1.1. Description of the organisation.

Avni flower shop is a co-operative company which deals with the sales of flowers and is owned by Miss Prianka Appadoo. It occupies two bays on the ground floor of Orchard Commercial Centre at Quatre-Bornes. It is open seven days a week, the information are as follows:

Monday to Wednesday Thursday Friday to Saturday

09:00-17.30 09.00-13.00 09.00-17.30

Sunday & Public Holiday 09.00-12.30.

It employs two persons: Miss Kreeseeny and Miss Tania. Miss Kreeseeny works as the sales woman and Miss Tania works as the user of the system.

Miss Tania uses the list of flowers and a sales ledger as files to input records of flower and sales respectively.

The sales order and the list of flowers are the main output. The sales order consists of three copies. The first copy represents the receipt, the second copy is an evidence of goods sold and the third copy is the delivery note.

Miss Tania has to search for required flowers in the list of flowers. If the flowers exist, she creates a set of sales order. She uses the second copy of the sales order to record the sales details. Data obtained by the system are mainly from the prescription and sales order which acts as a receipt to the customer and a delivery note to the sales woman.

The above system is very slow and time consuming causing loss of business. It is of up most to find a solution which maybe a database system.

1.2. Nature of problem to be solved

Miss Prianka Appadoo the owner of Avni Flower Shop is having problem with the sales of flower. The manual system of Avni Flower Shop is very slow and Miss Prianka has asked me, Rajaratnam Kenny to find a solution to improve the performance of the company.

Problem 1: There is no means to get specific information in the sales book. Therefore it is difficult to create a sales report in the current system.

Problem 2: The attributes of the flower interface such as description, unit price are not displayed automatically and it increases the risk of errors in the number of inputs in the sales book and sales order.

Problem 3: It is time consuming to perform data processing such as to add, delete, save and modify records in the List of Flower, Sales book and Sales Order.

Problem 4: The input of details of Flower, Sales and Sales Order are not in a logical order which causes many errors.

Problem 5: It is very difficult and time consuming to navigate in the List of Flowers, in Sales Orders and Sales book.

Problem 6: There is the possibility of duplication of data, data inconsistency and blank input in the files List of Flower and Sales book are they are not organise on key fields.

Problem 7:

There can be data hacking as the system is not secured. Problem 8: Missing of data can cause errors, blank input in the interfaces

Problem 9: As there are no primary keys and foreign keys, files cannot be linked. Therefore data cannot be shared which will cause duplication of data.

Problem 10: There is no possibility of doing calculation automatically for unit price and vat and price when there is the input of quantity sold and up in the Flower, Sales and Sales Order which will cause errors due to wrong calculation.

Problem 11: Error messages are not provided as the current system is not interactive.

Problem 12: Reports of the List of Flower, Sales and Sales Order are created manually which can be sometimes irrelevant and inaccurate.

Problem 13: As the data can be corrupted in the sales book, List of Flower and Sales Order can cause inconsistency and modification of data.

Problem 14: As there is no presence check or look up table check to be able to confirm the existence of key fields will lead to duplication of data.

Problem 15: There are no search facilities with specific criteria except from searching manually for item number in the Sales Order and flower in the List of Flower.

Problem 16: No validation is provided in the current system to prevent errors.

Problem 17: The modules: flower, sales and sales order are not assembled together and searching for one module may be difficult and time consuming.

1.3. Origins and forms of data

1.3.1 Description of the origins of data in the manual system
The owner of the company, Miss Prianka and I have sit down and discuss about the different methods of gathering data. The data obtained for this survey have been received from different papers that have been studied.

The papers studied are the sales getting from the sales ledger, receipt created when a customer buy flowers and finally, the flowers collected from the flower list.

The record consider for the list of flowers are Flower name, Description, Unit price (Rs) and Price (Rs).

The data obtained and investigated for the sales ledger are Date of sales, Flower name, Quantity sold, price (Rs) and Total Price (Rs).

The information recorded for the receipt are Sales order number, Date of sales, Flower name, Qty sold, price (Rs) and Total Price (Rs).

List of flowers

Sales ledger

Receipt

1.3.2 Forms of data

Data Name Data Type Description It record the name of flower Flower name Text that the customer has purchase Description is that colour, Description Text type of flower the customer is buying Price is a currency data type which specifies the price of Unit price Number flower sold before the quantity and unit price and vat has been calculated. Price is a currency data type which specifies the price of Price Number flower sold after the quantity and unit price and vat has been calculated Date of sales Date Date of sales record when there a sales has been done Quantity is a number which Qty sold Number represents the quantity of flower sold Sales order number Sales order number is sales Number which has been made since the morning of the day 5 Receipts 5 8 Sales ledger, Receipts Sales ledger, Receipts 4 List of flower, Sales ledger, Receipts. 4 List of flower, Sales ledger, Receipts. 50 List of flower Size 30 File List of flower, Sales ledger, Receipts

1.4. Data flow diagram for the manual system

1.0 Customer

Tania M1 List of flowers

Search list of flowers Store flower details

2.0

Tania

Create Sales Order Calculate price and total price

3.0

Tania M2 Sales Order

Search list of flowers Store flower details M3 Sales ledger

4.0

Prianka M1 List of flowers

Verify copy of sales order from Anisha with list of flowers and sales ledger

M2

Sales Order

M4

Delivery Note File

10

Data flow DF1 DF2 DF3 DF4 DF5 DF6 DF7 DF8

Source Extend entity customer Database file list of Flower Database file list of Flower Process box 2.0 Process box 2.0 Database file list of flower Extend entity customer Database file sales order

Destination Process box 1.0 Process box 1.0 Process box 2.0 Extent entity customer Extent entity customer Process box 3.0 Process box 3.0 Process box 3.0 Database file sales ledger Process box 4.0

Description of data flow Flower details Flower details Flower details Sales order details Price details Flower details Order details Sales order details Sales details List of flower details Sales order details Delivery note details

DF9

Process box 3.0 Database file list of flower Database file sales order

DF10

DF11

Process box 4.0

DF12

Database delivery note file

Process box 4.0

11

1.5. Description of the current system

The proceedings of the sales of flowers are carried out as follows:

The customer enters the shop and goes to Miss Tania, the user, to ask for preferred flower(s). Then Miss Tania searches the flower list to confirm existence of flower(s) required by the customer. If the flower(s) exist(s), Miss Tania creates a sales order in three copies of the colour white, blue, pink and submits them to the customer. Afterwards, the customer

presents the three copies of sales order to Miss Kreeseeny, the sales woman. By means of the sales order Miss Kreeseeny searches for required flower(s). After signing the three copies of sales order, Miss Kreeseeny puts forward the two copies of sales order all along with the flower(s) to the customer.

Subsequently, she documents the pink copy of the sales order in a box which represents the delivery note. After that, Miss Kreeseeny surrenders the two copies to the customer. In that case, the user seals the two copies with PAID label and submits the white copy to the customer which represents the receipt. Miss Tania utilises the blue copy to record the sales effectuated on the sales order in the sales book.

Eventually, each fortnight, the owner, Miss Prianka verifies the blue copy of the sales order found in the sales order file and pink copy kept in the delivery note file in adjacent to the sales book. Moreover the latter makes sure to be acquainted with the development of the shop and the satisfaction of the customer.

12

1.5.1. Coding system

The manual system does not have an appropriate coding system for the Sales and Flower files. So, codes will be implemented in the new system in order to link the tables. To link the Sales ledger to the List of Flower the use of a foreign key is necessary. So a primary key must be created for the Flower files as well as the Sales file. The primary key of the Flower file will be used as foreign key in the Sales file. Hence it will reduce duplication of data.

13

1.5.2. System boundary

At the moment, the current system is not easy to use. Miss Prianka is thinking to make her business more efficient and to computerise the whole system namely the purchase, the sales and the stock sections. However, all these sections will be difficult to be computerised due to time and budget constraints. Hence, my task will be to computerise only the sales of flower.

Purchase of flowers

Sales of flowers

SYSTEM BOUNDARY

Stock of flowers

14

2.1. Record of investigation

2.1.1. Investigation plan.
For the interview I will interview the owner of the co-operative company Miss Prianka Rajaratnam and the user of the system Miss Tania. I will ask question about the problems encountered during creation of sales orders, record details in the sales book and to perform searching in the sales book. The interview with Miss Prianka will be carried out at her residence at 9.30 am on the 3rd of October 2010. On the other hand the second interview will be performed at the flower shop at 9.30 and on the 8th of October 2010, according to the letter.

15

2.1.1. Interview 1
DATE LOCATION DURATION INTERVIEWER INTERVIEWEE OBJECTIVES OF INTERVIEW : 3 October 2010 : At Miss Prianka Appadoos house : 1 hour : Mr Rajaratnam Kenny : Miss Prianka Appadoo : Problems encountered during creation of sales orders

MAIN POINTS AND DISCUSSION :

Mr Kenny:

Good Morning Miss Reena. How are you?

Miss Prianka: Good Morning Miss Anshi. I am fine, thank you. What about your health? Mr Kenny:
Well, I am fine. It is so hot these days. Isnt it?

Miss Prianka: Yes, so it is. I find it unsupportable these days. Mr Kenny:

Anyways, I have some questions to ask you about the functioning of the actual

system used at Avni flower shop. I hope that you will help me.

Miss Prianka: Of course, you may ask me your questions. Mr Kenny:

To begin with, I would like to know what information is recorded on any customer

that enters the shop and the purpose of collecting these data.

Miss Prianka: I prepare sales orders manually based on the information that I got from the customer. Mr Kenny:
orders? What additional information is required apart the customers details to prepare sales

Miss Prianka: Along with the customers information, details about the required Flower(s) also are
needed.

Mr Kenny:

So, from where do you obtain the Flower details?

16

Miss Prianka: Well, all Flower details are found in the Flower list which is kept in filing cabinets.
Furthermore in order to prepare the sales orders, I have to search the Flower list.

Mr Kenny:

While searching Flower details, are there any problems encountered?

Miss Prianka: Yes, I do have some difficulties. Firstly, as details on Flowers are not input in a
logical order, much error occurs when retrieving those data. Secondly, as searching is not based on any specific criteria, it tends to be quite time-consuming and tedious.

Mr Kenny:

So, I propose that we create a search interface which will perform this task within

seconds. In addition to that, input to this interface will be in a logical order that will minimize errors. Moreover, searching for specific Flower in the Flower interface will be based on criteria like Flower code.

Miss Prianka: Yes, that will please me Mr Kenny:

Apart from the mentioned difficulties, dont you encounter other problems while

creating sales orders?

Miss Prianka: Yes, indeed much error is left during the calculation of price and unit price & vat on input of quantity sold and unit price. This is due to the non-existence of automatic calculations. Mr Kenny:
Due to all these problems, I suggest that we create another interface to generate sales

orders. In the sales order interface, on input of attributes like Flower code, all the other details would be displayed automatically to minimize errors and the number of input. In addition to that, on input of unit price, total price and unit price & vat would be automatically calculated so as to prevent errors due to wrong calculations.

Miss Prianka: This idea seems appealing to me. Mr Kenny:

So it is. By the way, do you have some knowledge about information systems?

Miss Prianka: Yes, I do have a little knowledge. I have heard that normally computer programs are
used to perform the tasks that you just told me.

Mr Kenny:

That is very nice to know about information system. Well, I recommend that we

create these interfaces using either Word Processor or Spreadsheet or Database Access.

17

Miss Prianka: I have heard about all these software but I am not well aware of their facilities. Mr Kenny: Well using Word Processor and Spreadsheet, searching can be done using the search
criteria whereas Database Access can provide textboxes on the criteria title and category for Flowers. In order to minimize errors, automatic display on selection of a record is available in Database Access whereas not in Word Processor and Spreadsheet.

Miss Prianka: Being a system analyst, I am sure that you will choose the best. Mr Kenny:
Of course, without any doubt. Anyways, thanks a lot for your corporation. We will

meet soon. Have a nice day! Good Bye!

Miss Prianka: Thanks. Same to you! Good Bye!

DATE OF NEXT INTERVIEW: 8 March 2011

Name of Analyst: Mr Kenny Rajaratnam Signature of Analyst: Date: Name of Interviewee: Miss Prianka Appadoo Signature of Interviewee: Date:

18

2.1.1. Interview 1
DATE LOCATION DURATION INTERVIEWER INTERVIEWEE OBJECTIVES OF INTERVIEW : 8 October 2006 : At Avni Flower Shop : 1 hour : MR Kenny Rajaratnam : Miss Tania : Problems encountered to record details in the sales

book and to perform searching in the sales book.

MAIN POINTS AND DISCUSSION: Mr Kenny: Good Morning Miss Tania. I am pleased to see you and knowing that you are

ready for the interview brought me tremendous satisfaction. So, how are you?

Miss Tania:

Good Morning! I am fine, thank you and you? After the interview with Miss

Reena I realized that you are trying to improve the system used at my workplace.

Mr Kenny:

I am absolutely fine, thank you. I am trying my best to ensure that you all

approve my work. Today, I wished to ask you some questions about how you record the details in the sales book and how you perform the searching of a record.

Miss Tania:

Of course, you may, go ahead Miss Anshi.

Mr Kenny:

Can you tell me about how you record the sales effectuated on the sales order

in the sales book.

Miss Tania:

At beginning, the sales order is prepared in three copies of the colour white,

blue, pink and at last, the blue copy is returned to me. Then I use this copy to record the sales entry in the sales book. I have to remove the sales book from the filing cabinet and record the entry manually.

19

Mr Kenny:

While performing this task, do you encounter any problem?

Miss Tania:

Yes, I do. Firstly it is very time-consuming. Secondly, often some input are

missed out and hence causing errors. Furthermore, the number of inputs in the sales book is prone to errors. Here also, the problem of calculation arises. Moreover, when I have to add, delete or modify records in the sales book, much of time is consumed.

Mr Kenny:

I therefore find the need for a sales interface.

Miss Tania:

That will be better. May I know about the facilities that it will provide?

Mr Kenny:

Obviously it is you who will use that interface. First of all, the interface will

allow input to all sales attributes so that no input are missed out. Secondly, on input of Flower code, all the other attributes such as title, unit price would be automatically displayed. Again on input of quantity sold, the unit price & VAT will be calculated automatically. Additionally the sales interface will allow data processing facilities to enable adding, deleting, saving and modifying records very quickly and in an appropriate order.

Miss Tania:

That is very good. I will be less tired both morally and physically.

Mr Kenny:

Yes, indeed. Now, can you tell me more about the searching that you perform

in the sales book?

Miss Tania:

Why not? This task also is quite tiring and time consuming. Actually, it is very

difficult to move to and fro in the sales book as there are no real search facilities with specific criteria.

Mr Kenny:

For this problem also, another search interface can be created. This will enable

navigation to the first, next, last and previous record easily. In addition, search facilities in this interface to search for specific sales transaction will be based on criteria like sales order number.

Miss Tania:

That will please me.

20

Mr Kenny:

However, here also the problem arises as to which software to chose between

Database Access, Word processor and spreadsheet. Each one has got their respective properties.

Miss Tania:

For this we depend entirely on you.

Mr Kenny: very much.

Obviously. Well, you have been of great help to me today also. Thank you

Miss Tania:

Oh come on! Anytime I will help you. Dont hesitate I am here to help you.

You are always welcome.

Mr Kenny: Miss Tania:

Okay, thanks a lot for your corporation. I will take your leave now. Goodbye! Goodbye!

Name of Analyst: Mr Kenny Rajaratnam Signature of Analyst: Date: Name of Interviewee: Miss Tania Rajaratnam Signature of Interviewee: Date:

21

2.2. Alternate approaches

2.2.1 Evaluation of existing solution
The main processors of the actual system which are to search required flowers in the list of flowers do not require any further qualification or training as the user Miss Tania is used to search flowers in the list of flowers. She finds working though paper beneficial; again as she is use to work with paper. Even creating sales orders and records of flower details and sales details in the sales ledger do not incurred any cost for maintenance or security therefore the operational cost of the system is low. Searching for flower details in the list of flower are very tedious and is a terrible headache for the user Miss Prianka. Sales order created manually, record of flowers and sales are slow, time consuming therefore inefficient the system waste space as all the bulky paper work are stored in several filling cabinets moving through records in the files or processing data such as adding a record, deleting a record, or just the modification are problematic.

The system is prone to errors since data at input stage cannot be verify or validated and these methods would require further labour cost and time. The manual database compared to a computerised database shows much witness in the form of relationship between the flat files. Hence the problems are inconsistency, duplication of data and a lack of sharing of data. The system can be improved by creating relationship between the files. It would make the system more efficient by reducing errors due to inconsistency and data will be duplicated. Processors such as sorting list of flowers and sales ledger would bring some ease to the data processing and navigation in the system. Fields can be validated and verified to reduce errors. If the system is computerised, it can provide automatic display and retrieval of data. Hence the system can be made more profitable.

22

2.2.2. Alternate solutions

The new system can be created using different interfaces using different solutions. A description of these interfaces using solutions such as spreadsheet, the database package Access and word processor is given below:

Spreadsheet Tables Flower, Sales and Sales order will store data on flower details, sales and sales order respectively. Separate documents can be created using rows and columns and borders to create tables and details on flower, sales and sales order input in the cell. Searching can be done using the find feature. Click on edit, and then click on find, a window appears with the search criteria. Type the search criteria and click on find. If the criteria exit in the document, it is searched and highlighted; otherwise, a message appears to indicate that search was not successful.

The reports are in the form of printed documents which have to be prepared before the prints out taken. The documents can be formatted using the features such as paragraphing, different fonts and so on. Data can be added directly by typing them in the documents. Inbuilt features exist to delete and modify the data. Data in file can be saved by clicking on icons or going through the path given in the pull down menu.

Special features such as thesaurus, grammar checks and spell checks are carried out in spreadsheet. They are available and easy to apply to going through the pull down menu.
Excel provides functions and formulas to calculate Price and Unit price + Vat in the Flower, Sales and Sales Order tables. All that is needed is to type in the formula in the required and spreadsheet will perform the calculations. Use scroll bars to move through the tables.

23

Database package: Microsoft Access The tables Flower, Sales and Sales order can be created easily using the interfaces provided in design view. The fields names, data type and field properties have to be specified, as well as, a key field can be created. The tables Flower, Sales, Sales order will store data on flower details, sales and sales order respectively.

A feature can be provided in the Flower, Sales and Sales order interfaces to search for specific flower, sales records. The criteria for flower will be description and type and for sales, it will be sales order number, date of sales. On simple selection the record is searched and the fields associated with the record will be displayed automatically on the main interface. This features can be created using the wizard in which the criteria and table in which search has to be performed specified.

Forms can be created as main interfaces using the form generator to provide soft copies for details on flower, sales and sales order as well as a report menu. Textboxes can be added to display and add data from Flower, Sales and Sales order tables. Command buttons can be included for data processing and navigation in the tables Flower, Sales and Sales order.

List boxes can be provided to perform search for flower, sales record in the flower and sales form and for selection of specific flower in sales and sales order forms. These forms can be customized by changing background and foreground. The forms are bound to the tables. A form can be provided with command buttons to print or preview the reports List of Flower, Sales order and Sales report.

The command buttons can be created using the wizard by specifying the report names and the operation whether to print or to preview of the reports. A report generator provides the interface to create the reports List of Flower, Sales order and Sales report. For each report the title, header, details, footer and summary have to be specified.

24

In the summary section calculation can be performed on the fields provided in the details section. The reports can be previewed before printing to have an idea how it will look on paper. A parametised report can be included for the Sales report which will be based on a query including the tables Sales and Flower.

A dialog form with the criteria Date of Sales From and Date of Sales To along with two command buttons would be provided, on input of the criteria, the values are set in the query and the Sales report will display records according to the criteria on the dialog form. The command buttons and report will display include macros to open, close dialog and to set the value in the query.

Command buttons can be programmed to add, delete. Save and modify records in tables flower, Sales and Sales order. Clicking on Add command buttons clears all fields and will allow addition of new record to the table. The Delete command buttons will delete the current record. The Save command buttons will save a new record created and the Modify command buttons will unlock the fields to allow editing of records. When these command buttons are created, their variables names and labels need to be specified.

Command buttons preview and print will allow printing and previewing of reports. These buttons will be provided in print forms. They are created by specifying their variable names and labels.

Masking can be provided to perform length check, range check, character data type check and picture checks on the key fields and foreign keys. Presence check and look up table can be performed to check existence of key fields and foreign keys.

Codes can be written to calculate the unit price and Vat using data from unit price in the drug interface. Price as well can be calculated in the same way in the Sales and Sales Order.

A switchboard can be used to assemble all the modules Flower, Sales and Sales order in a single unit in a stepwise refinement fashion. The different submenus and modules Flower

25

menu, Sales Menu, Sales order menu, Report menu and Exit have to be specified in their order of priority.

On selection of a submenu it allows selection of required module. Each of the tables will consist of a key field. Flower table will have as key field Flower Number, Sales table Sales order number and Sales Order table Item number. In Sales and Sales Order tables, Flower number will be used as a foreign key.

Using the key fields and foreign keys, the tables can be linked so that data can be shared. Automatic display of data will be done using a feature in which on selection of a record, it will display all the fields associated with the record. This can be done in the Sales and Sales Order From that is on selection a record from the feature provided all the details of the required Flower will be displayed in the textboxes. When searching also, the same type of processing will take place.

On selection of a record the other fields will be displayed in the textboxes given in the main interface. On validation of key fields and foreign keys if the data input is invalid, an error message will be displayed that will force the user to input a valid data. Error messages can be displayed for presence check, existence or non-existence, length check, character type check, picture check and range checks for a field in the table. Confirmation messages will be displayed when deleting records in tables.

Messages are also displayed when navigating through tables, when the end of file has been reached. Command buttons can be provided to move to the First, Next, Previous, Last records in the tables Flower, Sales and Sales Order in the main interfaces.

Queries can be created for Sales and Sales order for the sales query, the tables Sales and Flower will be added and for Sales Order, the sales order and Flower tables will be added. These queries can be used to extract specific information in the records of Sales and Sales Order tables.

26

A form which asks for password can be provided so that unauthorized people do not access to the new system. The wizard gives the facility to create such a form by just specifying the password and a check on it. If password is valid, access is allowed to system.

List boxes can be inserted in forms Sales, Sales Order to select the required Flower and an automatic display of the associated fields will follow. The list boxes can also be used in Flower, Sales form to search for specific flower and sales record after which all the associated fields will be displayed in the textboxes provided in the main interfaces.

The textboxes where data are automatically displayed or input are not done during data processing and when navigating through records can be locked. These can be performed in the forms Flower, Sales and Sales Order. Can be used to open and close dialog form and report for parametised report on Sales.

Another macro can be used to run a delete query to delete all the records in the Sales Order table before adding a new record in that table so that previous records do not appear on a new Sales order. Finally, a macro can be set up in the value of the report criteria to the Sales report.

A command button is provided in the sales order form screen. On clicking on it all the records in the table sales order are deleted, so that they do not appear on the new sales order. The selection of the command button runs a delete query which delete the records on the sales order table so that they do not appear on the new sales order.

27

Word processor Tables Flower, Sales and Sales Order will store data on flower details, sales and sales order respectively. Separate documents can be created using rows and columns and borders to create tables and details on Flower, Sales and Sales Order input in the cells.

Searching can be done using the find feature. Click on edit, and then click on find, a window appears with the search criteria. Type the search criteria and click on find. If the criteria exist in the document, it is searched and highlighted; otherwise, a message appears to indicate that search was not successful

The reports are in the form of printed documents which have to be prepared before the prints out taken. The documents can be formatted using the features such as paragraphing, different fonts and so on. Data can be added directly by typing them in the documents. Inbuilt features exist to delete and modify the data. Data in file can be saved by clicking on icons or going through the path given in the pull down menu.

Special features such as thesaurus, grammar checks and spell checks are carried out in Word. They are available and easy to apply to going through the pull down menu. Use scroll bars to move through the table

28

2.2.3. Evaluation of alternative solutions

Before deciding which possible solution will be the best suited for the new system, the advantages and disadvantages derived for each solution using the three options spreadsheet, database package Access and word processor has been perform:

Spreadsheet
Advantages: Spreadsheet provides much formatting features to make the tables well laid out. The find feature is proven software and does not consist of bugs. It is reliable software. Reports are well formatted. No need to create interfaces to perform data processing which is cheaper. Thesaurus, spell check and grammar check are proven software. Calculations performed automatically after input of formula or functions. It is proven software and scolli8ng works well.

29

Disadvantages: Data cannot be organized as in database package Access. It is difficult to index data. Data duplicated as they are kept in flat files and has to open several files at the same time to get complete information. Maintenance is difficult compared to database package Access. Fields are of variable length and make data processing complicated. Most of the data will be text based. Reports are not generated automatically and cannot be based on conditions. Thesaurus, spell check and grammar check cannot be customized and the user will have to be adept to them. Thesaurus, spell check and grammar check are limited and will not be able to minimize errors. User needs training to learn how to input formula and functions. Spreadsheet cannot assemble the system in top down design technique. It is difficult to modify, test, debug and maintain. If one part is affected, the whole system will be affected as the modules are not independent of each other. Navigation in such a system involves opening the documents each time they need to be used. Consist of flat files which cannot be linked. Data cannot be shared. There is duplication of data and effort. There is inconsistency of data. There is data redundancy. Customised message cannot be created. Spreadsheet is slow to use.

30

Database package: Microsoft Access

Advantages: Data in the tables are stored in an organized way that is indexed according to key fields or any other fields. Data are not duplicated. Maintenance that is addition, insertion, deletion, storage and modification of records are easy to perform on the tables. Fields are of fixed length which implies easy data processing. Length and data type check of fields and records are predetermined. Searching can be done on specific criteria. The features provided for searching can be customized according to the user requirements. Forms provide a better interface to communicate with the user. Forms allow textboxes to be inserted in logical order which minimize errors. These forms can be customized easily to the user requirements. We can add other features to it or change the background. Reports are generated automatically. Reports can be based on conditions. Provide previewing facilities. Report is generated on a certain criteria input by the user. Report is based on specific information in a set of records. Report is useful for decision making in the system. Command buttons are better interfaces to perform data processing. Presence check prevents duplication of data and forces user for an input which allows smooth data processing. Look up table prevents unwanted data to be input. Character type checks whether a different data type has been input instead of a character.

31

Masking minimized the number of input and performs a length check. Range checks data within specific ranges. Calculations are done automatically; the user just has input the data. Even complex calculation can be performed. Calculation can involve validations as well The system is assembled in a top down design technique. It is easier to modify, test, debug and maintain. The modules are independent of each other and in case one is affected, it will not affect the other parts of the system. It allows easy navigation to other parts of the system. Data can be shared. No duplication of data and effort. There is consistency of data. It removes redundancy of data. On input of foreign keys and primary keys or when searching data, the attributes are displayed automatically decreasing the number of input and making input faster. It also decreases the number of errors as the number of input has been decreased. The errors are meaningful and provide much information for each validation. It further makes the system more interactive. It is used to extract specific information from a set of records. It can be used in decision making. Prevent unauthorized access to the system. Prevents hacking and corruption of data. Make user aware that system is being loaded and is interactive. Minimise input for searching No typing needed, thus minimize errors. Better interface. Prevent accidental or deliberate modification of data. Prevent inconsistency of data. It allows the creation of sales order automatically. Provides a report based on only a condition. It speeds up data processing. Remove the cognitive load of scrolling through documents when using Command buttons/push buttons to navigate through tables.

32

Navigation is faster.

Disadvantages: Formatting features provided, e.g. in a word processor does not exist in Access. The tables are not that well laid out. It is not proven software and may consist of bugs after its implementation. As the forms do not form part of proven software, they may still consist of bugs after their implementation. The user will have to be trained to use the forms. Training is expensive. User has to be trained to be able to generate the report automatically and training is expensive. Codes have to be written and may consist of bugs after implementation. The user will need training to work with such interfaces. Programs have to be written for the validations check which are expensive and they will not be proven software. Further the user will have to be trained to use the validation checks. May consists of bugs after implementation and the user needs training. User needs training and it is not proven software.

33

Word processor
Advantages: Provide much formatting features to make the tables well laid out. The find feature is proven software and does not consist of bugs.
It is reliable software.

Reports are well formatted. No need to create interfaces to perform data processing which is cheaper. Thesaurus, spell checks and grammar checks are proven software.

34

Disadvantages: Data cannot be organized as in Access. It is difficult to index data. Data duplicated as they are kept in flat files and has to open several files at the same time to get complete information. Maintenance is difficult compared to Access. Fields are of variable length and make data processing complicated. Most of the data will be text based. Reports are not generated automatically and cannot be based on conditions. These features cannot be customized and the user will have to be adept to them. These features are limited and will not be able to minimize errors. It cannot assemble the system in a top down design technique. It is difficult to modify, test, debug and maintain. If one part is affected, the whole system will be affected as the modules are not independent of each other. Navigation in such a system involves opening the documents each time they need to be used. Consist of flat files which cannot be linked. Data cannot be shared. There is duplication of data and effort. There is inconsistency of data. There is data redundancy. Customised messages cannot be created. Word processor is slow to use.

35

2.2.4 Justification of proposed solution

After analysing all the advantages and disadvantages of the three possible solutions that is spreadsheet package, database package access and word processing. The owner Miss Prianka Appadoo and I have decided that database package (Ms Access) will be chosen to design the system due to its advantages and it will be easy for the user Miss Tania to work with the system as it does not need lots of training.

36

2.3. Requirement specification

After investigating all the problems and the different alternatives, I have discussed with the owner Miss Prianka and has finalised a set of requirements for the new system. The new systems requirements are as follows:

To create interfaces to input details on flower, sales and sales order in a logical order so as to minimise errors.

Files should be created on the sales, sales order and flower so as to retrieve and store details. These files must contain the key field: Flower ID, Sales Order Number and Item Number to make data processing easy and unique. Hence this will prevent duplication of data and blank input.

The fields for the flower files must be as follows: Flower ID, Colour, Country of Origin, Type, Description, Unit Price and Unit Price and Vat.

The fields for sales files must be: Sales ID, Flower ID, Date of Sales, Sales Order Number, Quantity and Price.

The fields for sales order files must be: Sales Order ID, Flower ID, Date of Sales, Quantity, Price and Item Number.

Input to the attributes mentioned below must be created so that no input is missed out.

For flower interface are: Flower ID, Colour, Country of Origin, Type, Description, Unit Price and Unit Price and Vat.

For sales interface are: Sales ID, Flower ID, Date of Sales, Sales Order Number, Quantity and Price.

37

For sales order interface are: Sales Order ID, Flower ID, Date of Sales, Quantity, Price and Item Number.

To create primary key and foreign key to link files and it will minimise duplication of data.

To create key fields in the flower, sales and sales order. When validating the system there will not be null entries and it will also perform a look up table to confirm existence. Hence this will prevent duplication of data.

To create a mask for each key field and foreign key so as to reduce input and perform at the same time a character type check so to minimise errors.

For data processing to be easy in the sales and sales order interfaces we must create and enable adding, saving, deleting and modifying records in the files in the proper order and quickly.

Navigation buttons should be created to navigate in the first, next, last and previous records to save time in the sales, sales order and flower tables.

Search facilities must be created so as to search for flower in the flower interface and item number in the sales order. There will be the searching for criteria of a flower ID, Description, Type, Colour, Unit price and Unit Price and Vat.

On input of flower details in the sales and sales order interfaces all the order attributes such as the Unit Price and Vat need to be created and displayed automatically to minimise the number of input and errors.

The automatic calculation of price and Unit Price and Vat must be created so that when there would be the input of quantity sold in the sales and sales order interfaces and Unit Price in the flower interface, so as to reduce errors due to wrong calculation.

38

To create a facility to lock the attributes in the flower interface are Flower ID, Colour, Country of Origin, Type, Description, Unit Price, Unit Price and Vat and list box.

To create a facility to the attributes which will be lock in the sales interface are Sales Order ID, Date of Sales, Sales Order Number, Quantity, Unit Price and Vat, Price and list boxes.

To create a facility to the attributes which will be lock in the sales order interface are Sales Order ID, Date of Sales, Item Number, Quantity, Price, Unit Price and Vat and list box.

Error messages should be created where look up table check must be performed on the key fields making the system less boring and more iterative.

Queries must be created to Navigate in the sales and sales order files so as to extract specific information.

To create reports which will be generated automatically on the list of flowers, sales reports and sales order report when there will be the input of date. The details are as follows in the: List of flowers: Flower ID, Description, Type, Quantity, Unit Price and Unit Price and Vat. Sales report: Item Number, Date of Sales, Quantity and Price. Sales order report: Date of Sales, Sales Order Number, Quantity and Price.

Security screen must be created to input password so as to restrict access to unauthorised users.

39