Why is accuracy so important on a website?

Shivangee Maurya 10V ICT GCSE Full Coursework 21/9/07

Accuracy and more

Accuracy is very important on a Website as one mistake can cause many misunderstandings, which can lead to great problems. For example if on the website the currency converter had the wrong conversion rate. People who make use of the currency converter which will convert either from Pounds to Rupees (I hope to in the future do it from many other currency rates). When this person enters their amount in, they would get the wrong conversion which would cause many problems for example if they want to purchase an item they will give the wrong amount of money or give too much which will cause them to question why; all this will be re directed back to the Indian Travels website. In extreme cases this could lead to a court case were people will question as to why we did not have verification checks and

Validation. For example if we purchased something from online and the policy of refunding things had mistake and said that the product could be refunding with 28 days however the actual value was 8 days this would cause many confusion and people would be asking the online website why they did not use verification to ensure what has been written is correct. Many people will want refunds even after told that you could only refund items within 8 days as their policy on the website said 28 days. Due to the mistake the online website made, they should be allowed to refund their items. Which could cause many problems for the Online company.

Validation

Validation is a form of checking that the data entered is correct; there are many different methods of validation. The most suitable methods to use will depend on what data is being inputted. The most common methods are

Presence Check

This checks that data has been entered into a field and that it has not been left empty. This used a lot on online forms Example would be Check first name has been entered in the field provided. This is a speedy method because it checks that something is there and alerts you if you have not entered data. It is also an accurate method as it can make the person check the data that they have entered is correct and even if they have entered any data in the space at all.

This Checks that an entered value is of a certain sort. An example would be there is a field which requires your date of birth check that what is entered is numeric. This is an accurate method as it checks that you have entered the correct format of data has been entered. It is not a very fast method however it does prevent you from having to enter the data again so you get it right first time round.

This check ensures that whatever has been entered is of a certain ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

This check ensures that whatever has been entered is of a certain length. An example would be when you enter your password that it is more than 5 characters. This is an accurate method as it ensures that whatever you are entering is secure for example the longer the password the safer your files etc are secure. This is not a very speedy method as whatever you are entering is longer, however it does ensure security.

This ensures that the value entered is between precise ranges. For example the age entered must be between 13-120. This is an accurate method of checking as it ensures that the data entered is of the correct sort and within the range so that there are no anomalies. This is an accurate method as it makes sure that the data is not erroneous and is not any ridiculous values. This is a speedy method in the long term as it stops you having to look through all your data for one error when you have typed an incorrect piece of data you alerted straight away.

This checks that the value that has been entered is of a certain arrangement which is required. An example would be that the username of some club must consist of numbers and letters. This is an accurate method as sometimes when typing words your finger slips and you enter a number, however most of the time you will not notice also the spell check and grammar check can miss these sorts of mistakes, so a format check would be very useful. It would save you time instead of having to read the entire data again you will be alerted at that point that you have made an error. So it is a fast method also.

Drop down list

This sometimes used so that people only have a choice between a few options as to what can be entered this prevents mistakes and narrows down what the person is able to enter. For example this is used a lot on online forms where they ask you what your title is and they have a drop down list of all the options available. This is an accurate method as you do not have to type the same thing again and again which can cause mistakes. Also is a much faster method as it prevents you having to typing the same thing repetitively.

For the website

For the website I hope to use many of these techniques, I will make use of the range check in the spreadsheet for my formula that I will use for the conversion. I will use a range check to ensure that whatever number I am multiplying the amount being converted is correct and isn’t an outrageous amount.

Verification

A verification check is another form of checking data it is done to ensure and verify that the data entered has been copied correctly from the original source. There are many types and different ways to carry out verification check.

The advantage of a verification check is so that you know that the right data is being copied. The advantages of double entry is that you can check both copies to each other and then you can notice the mistakes then the mistakes are corrected and they are checked to the original to see if there are more mistakes. The disadvantage of the double entry method is that it takes a lot time. The advantage of a visual check that it doesn’t take a lot of time. The disadvantage is that the operator may not realise their own mistakes.

A small disadvantage would be that even if it is checked by someone else the mistake may not always be noticed.

There are a few types of verification check which are on screen prompts, Dual Input, keyboard and spell check and you can get someone else to read the data.

On screen prompts

This is for once a user has entered the data it is shown on the screen. The user is encouraged to read the data and confirm that it has been entered correctly. If the user has entered any data incorrectly they will respond by retyping the incorrect data and correcting it. This is an accurate method as most of the time most people do not read through there work if a prompt is available then they are sure to read it. However it’s not always accurate as when you read it as you have written the piece you are likely to miss some mistakes as you will think most of it will be correct, so you will not be able to check every mistake check. This maybe a speedy method or a time consuming method depending on how long the data is.

Dual Input

This technique is used when data is entered. The data to be entered is typed in twice by two different people. The two copies of the data are then compared against each other, if any differences are detected. The worker will be expected to retype the sections that are different until both copies are the same. When the two copies are the same it is thought that the data has been entered correctly. This is an accurate method as you can compare both of them and notice mistakes easily then comparing them to the original piece will also secure that the data has been written accurately. This is not a very fast method due to the fact that two people are typing the same piece of data out.

For the Website

Verification is very useful it can inform you as to when you make a mistake. If you have typed in an incorrect data the computer will inform you by flashing a big message on your computer screen. I think that Verification would be much more useful for the website in general to be more precise I think that on screen prompts and keyboard and spell check would be most useful as I think that they would highlight many mistakes, I also think that most mistakes are made when typing.

Input methods

Bar Codes

Bar codes are codes which are used quite a lot in the retail industry. They are used as they speed everything up it helps people not to have to retype the same things over and over again. This would be useful for forms on the website for booking they could be ID codes for people wishing to book a holiday. This would be a quick method as if everything had a code it would be easy to identify them. This would be an accurate method as the whole point of bar codes is for accuracy each form would have it own code so it would be accurate. However I will not need to make use of bar codes.

OCR

This is abbreviated for Optical Character Reader; this is a scanner which works by detecting the amount of light which is on the piece of paper. This type of software can be used by big offices and organisation to do things like scanning financial documents also scan text directly onto a work processor. This is something which I will not need to use for my website.

OMR

This is abbreviated for Optical Mark Recognition; this is a system which has been designed for medical ICT systems. Optical mark readers can sense marks made in certain places on a form. For example on a multiple choice exam paper when the mark is made. Then when it goes to the markers it can be done by an Optical Mark Recognition. This could be useful if the website when they send questionnaires out they could collect all the results very quickly with an OMR machine. This is something which I will not need to use for my website.

MICR

This is abbreviated for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition; this is code which at the bottom of cheques. The characters are printed using ink which contains iron in it which maybe magnetised. This magnetic code is read by a magnetic character reader. This piece of equipment is very secure and accurate; however it is a very expensive piece of equipment. I don’t think that it would be very useful for my website in any cases. This is something which I will not need to use for my website.

Codes

Codes also known as abbreviations are used a lot so that we don’t have to keep writing long words fully they can be cut down. This could also happen at the health centre to cut down on typing time and amount a lot of things could be abbreviated. This could be useful for the spreadsheet instead of writing the currency name out in full I could use its symbol. This is something which I will not need to use for my website.

Keyboard and Spell check

The keyboard allows you to enter your choice of information. However at times you can enter an incorrect letter the spell check will highlight that you have made a mistake. Then you go to the word and if there is a spelling error it will give a list of the possible words you are trying to type and you choose one of them or you correct it yourself if the word you wanted to type is not available. This is an accurate method as you are in control of what you type. Also with a spell check you can assure that whatever you have entered is correct. This is a fast method as you are in control of what you are typing also if by any chance you think there maybe mistakes you can check and correct them with a spell check.

For the website

Most of these data entry methods will not be useful to me the only one which applies to is the Keyboard and Spell check