Computing A2 Project Analysis

Company Background Set the scene – Company history – Staff – Turnover – Location(s) – Brief overview of product/services Q: Where could you find info?

Current systems (software/hardware) Overview of what key IT systems/tools they use Off the shelf/bespoke/in-house Q: What are Pros and Cons of above?

Problem definition Get to the real underlying issues Apply the ‘So What?’ test – E.g. “The problem is it’s paper based” So what? – “It’s slow and errors are often made” So what? – “Customer’s leave dissatisfied and the company loses money” Ah. Ok, how much? – “About 3-4 errors per week = 1 customer lost = £600 lost per month” – DON’T MENTION THE SOLUTION YET…

Feasibility Analysis Is the problem suitable for being solved by a PC? Obviously the answer is Yes, but you’ll get 2 marks for discussing why What type of problems are suitable for a PC?

Feasibility Analysis (2) Common applications being: – Heavy reliance on data – Complex processing involved – Repetitive tasks with simple decision required – Cataloguing required – Automation required Q: What types of problems aren’t great for PCs?

Feasibility Analysis (3) Tasks not suitable for an IT application might include: – Complex decisions requiring years of experience – ‘Personal touch’ required, e.g. call centre – Decisions made have life saving impact – Tasks difficult to model with many unpredictable events or external factors (e.g. crossing the road, cooking dinner)

Fact finding Detail all the activities you undertook to find out information which could include: – Interview transcript – Questionnaires – Letters/ – Workshop/observation – Evidence/photocopies of forms/paperwork/proformas used INCLUDE THESE IN YOUR APPENDIX WITH REFERENCE

Requirements Specification See example on BlackBoard

Constraints and limitations Identify and state the above. These could include Resource: Time, budget, skill Environmental: physical, users Q: What are some examples of a: – User constraint – Skill constraint – Budget constraint

Example The ideal solution would be for all employees to have a wireless mobile device, however this would exceed the budget

DFD See BlackBoard

Realistic Appraisal of Alternatives Obviously your chosen project should be the most suitable (option 4 in this case) but you have to demonstrate you’ve considered (and why you’ve discounted) alternatives for example: – Option 1: Do nothing Reason not to: lost revenue, customers etc – Option 2: Buy-in a solution Reason not to: not viable within budget, inflexible solution, no product does everything – Option 3: Develop using C++ Reason not to: difficult UI development, expensive to support – Option 4: Develop bespoke using VB Reason not to: None therefore the proposed solution

Q: Justify this… The problem lends itself to the development of a bespoke database and front end application, using Microsoft Access 2007 and VB.Net 2008 running on a PC connected to printer. The application will be installed on all 5 users PCs and the database will be hosted on the main server

Justification of chosen solutions List all benefits over alternatives: – VB.Net skills are available – User interface must be easy to use – Free license therefore in budget – Can use existing pc hardware/operating system – Solution can be tailored to specific needs

Agreed system scope In scope: – The delivery of a software application that: Manages x (customers, jobs, appointments, bookings) Reports y (costs, tasks, time, resources) – Installation, training, user, backup, recovery and maintenance guides Out of scope: – Hardware – Software licenses – On-going support/maintenance

Requirements in scope Include requirements table and indicate which will be delivered and which won’t (consider using MoSCoW where M (and S) indicate in scope.

Summary Background Current system Problem definition Feasibility analysis – is the problem suited to being solved via a PC? Fact Finding – demonstrating formal methods (e.g. interview, observation, workshop) include references to any photocopied docs included in Appendix Requirements analysis Requirements Specification (see sample on blackboard) Identify constraints, user limitations DFDs level 0 and level 1 (see sample on blackboard) ERDs Research of alternative solutions Realistic appraisal of feasibility of potential solutions Justification of chosen solution Agreed system objectives and scope – this includes detailing any requirements identified which will not be implemented and should be agreed with customer