The other software I have used whilst building so far is Paint. Things like text where typed straight into the program, straight into the desired cells. Another good thing about using Excel is that there is no storage limitation, so I could use any sort of image and not have to worry about making sure it has a small storage size. For my logo, all I wanted was a fun image, like a cartoon character, and also along the lines of my website. I used the Internet to find an image and edited it on Paint. I could of used other applications such as Photo Editor or Imagining but Paint had the aspects that I wanted, to fill in the background and add a clipart of a Rainbow over the top. I would I found it more difficult to of achieved this in Photo Editor. One drawback was that if I saved the image in Paint, when I opened it again in Excel it faulted and there was an error, so instead I saved the image and Cut and Copied it on top of the Excel cells, If I pasted it into a cell then it would mess up the column and row sizes.
It is important in both the website and store guide that it is easy for the user and also that it is understandable. Therefore I spell checked and grammar checked all of my work to find any mistakes, these are functions already loaded onto the computer. I also printed out a handout copy so that two people could proof read it, that way not only can they check for spelling, grammar or punctuation mistakes but also make sure it makes sense, is relevant and give their opinion on it. There is a page in my program where you can filter the data of the customers; above this I have written a short explanation of how you would use this function. That way the user will be able to use it correctly.
When entering all of my data, I have categorized it all, with subheadings. This is useful when sorting or search data, as it is all organized but also it is structured for the user. It is important for the correct data to be entered, saved, used otherwise the system might not work correctly or if I was to print out a receipt it might not be clear on what the customers has order. Everything has to be clear and well organised for it to successfully work. Whilst I was entering data, I had no need to double check it as, I was making it all up but if I were working from a current list I would check my stock data by re reading it to make sure I had added everything that was needed. For my customer database, if I were using an already current database I would send each of my customers a letter to double-check their address. I would ask them to reply if they were interested in staying a member, to make this an easier task I could use mail merge. I am going to included instructions on how to make the task of mailing our customers easier in my program, this way if we ever need to mail them, it will be an easier job for the user.
With my EPOS system there are many different ways of entering data, typing it in with a keyboard and scrolling down and clicking on the correct barcode number. These are the only possible options that are available to my application at the moment, but if I were to implement my application it into a shop then I would fit a barcode scanner in. This is a scanner that scan the barcode on the products, if I used this I would then have to attach a barcode to all my products, or have a book with barcodes and description of the products at the till. It would be more time affective if there were a barcode attached to each individual product. Using a barcode scanner it is a lot more accurate than typing in the data. Although I have included a short description of each piece of merchandise, which appears when the item is scanned in, but if this information is overlooked by the employee then the customer could be over of undercharged, and this could also affect my stock taking levels. So I would advise that a scanner were used and the levels of accuracy are much more affective.
The final program will be accessed by a computer within the shop / concession, it will most likely be a standard micro desktop computer, with keyboard, mouse and VDE / CRT monitor, or something with similar capabilities. There are various output methods that I need to include, firstly there is the screen to think about, I would use a VDE / CRT monitor for the shop employee to use and then a another screen for the customer to look at, to check the prices, I would use a matrix screen, which displays the price of each item as it is scanned, the total price, the amount of cash handed over and the change. I would also have to install a printer so that a receipt could print out. As my receipt is a built in function to my EPOS system it has been set to print out as A4 – the standard size for an inkjet / laser printer. If possible I would include an impact receipt, which is often a smaller size – therefore more environmentally friendly, efficient and convenient. An impact printer is a printer that prints out two receipts, by the ink on the first receipt impacting through onto the second receipt, which is placed below. With it printing two receipts one is given to the customer and the shop keeps one, this is useful for various reasons.
I have tried to create a professional overall look; the final program will take up the entire screen so there will be no scroll or information bars, unless you are printing a receipt. There is no need for the user to have any of these bars and I think if looks more aesthetically pleasing. One of the benefits of using Excel is that I can remove the gridlines and use colour. This is good as many of the cells are different sizes so it now looks good and won’t confuse the user. The colour makes the overall application look nicer, and I think this is also good, as it won’t seem so much of a chore for the end user to use the application. I have also tried to consider my end user by typing in the basic instructions on how to use each subsystem, i.e. stock check, customer database etc. This will give them an idea of what to do if they have never used it before, I have also written a user guide, which I am going to get tested. This again gives some instructions on how to use each subsystem and what to do if something goes wrong.
In my system there are two different tables of information that I want to include. Information on the companies stock, including a code, a small description on the product, its price and the amount in stock – relevant for the stock check procedures. There is also a table on the companies customer database, which consists of a number of people, their first and second names, address, town, membership code and telephone number, this information is used in my application for the user to check details. If they wanted to find certain people then they could search for it using this. All of this information is variable information, which means it is the type of information that could change. For example and range of products may be introduced. Or one of the members on the customer database could get married and change their name, or possibly move home. The fixed information on this application is the brief description on how to run each subsystem, and the information on the application on the home page. Another type of fixed information is the drop box on my EPOS system, on different methods to pay. This is something that most likely won’t change. In my application I want to try and included an image, so I am going to insert this on my home page, I am most likely to use an image from my first piece of coursework, which I got of the Internet. This way I am keep my work consistent. I also want to keep the lay of my application consistent, so it looks more professional and aesthetically pleasing. I am going to implement a colour scheme, so that it look constant all the time and have a similar lay out on each page, such as similar sizes and styles of titles and placed in the same place on each page. I think that all of these help make the application look better.
(Still to come)
Over the course I have created three main applications, first I created a website for a concession within a store. My concession was a fancy dress shop, which hired out costumes and sold products, such as face paints and masks. I then created a store guide for the main store in which my concession was located, within this I created a link that linked my store guide with my website. On the second piece of coursework I created an EPOS system that can be used in my store for customers to buy small products, such as face paints, and bunny ears, I used the same company as in my first piece of coursework. I feel ICT benefits all of these products, as now the process is a lot faster and more accurate. For my website it means that the customers can place order forms from the comfort of their home, and they can find out information of the company using the Internet. It also means that I don’t have to employ as many people for my store and I can rent a small concession rather than a larger shop, so the company is saving money. It is a good way of promoting the company, if I didn’t use a website then I would have to spend more money promoting the company in different ways, radio and TV advertisements, posters and leaflets, etc.
With my second piece of coursework, I have created this EPOS system, there are many benefits to this, and there were many other assets I could have added to my application. In mine I have the EPOPS system, which calculates what the customer has brought, how they are paying for it and it calculates a receipt for them. This is useful as if I wanted to, I could store all of the records of what people have brought for filling, I can keep an eye on what has been sold and how much money we should of taken. I have also included notes on mail merge, this is for the shop employees that don’t know the process, and I have included a pre written letter and the instructions of how to use it. This is useful, as it is an easy way to send a standard letter to a number of different people, it is quick easy and personal. I have included a stock check, which can immediately look up an item and it gives a small description, the price and the number in stock. This is very useful as the employ can check what is in stock within seconds. This could be useful as it means that they could check what is in stock for a customer without leaving the room and having too physically check in the stock room. There is also a customer database, where you can check any of the customers up. You simply type in one or more of their details and clicking on the search button. I have used advance filtering to do this, as it is fast, easy and only give you the information you need. There are obviously drawbacks to my application, with the mail merge I haven’t included any information on how to change the letter, which is something that the employ might wish to do. Unfortunately, I haven’t found anyway of reducing the amount in stock one something has been purchased and I have not included any information on how to add more customers into our database, which is something that could become quite common. If my application were to be implemented into a work place that uses manual methods, there would be some changes. Most likely some people would lose their jobs, as there would not be the need for so many people on the shop floor. People’s jobs and responsibilities would change; hopefully the system of paying for goods would become a lot quicker and more effective. There would also have to be training involved. The workers would need some basic training on how to operate my application, what to do if the was a problem etc. With my application the employees would have to learn how to carry out a stock check, how to search for a customers details and how to use the EPOS system, on my application there are basic instructions on how to use all of these.
If I lost any information there would be problems with my application, which is a drawback that I need to try and consider different options. I have within the document got the customer database information stored on a separate spreadsheet as well as with the first spreadsheet and the information on the stock has been saved on the third spreadsheet. Although if there were ever a problem with the whole document I would loss all of my information, there fore I have decided that I am also going to save both of these tables within another Excel document named Back-up Information, and I will save it within the same folder. I will talk about this decision within my user guide so that the end user will know where to find the back up information if there is ever a problem.
Attach separate User and Technical Guides
On the attached piece of paper I have created a user guide, which I am going to get some one to test for me. It is a guide for the user of my application, which gives them instructions on how to operate the program.
Feedback
“I am well familiarized with computers so I found this user guide very simple, but I also found the application quite self explanatory. It gave them basic information that I needed to know; I would advise the writer of this program to give a more detailed guide on how to change information. I thought that the information on where to find the back up tables on stock and customer database very useful – in case of a problem.”- Mrs G Haler
Mr S Jones – “I am very inexperienced when it comes to computers but I found this application relatively easy to use, with the help from the user guide. I think that the guide would be better if it was more detailed, giving slightly longer descriptions.”
Having this feedback has given me the chance to work on my user guide to try and improve it. I am going to create a more detailed guide giving better explanations on each process. I also want to try and include some information on how to enter new data or change existing data. As the stock check and customer database is variable information I think that it is important that the end user has some idea of how to change this.
I have now attached my new user guide with the amendments, and this is what my previous testers thought about it.
“I think that this is a brilliant improvement, it gives more details and explains how to change things that someone could easily have to change.”- Mrs G Haler
Mr S Jones – “This guide is better now as it gives more adequate details on the different process and is laid out in a much better manner, it is easy to understand and makes to system easier to use.”
My system will benefit users, as it is a quick and effective system that processes information quickly eliminating many of the old manual processes. Using the EPOS system, it means that my staff can quickly serve customers using accurate equipment that is fast, as the computer calculates all the sums and using VLOOKUP formulas all of the information is brought together, without looking for it separately. By creating a macro that copies and pastes the information to create a receipt, therefore by simply clicking on one button the whole process is complete. That’s why it is so effective as it is fast and accurate – there is no way in that the user could create an error. There are many benefits for the company, such as it is accurate, it is fast, and there is less need for so many staff on the shop floor. One problem that I encountered throughout my building is when creating my customer database, I started by filtering the information but this distorted all of my cell references, instead of moving the information, all of the rows of information moving. To stop this I used Advance filtering, which moves the individual information, which is relevant to the piece of information that was typed in. This process copies the information from the selected cell ranges to another selected cell range below the box. There are many aspects about my application, which don’t work as well as I would like them to have. When using many of the macros the screen flickers, from when I was first recording the macro and I scrolled either down and up or side to side. I would like this not to happen as I think that it would look more of a professional system. If I compare my application to what I wanted it to look like I think that is holds a strong resemblance. I wanted to implement a colour scheme, which I added onto my design ideas, I was going to use reds and oranges as my colour scheme but throughout build I changed this to a blue theme as I think that on screen this looks better and it isn’t too bright. I also wanted to have a similar lay out on each page, such as similar sizes and styles of titles and to have placed in the same place on each page. Again I think that I have achieved this well, each pages title is constant with the last one. I am pleased that I have managed to do this as I feel it leaves the application looking smarter and more professional. As I have mentions in previous section, there are many different input and output devices. Currently the output devices that are being used are a standard A4 sized inkjet / laser printer for the receipt. Although I would use an impact printer as it is more efficient and convenient. An impact printer is a printer that prints out two receipts, by the ink on the first receipt impacting through onto the second receipt, which is placed below. With it printing two receipts one is given to the customer and the shop keeps one. There is also the screen, which currently I am using a VDE / CRT monitor. I would like to use this screen, or one of a similar standard for the shop employee to use and then a another screen for the customer to look at, to check the prices, I would use a matrix screen, which displays the price of each item as it is scanned, the total price, the amount of cash handed over and the change. Input devices, currently there is the mouse and keyboard, if I where to use this in a working shop I would still keep the keyboard as it is often useful in case there is a problem with the other input devices, but I would probably use either a roller ball mouse which I think is more convenient or I would use a touch screen instead of the VDE / CRT monitor. I would defiantly use a barcode scanner, these would mean that I would have to change all of the codes that are currently attached to my products to make them suitable but in the long term, this process is time and cost effective and an accurate method of putting the data in.
My application would be used within a shop, I have created it for a fancy dress company called Keroppi, and I have made it to go with my Website that I created in my 1st piece of coursework, a concession within a department store. Although it is a suitable application that could be implemented into most companies. The EPOS system, you could change then information and it could use it in any company, using the basic structure for customers to pay for goods. There are obviously many differences between my system and those built by professionals, such as they have the options of building their application from many other programs, many of those which aren’t open to me at school. They can build machines that do these operations, computers devoted just to the EPOS system. By using these different options they can create programs that are much more advanced and hold better qualities. The people that build these real systems have been given possibly years of training, have had weeks to build this one application and are getting paid to do so. ICT in retail has made some amazing changes over the past years, the whole system of paying is now much more accurate, fast and cost effective. By introducing an electronic till, it means that now there are many over ways in which people can pay for their goods. Using an EPOS or an EFTPOS system. Data from those points of sale can be transferred to a main computer and analysed this analysed data then means that the company can target certain people with certain goods / special offers. It also means that they can order certain types of products at certain times throughout the year, depending on when they are most popular. (Ice creams for the winter and strappy tops for the summer etc.) ICT has been a great benefit to many big companies but there are also the drawbacks, as such big, like Marks and Spencer, are increasing in size many smaller franchises and businesses are being forced to close down as there is no need for them any more. Even though all of this new ICT is a major improvement for major businesses, there are other drawbacks, the cost being one of these. This technology is costing a lot to install but the benefits out way the cost and it has made the process so much quicker that more sales can take place, gaining more money for the company. There is also training involved. With every new piece of equipment installed the staff have to be trained how to use it. If you were to install all these new technology into a manually working environment they would require a lot of training. How to use the point of sale, inputting data, payment methods, receipts, refunds, discounts etc. There is also security that would need training, CCTV cameras, security tags, radios (for communication) etc. There are many other things like how to do a stock take using ICT, how to use HHT - hand held terminals etc. All of these methods create a much more efficient working area. With the security it means that there is less of a chance of shop lifting and with the ability to keep an eye on the stock level and doing stock taking it means they can observe the stock and notice when thing have been stolen. ON a whole the process of paying for something is a lot quicker and there fore less staff are needed on the shop floor. Also with this technology the information from the point of sale can be transferred to the main computer and analysed so that the company can target certain people with certain offers etc.