Mitesh Patel 11A ICT
Calculator Project
By Mitesh Patel 11A
Contents
Analysis
Identify
Introduction
LPBS: Langley Park Boys School is secondary in Beckenham. There are 2500 students in this secondary school. This school has a mixed 6th form of about 500 out of the 2500 students. LPBS has 100 teachers and about 30n support staff. LPBS also is a computing specialist school, because it is a computing specialist school, it holds special classes for the community. LPBS are introducing computing classes for silver surfers.
The User
The silver surfers are people over 50 who want to learn how to use the computer at Langley Park for Boys School, we are designing a specialist calculator to cater to their needs, these are the small buttons this is because some are visually impaired the colours and the small display.
The problems
Alternative solutions
We could give the elderly a physical calculator that has big numbers, can talk and has a large display. These are available at . The disadvantages are they cost money and they could potentially be stolen.
Another alternative is the magnifier, to get a close up of what they are doing. This is available in the accessories of the XP computer. A disadvantage is that the magnifier could make using the computer awkward because you have to move the cursor point over the bit you would like to magnify.
Why is the ICT solution the ideal solution?
The ICT solution is the ideal solution because if you wanted to edit the calculator interface for the different person using it, it can be done easily and quickly without any cost. Another reason of which the ICT solution is the ideal solution is because when you upload the calculator on to the local school network, everyone has access to this. This way saves money as you don’t have to re produce the calculator and also saves time. An efficient way to change the interface of the calculator to correspond to the user needs can be done with very little hassle. This is why I have chosen the ICT solution rather than the manual solution.
A list of OBJECTIVES for the project
In order to overcome the limitations of the Microsoft Calculator program and meet the needs of our users, the finished product should:
1. Perform the basic arithmetic functions (of add, multiply, subtract and divide).
2. The font size should be big for people with peer eye sight.
3. The difference between the foreground and background colour should make it easy for the user to read.
4. The calculator should automatically fill the screen as soon as it’s open.
5. It should have large ...
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A list of OBJECTIVES for the project
In order to overcome the limitations of the Microsoft Calculator program and meet the needs of our users, the finished product should:
1. Perform the basic arithmetic functions (of add, multiply, subtract and divide).
2. The font size should be big for people with peer eye sight.
3. The difference between the foreground and background colour should make it easy for the user to read.
4. The calculator should automatically fill the screen as soon as it’s open.
5. It should have large buttons so that the people with not so good hand-eye coordination will find it easier to use, and easier to use.
6. It will be able have to be able to be simple to understand.
7. To insert a maximise button.
8. Change the font colour because some people are colour blind.
9. To make the calculator easy to read.
Analysis
Hardware
The hardware that I will use is a computer monitor, mouse and a keyboard to input the information. I will also need to purchase something which I can save my work on to and also which is easy to transfer. For this I will be purchasing a memory stick. To check that the calculator is working, I will do the same calculations on another calculator just to check that everything is working properly. I will need to buy a calculator.
Software
What software features do you need?
In Microsoft word you can’t make any textboxes, buttons, and code to add functionally and present it well.
On PowerPoint you can present the work neatly but you can’t make buttons textboxes or code to add functionality.
On excel you can present data well but you can not make buttons or add textboxes and buttons to add functionality but you cannot present the calculator well.
The software I will use is Microsoft word, Access and Visual basic.
Inputs
These are the digits, e.g.123. There are also operations e.g. +, - etc. I can fit in enough numbers to hold
1-9. There are all in the form of button clicks. First of all, the user will type in the numbers that they will use to do the calculations and also pick a function, e.g. addition, subtraction. This number will be shown in the large display box also known as Numb1. I will validate the input fields so that only number figures can be inputted into these fields. This way there is a less chance of a mistake to occur during the operations.
Processing
These are the four basic operations, these are plus, minus, divide and multiply.
Data Processing
The diagram below diagram shows how I will process the data for the calculator.
Plus function =
Minus function =
Divide function =
Multiply function =
Memory saves =
Outputs
The main outputs of the calculator will be the answer and the display of the numbers. This would be displayed on the monitor. There is no need for the system to be able to be printed or outputted with sounds etc. The only thing I need is for it to be displayed on the monitor. The features of a good monitor are the resolution and size. The better these are, the less likely the users are to get eye strain.
Backup strategy
I am going to purchase a memory stick because the school doesn’t have a very reliable network; I have lost my work many times on this network. So now I will be saving my work on to a memory stick. I will purchase a 128mb memory stick as it is cheaper than the others and I don’t need much memory to hold the work. The one I’m going to purchase is underneath. It costs £6.70 this is a cheap reliable alternative to saving work apart from using the unreliable school network. I have chosen to use a memory stick because almost every computer has a USB port but not all of them have CD-ROM drives so this would mean that I be potentially limited to the amount of computers I can open my work up from a USB pen. I will be using the memory stick often as I can, this will lower the chances of me losing my work.
Another strategy I will be using is to send my work to my own email address through email. This would mean that even if I were to forget to bring my memory stick, I can access my work anyway because most computers now days have internet access.
Data flow Diagrams
Input
User
Security
In order to stop the silver surfers making accidental changes to the calculator we can stop them from looking at the calculator in design view.
In access it’s possible to allow privileges to different user groups. The groups can be “Users” and “Admin”.
This is very complicated process .For the purpose of this calculator it’s acceptable to simply hide the design options from the silver surfers.
In order to stop the silver surfers making accidental changes to the calculator we can stop them from looking at the calculator in design view.
In access it’s possible to allow privileges to different user groups. The groups can be “Users” and “Admin”.
This is very complicated process .For the purpose of this calculator it’s acceptable to simply hide the design options from the silver surfers.
Design
Initial Design
User comments
User comments on initial design
I showed the calculator to a silver surfer and they wrote me a letter.
Dear Mitesh,
I am pleased with the calculator that you have programmed. It is much better than the Microsoft calculator for the reason that it is easier to see, it has easier help with pictures. The colour scheme doesn’t bore your eyes like the one on Microsoft. The fact that you have taken the trouble to program a box which records your calculations comes very handy as sometimes I forget what calculations I have already done. The display box is very large, again much better than the Microsoft version because I usually have to squint my eyes to look at the numbers on the screen.
In regard of all of this positive feedback, there is a few things which need to be improved on you’re calculator. Firstly there is the number buttons, they are quite hard to read because both the colour of the button and the number on the button are quite similar in the shade. Sometimes when I look back on the calculations I have done, I have trouble reading the operations I have asked the calculator to process since the size of the number is small.
Thank you
Jamie Wood
Response to user feedback
In response to the feed back the following adjustments.
Code
Calcticker.visible= true This is to show the ticker
Calcticker.visible= false _This Is to hide the ticker
Planned Components
Test Plan
Tasks to complete for my calculator
- Create user interface using text boxes + command buttons.
- Format all buttons to have large text.
- Add functionality to buttons using Visual Basic.
- Full testing using my test plan.
- Correct any highlighted errors.
- Hand over system to silver surfers.
- Get feedback from silver surfers.
- Evaluate and suggest improvements.
Implement
Screen shots of completed calculator
Calculator in Design view
Calculator in Form view
Testing
Arithmetic Functions
Number Key Pad
I pressed all the numbers on the number keypad, the numbers were then displayed on the screen. This has showed me that the number key pad has worked.
Clear Testing
Before
After
All fields above were cleared after I pressed ‘Clear all’.
Equal Button
Equal Button I have inputted an operation, after this I pressed the ‘=’ button. The output was the answer and this was correct. This has proved the equal’s buttons is working.
Hide/Show Buttons
When I pressed this button, it changed the mode between advanced along with simple. It worked as you can see below.
Hide/ show Buttons cont.
Help option
Backspace
I have inputted a number into the calculator; this number is the number ‘5’. When I clicked clear, what happened is shown underneath.
Negative Number Button (-/+)
Error correction
I have now put speech marks around the “divide”.
Inserting a number
When I type in “1”, it only puts one number in.
Annotated Code
Viewing the properties, naming the objects and changing the display caption
It is important to name all of the buttons & text boxes. This makes it easier to recall them when you are programming in VB.
You can name them in the properties of that button or text box.
Editing the font type and font size
The easiest way to make the buttons clear is to make sure that the text size and type is big and easy to read.
This can be changes in the properties of the Text Box or Button.
Adding functionality to the buttons
The event builder is a way to ass functionality to the buttons. You must first choose the event that you want the instructions to happen on. In this example I have chosen for the even to happen when the user clicks the button. Once I chose the event I have to write in the set of instructions I want to happen in VB.
Questionnaire on Calculator
Please could you answer this questionnaire where 1 being the worst and 5 being the best.
Question 1 2 3 4 5
Easy use?
Clear text?
Clear symbols?
How often do you use the computer?
Is the calculator big
enough?
Is this calculator better than the Microsoft calculator?
Can any improvements be done?
Please state below
Evaluation
User Feedback & Possible Improvements
After reading the Silver Surfer’s response to my questionnaire I have made a summary in bullet points shown below.
- The calculator is easy to use and they like the “Help” feature that I have included.
- The people that use this calculator are, as we expected, beginners in the use of ICT
- They all said that the text and buttons are big enough but said that the colour of the buttons could be better to make it clearer
- Overall they found it a lot more useful than the Microsoft Calculator
If I were to do this project again I would find a new and better way to design the buttons. The current calculator has grey buttons which according to the questionnaire, the Silver Surfers found was not contrasting enough to be able to see clearly. A possible way of making the buttons clearer would be to design the buttons in Paint Shop Pro and save them in images. In Access I could then import the image onto the button through the button’s properties. This would enable me to use any colours that I wished.
Evaluation of objectives
These are the objectives I started with from the beginning when I started this project.
1. Perform the basic arithmetic functions (of add, multiply, subtract and divide).
2. The font size should be big for people with peer eye sight.
3. The difference between the foreground and background colour should make it easy for the user to read.
4. The calculator should automatically fill the screen as soon as it’s open.
5. It should have large buttons so that the people with not so good hand-eye coordination will find it easier to use, and easier to use.
6. It will be able have to be able to be simple to understand.
7. To insert a maximise button.
8. Change the font colour because some people are colour blind.
9. To make the calculator easy to read.
From the calculator I have produced I have learnt many things, firstly, designing and using the different tools in Microsoft access. I have learnt about the different coding that is used to program things like a calculator.
During my project I found it quite challenging but generally it was something that I wouldn’t want to do again because it very time consuming. Even after all of this I found it was fun because I have learnt something new. A couple things that I found pretty hard were to keep to deadlines because there was so much to get through by the end of the lesson. When entering the codes for the calculators functions, e.g. Plus, minus etc. I found it difficult because they were very specific, I found that trying to identify the problems when I had mistake was hard, this was because there was so much coding to look through! When I showed my calculator to the silver surfers, they had said to me that the contrast of the buttons weren’t a good combination as they found it hard to read what was on the button. In response to this, I modified the contrast of the buttons so that it would be easier to read.
When constructing my calculator I thought about my objectives I had made to myself at the beginning of this project. The first objective I had was to make sure that my calculator could perform the basic mathematical functions. These were the addition, subtraction, divide and multiply functions. I can safely say that I have met this objective as my calculator can correctly perform these functions.
As the people I am creating this calculator is for the elderly side of the population. I made one of my objectives to make sure that the sizes of the buttons were big enough for the people to read. I have succeeded on meeting this objective as the feedback I had received from Mr Jamie Wood had said nothing at all about the size of the buttons meaning that there wasn’t a problem with it.
When opening any program, the size of the content adjusts to how big the size of the window is. I had made this my third objective. I have tested this myself and when opening up my calculator it opens as big as it can corresponding to the size of the window. I have met this objective. This was an important point as not many people know how to zoom in, by doing this will ensure that even the people who don’t know how to use Microsoft access can use this without any hassle.
As you become older it is harder for you to keep steady hand coordination. This is why I have understood that I must ensure that the button size and the spread of the buttons around the form were precise. I have spread the buttons so it easier for the user to click on the one they want to calculate with. I have met these objectives.
For the users who don’t know what some of the button functions do, they can now know. I have installed a help feature that displays what the buttons does in large font on the help text box.
The skills that I have learnt during this project are:
- How to program things with VB
- Taking the project through the project life cycle
- Working to deadlines
I enjoyed learning about how to program a calculator, using VB programming as it is a new skill that I have learnt and it allows me to write code to instruct the computer to do tasks.
I also found the programming the hardest part as it was all brand new to me and required me to concentrate very hard in order to stop it getting errors.
If I were to do this project again I would try to plan my time better. I found that I met all of my practical deadlines but found it more difficult to meet my write up deadlines. In my next project I will make sure that I do not fall behind in the write up.
BY MITESH PATEL
CANDIDATE NO. 14255
CENTRE NO.5154