Ryan Bebbington
ICT Coursework
Definition, Investigation, Analysis
Background to the company
The Canterbury Karate club is a club that teaches students, of a range of ages, karate. It is run by Sandra and Joe Ellis. Sandra and Joe are the main day to day employees but there are 2 vice chairmen involved in operations. And teaches in venues including Canterbury, Ashford and Margate, There are approximately 20-30 pupils per class, and there are 7 classes a week, 4 of which are for adults, 3 are for children. The records held on pupils, venues and events are all paper based. It is hard, due to the number of students to keep accurate records of fees and pupils. It is also hard to notify pupils of any changes to venues or new competitions. Lessons do not have to be booked in advance with many pupils simply turning up to the classes; this can lead to overcrowded lessons.
Definition of the problem
The main problem with the current system is that it is unorganized, as it is paper based records and updated very frequently it is hard to get information from the documents as items are written and rewritten. It is also difficult to carry around as pupils and staff are also kept as it is too difficult to rewrite the entire page with one pupil removed from it. There is also no way to distinguish between pupils of the same name, as there is no unique key
Also as there are multiple instructors they all need to have a copy of the pupils records, this means that each pupil that joins has to be copied onto several sets of records for each members of staff they have. It is also hard to collect money that is due from previous lessons as every 4 weeks a new page is started so if there is money owed the instructor needs to carry around another file.
Organisational chart
The following organizational chart shows the individuals involved.
Analysis
The are several problems and advantages with the current system
- It is well organised for a paper based systems, split into several folders one for each subject of data collected (i.e. Pupils, staff, venues.
- But this means that information is spread out, and hard to find, also if one file goes missing the whole set of information for that subject is lost.
- There is no link between the files, i.e. between pupils and instructors
- There is no limit to the number of pupils that can attend a class which means that instructors can end up with classes with too many pupils to teach
Questionnaire
Name: Mr Ellis
Position: Chairman
Date: 10/09/06 12:00
Purpose: Collect information on current system
What is your role within the company?
I run the company with my wife Sandra
How many pupils are there in all the classes?
There are around 30 pupils in each class for 7 different classes, so approximately 240 pupils.
What happens when a new pupil joins?
There is an application form they must fill out that collects all the information about the person, they must also fill out an emergency contact card, and inform us of any medical conditions.
How do you notify pupils of a venue change?
As there are so many pupils it is very difficult to contact all of them, especially at short notice, so several pupils are called and relied on to pass the message onto other students
How are pupils with the same details (i.e. same name) identified from each other?
It is up to the instructor for that class to remember
How can pupils book tests?
They must call us to say they want to take a grading, and then we must write to the governing body with their details
How do you record pupil fees and what happens if a pupil is overdue?
Student fees are recorded on a mark book, they are ticked off if they have paid for that week, crossed off if they have not paid, and a small circle if they did not attend. If a student has not paid we must wait until the week after to ask them for payment
What other problems do you have with the current system?
