Since the end user has a wide range of resources available and is familiar with the Excel 2000 system I have decided to use this software package and implement it into the new system I will produce.
The owner of the company requested that a computer system be created that would provide the company with quotation for residential properties by the user entering details on the feature of the property. This would enable the company to provide quotes for residential properties without employing a professional valuator. Instead there will be various pre-set multipliers stores on the system, which will provide the company with an accurate quote when the appropriate data is entered in the system. The quote would be reliable and avoid contrasting views on the value of the property.
If the quote was produced manually as it is currently using the same methods, it would be time consuming. This is due to the all the multipliers that need to be calculated each time a quote is being produces. Due to the complex natures of the numerical calculations that need to be implemented, it is likely that this will lead to human errors and an incorrect quote.
A computer system ain a spreadsheet programme would tackle the current manual problems, by producing a quick and accurate quote every time with the user only having to input the basic details of the property without searching for the multipliers to correspond with each feature of the property. There are many aspects that need to be taken into account when evaluating the price of a residential property; many features which affect the price include location, area, and type etc. Evaluating the price of house properties depends on many factors than it initially appeared.
EXPLAIN EACH FACTOR
SURVEYOR PRODUCING QUOTE
Currently…
I will need to use data from property guides so I can produce an accurate estimation with the help of these property guides. I will also need to take into account factors and will need general inspection which will affect the price of the house which I will take into consideration
Resources available
Although costs may be occur to implement this system, which could include hardware or software programming and these costs will be low in comparison to employing a professional property valuator.
The end user will operate my system using a Pentium 3 PC with a 1.2 GHz processor with 512 MB RAM and 40 GB UDMA hard disk drive. The user also has additional hardware facilities such as a scroll mouse and a 720 dpi C60 Epson printer which prints black text approximately 12 ppm and prints colour and graphics at 8 ppm. The monitor of the PC has a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels.
The operating system used on the users PC is Windows 2000 and Office 2000. This includes the 2000 version of Excel which is compatible to the Excel version I will be using, which will enable the user to utilize the system I will produce. The user is also linked to the internet. This will allow the system to be set up without any real difficulties or necessity to upgrade further.
Whilst producing the system I will encounter limitation these will include time restriction as the system has to be completed by February 2003. In addition the user has a limited knowledge of using Excel, but has a basic knowledge of Excel 2000 which he gained whilst completing a CLAIT course. I will assess the skills of the individual on Excel to gain a clearer picture on the users understanding of Excel so I can produce a project that the end user can follow and implement.
Here are the tasks the user is able to do on Excel 2000:
End User Requirement
In order for my system to be effective and to increase the efficiency of providing quote for housing properties; it is essential that the new system meets the following user requirements:
- Accurately calculate (estimate) the price of a house in certain areas in Derbyshire
- Add and delete houses
- Produce a quote swiftly and a receipt for the price
- Save quotes for future reference
- Adaptable for changes such as house price changes (e.g. booms)
- Reduce the time and increase the accuracy it currently takes to produce a quote
- The system must be user friendly involving only non-technical user inputs
- The system must have different levels of access, to ensure customers are only able to enter house data and only employees are able to delete, edit records and multipliers
- Provide the facility to store quotes for reference. This includes details such property details, customer details and the date of the quote.
- The system must be look professional and operate without any problems to maintain its efficiency.
Criteria
- Reduce the risk of errors
- Produce a professional looking quote/receipt
- Reduce the time it currently takes to produce a quote
- Must be user friendly
I will produce a set of evaluation or performance requirements that will allow a comparison of the present system to your solution. These will include quantitative data such as;
- Time taken to produce an estimation to be as quick as possible
- Ease of access
- Receipts per minute
- Number of mistakes after repeating a task several times
- Minimise errors by providing validations for the input transmission transcription transposition
There is also qualitative data such as;
- Ensure documentation looks professional from end users and other people’s response
- Evaluate the printouts from people’s responses
Inputs/Process/Outputs
Initial
The start date
Recurring data such as the customer’s habits
Recurring
Company Name and address
Multipliers of the factors affecting the house price
MORE DETAIL SEPARATELY TO TABLE
Firstly the user will need to enter a password to allow him/her to access the system. This will prevent unauthorised access to confidential data such as customer details.
Sub tasks
In order for the formation of my system to be start in a comprehensive manner, it is necessary to break down the tasks into various sub tasks. The sub tasks that I have recognized I must undertake are shown below.
- Firstly I must obtain the monetary value assigned to each feature (option) of the property. These will then be entered into my system as multipliers, to be referred to when the required data is inputted.
- I must arrange an interview with the manager of Mr Lane to create a system that meets the requirements he desires. The main function of the system is to provide a quote of housing properties in residential properties. In order for me to produce a system that provides the end user with a fairly accurate quote, its necessary for me to complete the following sub tasks:
- I must create a method for an employee to input data on the necessary features for the property
- It is essential that I create a section in the system to store the inputted data on the properties and on the customers.
- I must then develop a part of the system that will display the quote to the user and they are also given the choice to print a copy of the quote.
- To allow efficient organization of the data stored on the data in my system. It is important that I develop some administrative tools that can be used by the system administrator to edit, delete, and add record from the database.
EDIT MULTIPLIERS
- To protect what could be perceived as sensitive or private data stored on my system. For me to ensure this requirement ids met I think it is necessary to create a system where the user has to enter a password to determine whether access to the system is permitted. There will be a username to establish what areas of the system the user has access to. For example does the user have the authority to view and delete customer details?
- It is imperative that I thoroughly check my system to make sure that the system operates correctly and accurately. I must ensure the system is suitably user friendly and it satisfies all the performance criteria’s appointed by the end user.