Hard drive storage size is measured in gigabytes, and a gigabyte (GB) equals one thousand megabytes (MB). Your primary consideration should be storage capacity.
To calculate the capacity you'll need, consider the size of your applications (Windows XP needs approximately 1GB, for example) and estimate the quantity and size of the files you'll be storing (a single, typical audio CD requires approximately 600 MB).
Besides size, hard drives are rated on rotational speed and interface. Higher rotational speed allows the drive to find data faster, and a faster interface makes speedier data transfers.
* Rotational speed: Rotational speed is a major factor as it determines how quickly you can retrieve data (open a file, start an application, for example). The higher the RPM, the faster the data is transferred.
* Interface: Drives support Ultra ATA/100 and Serial ATA. The numbers refer to the maximum burst rate at which the drive can pass data to the system (100MB per second for ATA/100 and 150MB per second with Serial ATA). .
Description
Quantity
Total excl.VAT
Total incl.VAT
(Nov 42b) Dimension 4600 2.66GHz
Includes Money Off + Free Memory Upgrade!
£883
£1,037.53
Standard Features:
Intel 865PE chipset with support for Dual Channel DDR
Equipped with Microsoft(r) Windows(r) XP operating system
Support For Intel(r) Pentium(r) 4 Processors with 533MHz System Base
Midnight grey mini-tower with 8 USB 2.0 ports, 3 PCI slots and AGP 8x slot
Integrated 10/100 Pro Ethernet
Norton AntiVirus 2003 (with 90 days free virus updates)
No Floppy Drive as standard
Please Note:If you choose a 15" Flat Panel Monitor, you will have to wait 4 weeks for delivery - Dell recommends a 17" flat panel instead for enhanced viewing capabilities!
.
Operating System:
Microsoft(r) Windows(r) XP Professional Recommended For Small Business - DELL RECOMMENDS! (+ GBP £50)
Online Memory Promotion!:
512MB Dual Channel DDR 333 (2X256MB DIMM) (Includes 256MB FREE)
Online Discount - Money Off!:
Money Off Included!
Enhanced Support Packs:
3 Year On-Site Next Business Day Service Support - Dell Recommends
Axim X5 Pocket PC:
Not Included
Processor Upgrade:
Intel Pentium 4 Processor 2.66GHz
Floppy Drive and Additional Storage Devices:
.44MB Floppy Drive (+ GBP £15)
Hard Drive:
80GB (7200rpm) IDE Hard Drive (+ GBP £30)
Monitor:
Dell 17" (17.0" VIS) Analogue Flat Panel Monitor
2nd Monitor:
Not Included
Optical Drives:
48x DVD/CD-ReWriter Combo Drive (+ GBP £65)
DVI to VGA Port Adapter:
Not Included
Business Installation:
No installation
Video Card:
28MB nVidia GeForce FX5200 with DVI, Dual Monitor Support and TV-OUT via S-Video (+ GBP £15)
Sound Card:
On-Board Sound
Speakers:
Not Included
Modem:
Not Included
Video Editing:
Not Included
Digital Photography:
Dell Picture Studio Standard Edition (note: contains a 21 use trial version of Paint Shop Pro)
Software:
Microsoft(r) Office 2003 Basic
Wireless Connectivity:
Not Included
Keyboard:
Dell Standard Keyboard
Mouse:
Dell 2 button Wheel Mouse
Internet Access Services - Narrowband:
BT: UK only - BT Openworld Anytime - First month £5.99, £15.99 per month thereafter - Dell Recommends
AOL: UK only - Dell Exclusive: First 3 Months of America Online Membership Included
Tiscali: UK only - FREE 1 month trial on Tiscali AnyTime, that's up to 150 hours FREE
Eircom: Ireland only - Eircom Net Anytime gives you 150 hours of Internet access anytime of day or night for just €29.99 per month Dell Recommends - Dell Recommends</B
Internet Access Services - Broadband:
Not Included
New! - Online Training:
Not Included
Update Price Remove Edit
* New Windows Engine - No more lost work. Windows XP Professional is built on the proven code base of Windows NT and Windows 2000. The operating system uses a 32-bit computing architecture and a fully protected memory model-features that help make it the most reliable Windows operating system yet.
* Remote Desktop - Access your desktop computer anytime you're away from your office. Remote Desktop allows you to create a virtual session and use your desktop computer from another computer running Windows 95 or later, giving you access to all of your data and applications even when you're not in your office.
* Encrypting File System - Safeguard your data. Encrypting File System provides a high level of protection from hackers and data theft by transparently encrypting files with a randomly generated key.
* Windows Messenger - Windows Messenger is the easy way to communicate with your friends and family in real time. You can see who is online and choose to communicate through text messaging, voice, or video with excellent performance and better quality than ever.
* Automated System Recovery - No boot, no problem. Automated System Recovery is an option in the Backup tool that allows you to restore the system state and all files on the system partition when problems or changes to the operating system cause instability and startup failures.
* System Restore - System Restore actively monitors system file changes, so that if something goes wrong with your computer, you can restore your system to a previous state without losing data.
* User-Level Access Control - Control level of user access to resources and data. User-level access control gives you a range of options for sharing files and folders to individuals or a group. You can select which folders are to be shared, who will have access to the folder and the level of permissions granted to each user or group.
* Internet Connection Sharing and Internet Connection Firewall - Save money by sharing your Internet connection and shield your PCs from unauthorized access and attacks. Internet Connection Sharing allows multiple computers to access the Internet at the same time via the same broadband or dial-up connection. Internet Connection Firewall protects your computers from harmful attacks and intrusions from the Internet.
* Remote Assistance - Remote Assistance lets you allow a friend or support professional who is also running Windows XP to remotely control your computer to demonstrate a process or help solve a problem.
* New Task-based Visual Design - Get to your most commonly used tasks quickly, thanks to a cleaner design and new visual cues.
P15
SECTION E (ii): Software
e operating system controlling the network and on which the applications run is as follows:
* Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4
The applications software available on the network that you might have used for your project is as follows:-
* Database programs: Microsoft Access
* Word processing Software for the report and input (data capture) forms:
* Notepad, Windows Write or Microsoft Word.
* Paint program used for cut and paste for the report and user guide etc.:
* Paintshop Pro or Corel Photopaint.
CONSIDER this information when making your selections:
* Typical PC's may have a Pentium III or Celeron or AMD Duron or Athlon processor with 600 Mhertz to 1100 Mhertz.
* Harddisk sizes range from 2 Gbytes to 30 Gbytes.
* Memory (RAM) should be a minimum of 16 Mbytes if running Windows 95 or 98 ( most new PC's now come with Windows 98 or ME) or 64 Mbytes for Windows 2000 or ME.
* The monitor would normally be 15 inches but a 17 inch monitor might be better if you can justify the extra cost.
Which Printer would be best?
Use this information to justify your selection of printer.
a) An inkjet printer, £100 upwards, for low volumes but fairly high running costs.
b) A dot matrix printer, £100 upwards, for low running costs but it is noisy with poorer print quality. A dot matrix printer has the ability to print on multi-part forms, these are the type of forms where there are several copies of the same thing that go to different people.
c) Or a laser printer which has a higher purchase price, £300 upwards, with lower running costs and the best print quality. An inkjet printer would probably required if colour printing was a requirement of your completed system. A colour laser printer is £1000 upwards.
The software I used at school was:
The software I would recommend to the company:
SECTION E (iii): Data Collection, Capture & Input
There are many ways that data can be gathered and input to a computer system. Generally, these fall into two categories - Manual methods or Automated methods.
Manual methods of obtaining the data include data capture forms and questionnaires. These are paper based forms that need someone to write down information in a predefined manner that corresponds with the fields defined in the database. This information is then manually keyed into the database via an online database form that can be programmed to validate the data as it is input to help ensure accuracy with the written form. (see Part iv in this section for more details regarding data validation)
Automated data-capture means collecting information from sensors, bar-code readers and scanners. This type of data capture is faster and more accurate than manual systems however it requires more sophisticated equipment and investment in interpretation software that is often too expensive for a small business to consider.
For this reason, an automated data capture system would not be appropriate for the Just Sports database. In addition, the information to be captured includes customers' personal details that can only be obtained using a manual method such as a form or by asking the customer at point of input.
For the Just Sports database it was decided that a manual method would be a most suitable to capture customer details and so a paper based data capture form called the 'Customer Details Form' was designed for this purpose. An example of this form is displayed on the next page.
Just Sports - Customer Details Form
Please write your details in the spaces below and return to a member of staff. Thank you.
Customer Details Database Form
Once the data has been collected on the paper form , it can be manually input into the system using the following data input form:
SECTION E (iv): Data Verification and/or Validation
Data Validation
Data Validation checks that the data is of the correct type that has been defined for each field within the database. For example, a percentage should be a numeric value between 0 and 100. Validation can be performed automatically by the computer as the data is being entered.
The following table gives information on some of the validation rules used in the Just Sports database:
Name of field
Type of field
Validation
Example data entry
What this Validation rule does
Record Number
Whole Number
5
Sex
Integer
"1" Or "2"
2
Makes sure that only the numbers '1' or '2' can be entered into this field. '1' for male or '2' for female.
Date of Birth
Date/Time
Data Type Check
8/12/1987
This checks that text has not been put where a data is needed.
Postcode
Text
Field Length Check
N14 6DQ
This checks that no more than the allowed number of characters is entered.
Data Verification
Data Verification means making sure the data that has been input to the database is the same as the original data. There are two main verification techniques:
) Proof-reading: this is when a person reads the data that has been entered into the system and compares it with the original input source material, such as a data input form. Any incorrectly entered data can be edited and amended to match the source document.
2) Double-entry: this is when the data is entered twice and by two different people. The computer then compares the two versions. Any errors found can then be corrected.
For the Just Sports database only the proof reading technique since this is less time consuming than double-entry and from a business perspective would be less expensive (labour costs). Data Verification does not eliminate human error.
Need to ADD heading to all the following tables
In order to check the validity of the customers' date of birth the following query can be run:
If the query returns any results attention must be given to those records as there is an obvious error.
SECTION E (v): Data and Program Structure
The Just Sports database consists of three tables:
. Customer Details
2. Sales
3. Sports Equipment
The design views of these tables are displayed below:
Customer Details Table Design
Sales Table Design
Sports Equipment Table Design
TITLE ?????????????????
The three tables are link by the following relationships:
Write a paragraph about how the tables are related and why.??????????????
TITLE??????
Description
SECTION E (vi): Output Formats
Output formats are the printer outputs or the screen outputs that extract business information for end users from the data stored in the database.
Printed output is particularly useful when there is a lot of data to be displayed and information to be examined. On-line screen outputs are more useful when there is a limited number of selected values that will be filtered out from the database and returned from a query.
Below are some examples of output obtained from queries against the Just Sports database.
Output Formats
Fields
Criteria Selected
. Obtain a report on all sales to date
Sales Number (Sales)
Date (Sales)
Customer Number (Sales)
First Name (Customer Details)
Surname (Customer Details)
Sports equipment number (Sports equipment)
Sport (Sports equipment)
Description (Sports equipment)
Size (Sports equipment)
Selling Price (Sports equipment)
(obtained from running a query)
2. A query to find sales by date.
Date (Sales)
Customer Number (Sales)
First Name (Customer Details)
Surname (Customer Details)
Date = [Forms]![Find_information]![Date_of_sale]
3. A Query to find all customers living in Southgate.
First Name (Customer Details)
Surname (Customer Details)
Address (Customer Details)
Town (Customer Details)
Postcode (Customer Details)
Town = "Southgate"
4. A query to find David Gathard's customer details
First Name (Customer Details)
Surname (Customer Details)
Address (Customer Details)
Town (Customer Details)
Postcode (Customer Details)
Surname = "Gathard"
First name = "David"
5. A query to find a list of items for sale that cost more than £50
Sports equipment number (Sports equipment)
Sport (Sports equipment)
Description (Sports equipment)
Size (Sports equipment)
Selling Price (Sports equipment)
Selling Price = >=50
The following screen shots show the output formats that were obtained from these queries with the numbers corresponding to those in the table above.
Output Format 1
This is the design of the query to find all customers living in Southgate. This information would be useful to see how many of Just Sports' customers live in the local area. The results may be used to drive business decision making on investment in local promotional activities or local advertising versus a wider regional or ad hoc approach.
The report that resulted from this query design is shown on the following page.
Report Generated from Output Format 1
Output Format 2
Description ????????????????????
In
Output Format 3
This is the design of the query to find all customers living in Southgate. This Query would be useful to see how many of the shop's customers live in the local area.
These are the results obtained by the above query:
These results show that the majority of the shops customers are from the local area and therefore local promotional activities and local advertising would likely yield most benefit to the business.
Output Format 4
This is the design of the query to find the address of any given individual customer. This Query would be useful if a customer's details had to be amended.
These are the results obtained by the above query:
These results could be use to edit David Gathard's address or to send an order to him.
Output Format 5
These are the results obtained by the above query:
In WORD type up a list or SORTS you want to run and a list of SEARCHES. The results from these will provide you with OUTPUTS from your database.
a) SORTING RECORDS
Often records need to be sorted into a particular order, by a particular field. e.g. producing records in alphabetical order by surname or products for sale listed by price in ascending order.
You should carry out at least two sorts.
Use the HELP SHEET provided to:
* Run at least ONE SORT as a simple query and
* At least ONE SORT as a REPORT
Some examples are given below:
I want to be able to show that my database can sort data according to criteria selected. I will run three sorts:
SORT 1
To sort Customer details into alphabetical order (ascending) by Surname and then by first name.
SORT 2
To sort customer details by age (descending)
SORT 3
To sort products by price (descending) and by product name (ascending)
Other examples:
. To sort appointments by date (descending)
2. To sort staff details by experience
3. To sort sales by date
4. To sort.............. etc
b) SEARCHING RECORDS
You want to be able to show that your database if efficient and fast when it comes to searching for specific details in your database.
The first thing to do is to type up a list of 'questions' that you want the database to help you find the answer to. You need to think about the fields you will need and the specific criteria you need to select.
In order to answer these questions you will need to design and run COMPLEX QUERIES. You need to decide whether the query is searching for ONE SPECIFC THING or if it is an AND SEARCH or if it is an OR SEARCH.
You should run about four queries eg
. One that looks for something specific eg a particular persons record
2. One that is an AND search
3. One that is a OR search
4. One that is a NOT search
5. One that includes the parameters outlined in the box below (<, > etc)
QUESTION
FIELDS
CRITERIA SELECTED
. To find John Simpson's record
2. To find out which items we have for sale below £15
3. To find out who has appointments on the 15/01/03 - to include who has the appointment and which member of staff the appointment is with
4. To find out appointments on the 16/01/03 and the 17/01/03
5. To find out which items we have for sale that are both black and cost less than £50
6. To find out the items that are silver or are black
7. Produce a list of items for sale that are any colour other than red
Customer number
First name
Last name
Address
Tel number
Item name
Item price
Item colour
Item size
(use this column to select the fields you will choose to have listed in your results. Think about fields that would be useful to the staff in the shop or to the customer)
Last name = Simpson
Price < 15
Date = 15/01/03
Date = 16/01/03 OR 17/01/31
Colour = Black AND price <= £50
Item = black OR silver
Item = NOT red
SECTION F: Testing
I have designed and made my database and I have input details.
I need to test my database to check that it works properly.
Correct data
* I know that I can add new details into forms as I have been able to add in the details of 20 customers and I have been able to save them.
Incorrect data
* I want to check that the computer will not accept data that is wrong. I will open up the customer details form and type in some incorrect data and check that the computer sends me a message telling me the data is wrong. I will type in the details of a customer as normal but when it gets to the field 'sex' I will type in the letter 'X'. The computer should not accept this letter as I have used a validation rule and the computer should only accept the letters 'M' or 'F'.
* I will check that the computer will not accept incorrect data in other fields. I will open up the form to book appointments and then type in some letters into the place where I should be typing the date of the appointment. I think the computer should send me a message telling me that the data type is wrong.
Changing records
* I will double click on my customer details table to open up all the customer records stored in my database. I will then check that I can:
Delete a record - I will highlight one row that contains all the details of one customer. I will then delete.
Add a new record - I will go to the bottom of the screen and add a new record by typing in the details of a new customer
Amending a record - I will check that I can change things in one record. I will change one persons address.
I will then close this table and reopen it. When I reopen it I want to check that all the changes have been saved. I will print out a copy of this table and compare it to the original one.
Outputs
* I will check that I can produce and print out reports from my database
* I will run some queries (searches and sorts) to make sure that the database works and finds the expected results
SECTION G: User Documentation
Introduction
The company has now decided to use a computer system for keeping all data including bookings. All records should now be kept on the Microsoft Access database called Garage. This guide shows staff how to do this.
To Get into the Database:
. Log in to the computer using your ID and password.
2. Double click on the Access icon.
3. Open the existing file called Garage.
4. The database window will now be on the screen.
To Enter Staff Details on to the Database:
. Click on the tab called forms.
2. Click on the Staff form.
3. Click on open.
4. Click on the add new record icon.
5. Key in the details.
To Edit Staff Details:
. Follow points 1,2 and 3 for entering staff details.
2. Find the record to be edited by going through the records.
3. Make the changes.
To Enter Customer Details on the Database:
(explain as above for all forms)
To Search for Staff Details/Customer Details/Bookings:
. Click on the tab called Queries.
2. Click on the query needed.
3. Click on design.
4. In the criteria row key in the details needed, e.g. Smith under surname.
5. Choose the datasheet view.
6. On screen should be the record or records requested.
To Produce a Report:
. Click on the tab called Reports.
2. Double click on the report you want.
3. The report should now be on screen.
4. If you want to, click on the printer icon to get a paper copy.
To Exit the System:
. Click on the X in the top right corner of the screen.
2. Access will save your data automatically most of the time. If it is not going to do this it asks you if you want to save.
Technical Features
The above explains how to use the database. This section is for managers or more experienced users.
Backing Up:
The database should be backed up every night. This means a copy should be made and kept safe. This could be on a backup tape or zip drive and kept in a fire proof safe.
Changing the Design:
It is possible to add new fields to tables, new queries and reports.
To add a new field to a table:
....
To add/edit a query:
......
To add/edit a report:
.......
G User Documentation [3]
No evidence of documentation;
0
Some appropriate documentation;
Clear and appropriate user and technical documentation;
2
* Produce a User Guide (this should not be more than a side or two of A4). This should be written for a person who is unfamiliar with the system you have designed.
It should explain how to load (from Windows), run and carry out the functions of the system (as outlined at the beginning of your report).
* Produce a Technical Guide. This will briefly explain the structure of the system and will describe how to add more fields, change validation rules, back up data files etc.
SECTION H: Evaluation
H Evaluation [3]
Brief or no evaluation;
0
Some evaluation, without reference to user requirements in your Investigation & Analysis section;
Criterion-based evaluation based upon the user requirements listed in your Investigation & Analysis section;
2
Criterion-based evaluation based upon the user requirements listed in your Investigation & Analysis section; including suggestions for improvements to your system
3
* Evaluate the success of your system - Did your system work as well as you thought it would? Did it work as you had planned? Would the company find it useful?
* When writing section 'Section C - Specification' you described how you would evaluate whether your system was a success (ie a list of all the things you wanted it to be able to do) Can your system do all the things that you said it would be able to do?
* Do the users find it quicker and easier to use than the old system? How much faster is your new ICT system compared to doing the same tasks by hand? E.G. how long would it take to search for all the records of female customers by hand and produce a list of their names and addresses compared to running a query in Access?
* Does your user guide help them use your system?
* How would you would improve or refine your system, if you had to create it again or if you had more time to add new features? (e.g. a user friendly main menu screen with buttons (macros) that take you to your forms and reports, a system that allows you to delete customers, add more validation rules (why?), add more fields (why they would be useful), add new tables to the database (eg staff details stored).
J Assessment of Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar [3]
To receive full marks you must spell, punctuate and use rules of grammar accurately. You must also use a range of specialist terms correctly and with precision.
READ THROUGH YOUR PROJECT! If it doesn't make sense to you it is unlikely to make sense to anyone else!
ROYA HASSANZADEH, Ashmole School, 11/BS3 GCSE IT Coursework Assignment
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