Costs Of Development
- Hardware (Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Hard Drive, Printers, Scanners)
- Software (Anti Virus, Spyware, Microsoft Office Software – Integrated package – Word processing software, Desktop Publishing, Database, Spreadsheet Software, Presentation software)
- Maintenance of new system, making sure its up to date, virus free, and running effectively. 20% of the £20,000 budget.
- Staff within the Perfect Pie Company are going to need training within in the different areas involving the system
- Higher electricity bills due to the constant running of the computerised system.
- Developing and running of a WAN Web which will link together the main office and kitchen site.
- Due to the company going computerised, the Perfect Pie Company will have to shut its doors, until the new system is up and running and in place. Due to this, the company will lose money and maybe regular customers.
- They might have to employ a team of technicians to ensure that the computerised system, running efficiently and effectively at all times.
- They will need to invest in a domain name and a hosting package, before designing a website for the company.
- They will need to create some method for backing up the system and all work on the systems at the end of every working day.
The Benefits Of Development Include
- The new computer system will mean that invoices can be created instantly when orders are processed into the system, this will result in company not losing revenue, due to business who order one off deliveries.
- The owner of the company will not have to drive between sites when passing information, instead the information can be sent through email or be seen on screen on the WAN Web.
- All changes that aren’t being made to customer’s orders will now take place, as this information can be sent across and back within a few clicks.
- The new hardware for example, printer or scanner, will allow the company, to print out invoices, new menus, flyers which can be given to customers along with their orders. And hardware like a scanner can be used, to scan in important business documents i.e. financial issues.
- The integrated software like Microsoft Office, will allow the owner, the administration staff and the kitchen staff to complete general day to day activities on screen. For example, creating invoices, adding order information, i.e. changes to a customer’s order, and lastly create reports on the sales of each type of pie, the amount of profit that each filling brings to the business and the profit that the sales of drinks, salads, and hot snacks, bring to the business.
- Due the addition of new computer systems within the company, staff will now be able to do their jobs more efficiently as they now know the availability of computer systems.
- Investing in a domain name and a hosting packing will allow the Perfect Pie Company to have a website which will be updated regularly. The site can then be accessed by the public to place orders, view menus; and lastly view job vacancies and many more.
- Having a backing up system installed within the company, will ensure that important information and files will not be lost, and if the system was to be hacked or get a virus or need repaired. With a backup system, all data from the formatted system can be viewed, accessed and saved onto another system.
Conclusions And Recommendations
Software Needed
The Perfect Pie Company will need to invest in antivirus/spyware software, and integrated packages like Microsoft Office 2007.
Firstly antivirus software like Symantec’s Norton Anti Virus 2009 with Antispyware software, will provide the computer systems within the Perfect Pie Company, with the latest up to date antivirus software, spyware remover, Bot protection, browser protection, internet worm protection, intrusion prevention, OS and application protection, rapid pulse updates, a recovery tool*, rootkit detection, Norton™ insight and lastly SONAR™ behavioural protection.
Key benefits of the Norton antivirus with Antispyware 2009 include; Stops viruses, worms, spyware, bots, and more—It will keep the Perfect Pie Companies computer system protected against all types of malicious threats. Norton™ Insight—delivers innovative intelligence-driven technology for faster, fewer, shorter scans. NEW! Rapid pulse updates every 5 to 15 minutes—provides up-to-the-minute protection so the chance is slim that the Perfect Pie’s computerised system will become infected. Prevents virus-infected emails and instant messages from spreading—Feel secure while you keep in touch. And lastly blocks browser exploits and protects against infected Web sites—Surf the Internet with confidence.
Office Small Business 2007 will provide the Perfect Pie Company with the latest and newest office software, the following software is include in the package; Microsoft Excel 2007, Microsoft Word 2007, Microsoft PowerPoint 2007, Microsoft Publisher 2007, and Microsoft Outlook 2007, with Business Contact Manager.
Microsoft Excel 2007 is a powerful tool will allow the Perfect Pie Company to analyze, communicate, and manage information, to make more informed decisions. Whether the Perfect Pie Company are publishing a financial forecast for an executive review or providing a business report to an external auditor, Microsoft Excel 2007 will help the Perfect Pie Company communicate their analysis in professional-looking reports and charts that are much easier to create.
Microsoft Word 2007 is a powerful authoring program that will give the Perfect Pie Company the ability to create and share documents by combining a comprehensive set of writing tools with the easy-to-use Microsoft Office Fluent user interface.
Microsoft Word 2007 will help staff within the Perfect Pie Company; create professional-looking content more quickly than ever before. With a host of new tools, the staff, can quickly construct documents from predefined parts and styles, as well as compose and publish blogs directly from within Word. Advanced integration with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and new XML-based file formats make Office Word 2007 the ideal choice for building integrated document management solutions.
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007, will enable staff within the Perfect Pie Company to quickly create high-impact, dynamic presentations, while integrating workflow and ways to easily share information. From the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface to the new graphics and formatting capabilities, Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 puts the control in the hands of the staff to create great-looking presentations.
Microsoft Publisher 2007 will allow the staff within the Perfect Pie Company to create, personalize, and share a wide range of publications and marketing materials in-house. New and improved capabilities will guide personnel through the process of creating and distributing in print, Web, and e-mail so the Perfect Pie Company can build their brand, manage customer lists, and track your marketing campaigns — all in-house.
Microsoft Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager offers powerful customer and contact management which will help the Perfect Pie Company, save time, improve sales and marketing, and deliver better customer service. The perfect Pie Company will be able to organize and manage all their contact, prospect, and customer information in one place. Track leads and opportunities throughout the sales cycle. Easily create, personalize, and track direct marketing campaigns in-house. And centralize their project-related information so you can stay organized and monitor tasks with automated reminders.
Hardware Needed
The Perfect Pie Company will need to invest in the following hardware; monitor, keyboard, mouse, hard drive, printers, and lastly a scanner to insure that their company is fully computerised. Firstly the Perfect Pie Company will need a monitor to display their actions on screen, a keyboard will allow the Perfect Pie staff to type letters, functions, information for PowerPoint’s and calculations into Spreadsheets; a mouse will allow the administration staff within the Perfect Pie Company to navigate their way around files and folders within the computer system. The hard drive is the brain of the computer; the hard drive contains all files and folders of programmes, and system files that allow the computer to work, without these files the computer will not function properly. The printer will the administration staff within the Perfect Pie Company to print out letters, invoices, finical reports, of each pie filling, hot snacks, drinks, details of customers, and their orders, and many more. A scanner will allow important documents to be scanned on to the computer system as a back up copy, so if the copy on paper was to be misplaced or lost, the scanned document can be easily accessed and reprinted.
Possible Constraints With Hardware And Software
There will be many possible constraints with the Perfect Pie Company becoming computerised, as well as the design of the new system, various amounts of hardware and software will have to be purchased in order for the Perfect Pie Company to get the most of the new system; this will put a strain on the financial budget. Although Antivirus and Spyware software can remove nearly any virus that steps in its path, hackers are constantly on the lookout for and creating new viruses, and spyware that can claim private and confidential data and make them lots of money due to identity fraud. Along with the high cost of the design of the new system, hardware and software needed, furthermore 20% of the £20,000 budget must be kept for essential maintenance on the new system, for example, repairs, faults, bugs, crashes. Order options like text messages and an online order form can cause problems; the servers can easily get problems that will take time to resolve which in turn will give the customers less options to choose from for placing their order. During the time that the new system is being put into place within the company, the Perfect Pie Company will have to close its doors to the public, this will result in another financial lose, and regular customers might chose to go elsewhere. As a computerised system can easily crash, get viruses, spyware and Trojans, which can result in important files being deleted, for example, files containing details about customers orders, and also payments received by customers. In turn up to date antivirus and spyware software must be installed. Staff within in the company who have very little computer knowledge and are used to doing tasks the old way (with pen and paper) might become demotivated.
Possible Alternatives
I am going to suggest possible alternatives for the design of the new system I.e. the software that is going to be used, the three alternatives that are going to be considered are the following; bespoke software, bespoke, off the shelf software and lastly customized off the shelf (COTS).
The first piece of software I am going to explain is the Bespoke Software. Firstly Bespoke Software is a type of software that is developed either for a specific organisation or functions that differs from the two other types of software that is available on the market. Which are known as “Off The Shelf” and “Customised Off The Shelf” (COTS). Out of the three alternatives listed, the Bespoke option is vastly the most expensive. The only explanation for this is that, the Bespoke Software is customised only for the requirements of the Perfect Pie Company; meaning that the Bespoke Software will target only the specific problems within the Perfect Pie Company. For example, the Bespoke Software will allow reports of each type of pie that is sold, the profits from each filling, and lastly the profit from the sales of drinks, salads and hot snacks, to be created, communication between the two sites can be improved dramatically, and lastly the effectiveness and efficiently of how a customer can place an order will be improved. On top of this piece of software being the most expensive concerning the £20,000 budget, staff within the Perfect Pie Company will not be experienced when it comes to working with this piece of software, this will result in them requiring training this piece of software, and if there is any hitches or bugs within the software, experienced personnel who work within the developing and creation of the Bespoke software will be able to resolve the problems. Yet again this will be costly to the budget for implementing the new system. Another disadvantage of the Bespoke Software is that within the timescale of 20 weeks, in this time the software would not be created, tested for faults and installed on all computer systems used within the Perfect Pie Company. Another good addition within the Bespoke Software is that other software can run along side it, for example, Microsoft Office, is a piece of integrated software, which allows companies and major organizations to carry out everyday tasks within the one package. Microsoft Office 2007 consists of the following packages, Microsoft Word; which is word processing software; this can be used for creating letters, staff memos, newsletters, creating staff rotas. The mail merge function can also be used when creating a letter, fieldnames can be inserted from a database that was created using Microsoft Access. Microsoft Excel is calculation software that will allow staff within the company to enter financial income from sales of pies, and with the implementation of an online order form, a macro could be introduced that will bring the customer into a spreadsheet where they can enter the quantities of the type of pie they want, in return they can print a receipt and generate the final cost. Microsoft PowerPoint is presentation software; the staff within the Perfect Pie Company can create digital posters and project them on a screen in the main office, Microsoft Access is database software, staff within the Perfect Pie Company can add customers details, orders, add financial details, add records of profits from each type of filling/pie and many more. Microsoft Outlook can be used for emailing customers, importers who deliver the hot snacks, fillings, cold drinks. Microsoft FrontPage is a web design package that will allow the Perfect Pie Company, to create edit, and design web pages, that will make up a website. They can create their official website, which will allow customers to order online, view jobs, view new menu with prices, get address and contact details. Lastly Microsoft Outlook, they can use this piece of software as calendar, in which they will keep up to date with orders; also changes in orders, new orders, can be notified through use of the Outlook email system.
The second piece of software I will explain is “off the shelf software”. Off the shelf software, is software that is ready made, fully tested and all that the user has to do is purchase the software and install it onto their computer. Off-the-shelf (OTS) is a term for software or hardware, generally technology or computer products, that are ready-made and available for sale, lease, or license to the general public. They are often used as alternatives to in-house developments or one-off government-funded developments. The use of OTS is being mandated across many government and business programs, as they may offer significant savings in procurement and maintenance. However, since OTS software specifications are written by external sources, government agencies are sometimes wary of these products because they fear that future changes to the product will not be under their control. Although this software is a fast and less expensive method, and it will come in under the budget of £20,000, I don’t think off the shelf software is not very suitable and will not fulfil the requirements within the Perfect Pie Company, for example, generate reports for sales of each type of pie, the amount of profit that each filling brings to the company, and lastly the profit that the sales of drinks, salads and hot snacks bring the business. Another major disadvantage of “off the shelf” software is that the software the company is going to purchase, can not be altered or adjusted to suit their needs, the creator of this piece of software is the only person that can do this.
The last piece of software that I am going to explain is customised off the shelf software; the (COTS) approach. Customized off the shelf software is a type of that is developed either for a specific organization or function, in this case, the Perfect Pie Company going computerized. Customized off the shelf software differs from its counterparts that are already available; these are known as or Bespoke Software. It is generally not targeted to the , but usually created for companies, business entities, and organizations. Basically COTS is software that can be customized to suit the requirements of the Perfect Pie Company. The piece of customized off the shelf software that I am going to use, is an integrated package called Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office consists of six different packages; they are Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Microsoft FrontPage, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Outlook. Firstly Microsoft Word is a piece of word processing software, this software will allow staff within the Perfect Pie Company to type up important information, as a backup copy, letters to customers, or importers, this can be done easily, instead of typing out the address details of each respondent, a function known as mail merge can be used, this will allow the Perfect Pie Company, to insert fields from a database containing records of their customer base, into a Microsoft Word document. This will save the company time, and the hassle of typing the address details at the start of each letter every time. Microsoft Excel is a piece of calculation software, staff can type in sales of each type of filling, the profit of hot snacks and cold drinks, and insert all this information into a pie chart, a bar chart, line chart. They can also filter the data they’ve entered and query the spreadsheet, this will save the company save time as all records or information is on the computer system. Also as the company is going to include an online order form when they turn computerized, the online order form can be attached to the spreadsheet that will mean all the customers will have to do is type in the quantity of what there is going to include in their order. Microsoft Access is a piece of database software; Microsoft Access will allow staff within the Perfect Pie Company to add their customer base, i.e. contact/address details, in return they can use the database they create as part of the mail merge within Microsoft Word. Microsoft PowerPoint is a piece of presentation software; Microsoft PowerPoint will allow staff within the Perfect Pie Company to create digital posters for example, details of a new pie filling, stating to customers that hot snacks and cold drinks are available, and project them on a flat screen, also it is a good way to present a report to managing director, Microsoft Outlook, is a piece of a communication software, staff within in the Perfect Pie Company, can send and receive orders, and changes to orders, between the main office and the kitchen, also updates to the working day, and memos can be posted.
Possible Risk Of Change
Due to the design of a new system within the Perfect Pie Company, there is many risks that can happen due to the change, firstly there are various amounts of expensive hardware and software will have to be purchased in order for the to get the most of the new system; this will put a strain on the financial budget. Another major risk is that there is only a timeline of 20 weeks for introducing the new system for the Perfect Pie Company; this might not be long enough to ensure that the system is fully functional with no bugs, viruses, or any major problems that will affect the company. A remaining 20% of the £20,000 budget must be kept for essential maintenance on the new system, for example, repairs, faults, bugs, crashes, but what if the repairs were more than £4000, the company would have to invest more money into fixing the problems, which could potentially leave the Perfect Pie Company with debt. As more order options like text messages and an online order form will become available; this can easily cause unwanted and unneeded problems; for example the servers can easily crash, and in order for the problem to the fully resolved, customers will have less options to choose from for placing their order in that time. Another constraint is that the time taken to put the new system into place within the company, the Perfect Pie Company will have to close its doors to the public, this could result in another major financial lose, and their regular customers might chose to go get their food elsewhere. The computerised system can easily crash, get viruses, spyware and Trojans, which can result in important files within or about the company being deleted, for example, files containing details about customers orders, and also payments received by customers. In turn up to date antivirus and spyware software must be installed. Lastly staff within in the company who have very little computer knowledge and are used to doing day to day tasks the old fashioned way (with pen and paper) might become demotivated with their job.
Recourse Requirements
Due to introduction of a new system within the Perfect Pie Company, a number of initial recourse requirements will need to take place, firstly with the implementation of a new system, suitable levels of ICT training will have to be provided for all staff members within the company. Due to the vast increase in computer systems and their capabilities, the new system will have to be maintained constantly and kept up-to-date in order for the company to benefit from the system. A team of experienced ICT technicians might need to be employed to ensure that constant maintenance of the new system takes place, and that any problems or bugs concerning the new system are looked at and resolved immediately, for example the server that controls the running of the WAN web within the company, if this was to crash, the two vital methods of placing an order, through an online order form and text messaging would be out of action until the problem was resolved.
Cost Benefits Analysis
As the Perfect Pie are introducing a new computerised system, a lot of money will have to spent on purchasing all the different pieces of hardware and software for each of the computer systems within the Perfect Pie Company. Computer hardware consists, of a Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, and Hard Drive, whereas software consists of integrated packages such as Microsoft Office, which contains Word Processing Software, Database Software, Calculation Software, Desktop Publishing Software and much more, alongside this they will also have to invest in a top notch piece of anti virus software such as Norton Anti Virus. All of which will be very costly on the Perfect Pies budget. Also as this new computer system is being implemented, more money of the £20,000 budget will have to be spent on ICT training for each member of staff, to ensure that they make the most of their new system, whilst carrying out day to day office tasks. Another 20% (£5,000) of the £20,000 budget will be kept for essential maintenance of each of the computerised system within the Perfect Pie Company. Along with maintenance of the new system, it would be advisable that an ICT or team of ICT technician are employed to ensure that all of the computer systems within the Perfect Pie Company are running properly and that each system is fully up-to-date. The Perfect Pie Company will also have to invest in a domain name and a hosting package, if they are to have a website, in which customers can use to view menus, place orders and much more. The Perfect Pie Company should also take into consideration the costs for the installation and setup of a WAN (Wireless Area Network). The WAN will be responsible for linking both the Main Office and Kitchen Site within the Perfect Pie Company together. Lastly I feel that the Perfect Pie Company should also invest and make use of a Back Up System preferably; magnetic tape. This will ensure that all data saved on each of the computer systems on a day to day basis will be backed up at the end of each night, this will result in the smooth running of the Perfect Pie Company.
The introduction of a new computerised system within the Perfect Pie Company will ensure that all invoices concerning new and existing orders can be prepared and added to deliveries in an instance. This will result in revenue not being lost from businesses who only order, one off orders. The new hardware such as Keyboards, Monitors, Mouse, Hard Drives, Printers and even Scanners, Integrated packages such as Microsoft Office will allow the Perfect Pie Company carry out everyday office tasks on screen, for example, invoices, databases containing details of customer’s orders, reports containing different data including profits from pie fillings, hot and cold snacks and even drinks. Also Printers and Scanners will allow invoices, menus, leaflets and other business documents to be printed and included with the customers order. I feel that the computer systems will allow each member of staff within the Perfect Pie Company to carry out of there of day to day tasks in more effective manner. The introduction of WAN (Wireless Area Network) will allow information such as changes in existing orders, and details of new orders to be passed between both the Main Office and Kitchen Site. This is more convenient, effective method of sending and receiving information instead of the owner driving back and forth the kitchen site with details of customer’s orders. If the Perfect Pie Company do decide to invest in a domain name and a suitable hosting package, this will enable to them create, edit and design a website for their company. The Perfect Pie website can be accessed from anywhere in the world via the Internet Explorer, and it will enable customers to view menus, careers, a map showing the location and even place their online via the Online Order Form. Lastly if the Perfect Pie Company was to invest in a Back Up System for each of their computer systems, if the inevitable was to happen, for example if the system was to crash, or get hacked into, all data from the previous backup would be present and each of the computer system could be easily restored.
As invoices are being created by the new system and given out to customers along with their deliveries, in turn, the Perfect Pie Company will not be losing any revenue and they will start to gain profit from every order they receive. Basically they will not be throwing away vital money. The installation of suitable Back Up System for each of the computer systems within the Perfect Pie Company will ensure that if hackers or deadly viruses were to hit the system, files from the previous Back Ups can be easily accessed and restored back on to each of the computer systems. The employment of an ICT technician can be in charge of the Back Ups, alongside keeping each of the computer systems fully functionally and fully updated. By employing a technician repairs can be carried there and then on site, whereas if they didn’t have an ICT technician employed they would have to ring up another company who deals in fixing computers to come to their aid. This would also put a delay on the operations within the Perfect Pie Company. WAN (Wireless Area Network will allow information to be passed on via email, or posted up on the networks homepage. All this can be processed within a few clicks of a mouse. This will improve the communication between both sites within the Perfect Pie Company, resulting in a better working performance and improved customer satisfaction levels. Lastly investing in a domain name and a suitable hosting package will ensure that customers will be able to make use of the Online Order Form via the Perfect Pies Company website. This will give them a more efficient, effective way of placing their order. From the website they will allow be able read background information on the Perfect Pie Company, view menus with prices, location of the nearest Perfect Pie Branch and even careers within the Perfect Pie Company.
Recommendations
I have suggested three of the following alternatives for the new system within the Perfect Pie Company; firstly Bespoke Software, off the shelf software, and customized of the shelf software. The alternative I am going to recommend for the Perfect Pie Company is Customized Of The Shelf Software (COTS) because I think it will be the most beneficial to the Perfect Pie Company. If the Perfect Pie Company, were going to take on the COTS approach, it would be very beneficial to them as the Perfect Pie Company can make use of an online order form, this will give potential and existing customer another high tech way of placing their order, through a spreadsheet, which the Perfect Pie Company can set up to calculate the total cost of each item of their order, which the customer can then use as a receipt to show that he has paid for their food. The Online Order form can be downloaded via the Perfect Pie Companies website. By using the Online Order Form, the customer will be able to find out the total cost of their order, and if needed, they will be able to print out the Online Order Form, and use it as a receipt. Also the Perfect Pie Company will be able to send details from the Online Order Form to the recipients email address, this will allow the Perfect Pie Company to use the receipt as an invoice, in order to speed up the payment for the order. If they wanted to make use of an Online Order Form, they would have to use a website design package called Microsoft FrontPage. Microsoft FrontPage is part of the integrated package, Microsoft Office. By using Microsoft FrontPage the Perfect Pie Company will be able to create an online order form, within a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet, in which the Perfect Pie Company will be able to import into the Perfect Pie Companies website. This will be of great benefit to the Perfect Pie Company, due to the fact that customers will now be able to process their food orders online. The Perfect Pie Company will be able to make use of WAN. To include a WAN, the Activity Unlimited Company must have a high speed internet connection in order to the network. WAN will allow the Perfect Pie Company staff members to log on or access their workstations from home or from anywhere in and around the Perfect Pie Premises (Main Office and Kitchen). By doing this each staff member will be able to see any changes, for example any changes that were made to existing orders, or any new orders that have been phoned into the main office. I feel that introducing a WAN will improve the overall level of communication between the office staff and the kitchen staff. I feel that if the Perfect Pie Company was to introduce a WAN Web which would control the communication between both the main office and kitchen sites, there should be a set of standardised set of rules, which include cut of times. In other words, once it hits a certain time in the day, new orders wont be able to get sent through due to the busy, this would be a good method of preventing a backlog of deliveries, in turn there will be less mix ups in what’s coming in and what’s going out. I recommend also that the Perfect Pie Company consider introducing multi-level access rights for each of the computer systems within the main office and the kitchen sites, so each member of staff will be able to different levels of access. For example, the owner of the Perfect Pie Company would have the highest level, whereas a member of the kitchen staff would have the lowest level of access rights. By doing this, this means that all confidential data concerning both staff and customers can be easily protected. To ensure top notch security protection the Perfect Pie Company should ensure that all staff have their own unique usernames and passwords, that they need in order to log on to each computer system within the company. Another vital element of running a business, is that all data concerning the customers and their orders, must be backed up at the end of each night, this can be done in a number of ways, two of the most simplest forms of backing up important data is by using either a USB pen or a magnetic tape. Although if I had to chose either one of the two methods, I would definitely recommend magnetic tape, due to the fact that USB pens can easily break, corrupt and go missing, whereas magnetic tape can be placed away securely within the managers office, it also can be overwritten automatically without any human intervention. Another advantage of magnetic tape is that it isn’t very costly and it won’t affect the Perfect Pie Companies budget of £20,000. I recommend that my proposed solution will give the Perfect Pie Company that competitive edge against their rivals, and in the long term I feel that my proposal will allow the Perfect Pie Company to grow and expand, into something bigger and better, possibly even a franchise.