1. Job Offer/Continuing Education Evaluation Labor CostsHoursRate($10.30/Hr) Luke195 $ 2,008.50 Stephanie175 $ 1,802.50 Matt185 $ 1,905.50 Randy205 $ 2,111.50 Totals760 $ 7,828.00 Dec06-03 Abstract Students moving into the next stages of their lives often have many different options to choose between for higher education or careers. Possible choices may include attending a tech school, a community college, a university, a graduate school, or accepting one of multiple job offers. This project aims to provide assistance in making the best choice for each particular individual. The objective will be to identify the various components of typical higher education options and job offers. The various evaluation criteria used by the users will be found by research, consulting fellow students, and other individuals, such as counselors. The software will provide a web-based log-in system that collects and stores personal preferences and objectives based on the aforementioned investigated criterion along with the various options for each student. The preferences will be compared against all of the students possible options and show the options that best fit the students aspirations. The design team shall implement the package using a web based software package and shall test the package using fellow students and high school age students. The end result shall be a tested software package that includes instructions, an example case, and a help function. Project Requirements Design Objectives Easy navigation Help Functions Documentation Visual appeal User Input Easy accessibility Design Constraints Budget Constraints Web Browser Operating System Language Functional Requirements User Accounts User Profiles Criteria Store Job Offer/Higher Education Criteria Score Computation Recommendation Milestones Project plan 02/10/2006 Design plan 03/31/2006 Design presentation 04/19/2006 Poster 10/12/2006 Web site development 11/10/2006 Senior Design presentation 10/10/2006 Industrial review board 12/05/2006 Approach and Considerations Proposed Approach Compatible with most popular web browsers (Internet Explorer, Mozilla) PHP web-based implementation of program User help documentation accessible at the website End-product testing Technology Considerations Different types of programming languages (web-based vs. client software) Data Access (server supported vs. local storage) Testing Considerations Testing by the team members (alpha testing) Student group testing, both high school and college students (beta testing) Selective advising office testing Resource and Requirements Project Schedule Closing Summary This project was created to assess the need for a tool to help people make decisions about their future, whether it be education or entering the work force. Going through the process and being exposed to all the criteria is as beneficial as the actual generated results. Through the use of the internet and information pertaining to certain categories that factor into these decisions, people will have a means to help them in the future decisions. http://seniord.ece.iastate.edu/dec0603/ Dec06-03 Team Information Members Luke Wenz CprE lwenz@iastate.edu Matt Lien EE tdxmjl@iastate.edu Stephanie Cox CprE sdcox@iastate.edu Randy Gebhardt EE Jazz32@iastate.edu Client Senior Design Advisors Professor John Lamont jwlamont@iastate.edu Professor Ralph Patterson III repiii@iastate.edu Introduction Problem Statement The general problem of this project is to develop a web-based program that compares job offers or educational options based on user inputs to the program. This project will be a useful program that will be accessible to users at any time or in any location via the internet. The proposed solution to this problem is to create a web program that allows the user to input their personal information pertaining to job offers and/or their desire to continue their education. The user will input the information through a series of criteria that the program will evaluate and then offer advice. In order for this web site to be personalized to each and every user, a log-in system will be used to allow each user to create and edit their own profile as they see fit. Operating Environment  Available to any internet accessible computer  Compatible with Internet Explorer and Mozilla User able to save information Thorough project documentation Built-in help function Expected End Product Useful free web-based program Comprehensive lists of criteria Ability for user to create a profile Limitations User data entered in the program will be on a numerical rating system Web-based program will be reliable and require minimum maintenance. User will be able to use the program without needing to download or buy other software Assumptions The user will have gathered enough information about a job offer and/or continued education option to create a valid evaluation. The results of the analysis done by the program can be shown as an overall score. The user can select the criteria which he or she wishes to be considered in the comparisons. The user will be able to access the site without having to download or purchase any other software. Intended Use Help user reach decision about his or her future Allow users to compare jobs or educational options Stimulate the thought process of a comprehensive list of factors to consider and what is most important to him or her Intended Users High School Students College Students Professionals contemplating different jobs or advancing their education Personal EffortsFinancial Requirements Figure 1. Example screenshot Figure 2. System Flow Diagram