The proposed system
The Swansea City is a small organisation that deals with history materials and adds up as a museum. There is a need to have an online library management system, which will enable the organization have their services online. This is a growing trend that is picking up for most organisations. This paper will focus on the functional requirements of the proposed system, the non-functional requirements, and the way the system will work and operate. These are important details that will enable the system developers come with a working system.
Functional requirements
One of the functional requirements of the new system is that it should have a database which will have entities that represent all the requirements of the system. The database should have users in the system, all the books that are available and a log the flow of the books that has been done in the system. The database should have a central place of management. The database should also be able to have access levels and privileges enabled so that the different staff will have different rights of access to the database.
There should also be a capability of cataloguing in the system. This is where the users will be able to feed information and search for information in the system. With this, they will be able to search and browse the system in search of books to be used in the system.
The system should also have a capability to manage the financial process in the organization. All the details regarding the finance of the organization should be managed using the system. This will enable the system have a whole-view of the organization.
The system should be able to manage the buying process of the books. This is where the system should be able to track the books that have been bought. With this information, the auditing process will be made easier as the books that shall have been bought will be in a position to be tracked for accountability purposes.
There should also be security enablement of the system. This will enable the system to secure the buying process. Clients will be able to have a secure payment process. With online scams on the rise, clients should be able to be assured that they have a secure payment process.
Non-functional requirements
There are non-functional requirements that are to be included in the system. These should also be observed while developing the website.
There is also need to have a proper journaling system that is known by all people in the system. It is therefore a requirement that all the users of the system are trained and know how to use the system.
Another non-functional requirement of the system is that there should be proper equipment and IT experts. These are the people who will help to make the system work to the expectations of the stakeholders. This is one requirement that is non-functional.
Another non-functional requirement of the system is that of need to have the right materials and equipment.
The user interface should be simple. This will allow the users to get used to the site and not be alienated with it. It is important to have a simple interaction process with the user. Usability should be simple. This will enable the users in their process of interacting with the website.
Other non-functional requirements of the system include:
- The new system have short response time
- The system should also be efficient when compared with the manual system.
How testing will be achieved
There will be the need to have the system tested to ensure that they meet the requirements of the user. One way that testing will be done is to have unit testing where each package will be tested as the system is being developed. This is done by the system developers and will be done before the system is deployed.
Another way of testing the system is by having a pilot testing where the system will be deployed for some staff to use it. This will enable the system to be used in real time and if there are errors, they will be corrected.
Detailed description of the proposed system
The organisation still handles most of its book and artefacts manually. The automation process of the system will need that proper analysis be done to capture all that will need to be captured in the new system. The materials that interested users will want to access are books and artefacts. The users will have to go through the system looking for interesting material that can be of interest to them. The system will be accessed through a website.
Swansea Cityneeds the customers to have offline and online customers buying and/or borrowing books. Interested buyers will browse through the list of books that are displayed in the website. There will be options where the buyers will have more details of the book they are interested.
After the buy/borrowing has been reviewed, the following measures are the taken.
- A check is done to make sure all credentials are available, and if there is any document missing an email is send to the borrower for the notification.
- The bookshop attendant signs the forms indicating whether the customers are successful or rejected.
- The original copies of the orders are kept for future reference.
Reasons why a web based bookshop system are needed:
Swansea Cityneeds to use the system of book buying that is web based because it is a modernized way that reduces the long processes of buying, receiving, reviewing and sending back the feedback to the borrowers. The system will also help Swansea Cityto achieve the following objectives:
- It will be a quicker or faster way of tracking the buying or borrowing and detecting any required details.
- As the easiest way of eradicating the inconveniencies that might be caused by the delays of the m machine due to the size of the email.
- Reducing a lot of paperwork that might be available.
- Reducing the cost that might be caused by the sending and receiving of the mails.
Use case description
Visit website – this is a use case which is initial. The user must enter the right address of the URL and get to the website. It is here that they can get to see the books which are available in the system. They will also be required to visit the right location in the system.
Buy copy of the book – this is undertaken by the buyer. There are many copies of a given book. Each copy can be bought by various interested buyers. There is need to ensure that the buyers buy only one copy of the book. The librarian should ensure that there are no two buyers who have borrowed more than one copy of the same book.
Browse books –this use case is undertaken by the browser. This is someone who might be interested with the books that are available in the organization without any intention of borrowing the book.
Reserve the book –there are some instances where the bookshop attendant is not able to lend a given book at a given time. This could be due to some administrative and repair that need to be done to the books that they have. At this time, the borrower will just reserve that book so that once they are available for borrowing again; they will be given the first priority.
Update database – this is performed by the staff of the society. The staff will have to update the system so that two borrowers will not buy the same book.
Business Process Model Notation diagram
Cost benefit analysis
With the installation of the new system, there will be benefits that will be realized with the new system. This is because there will be costs that will be saved when the new system will be installed. With the efficiency and reliability that will be realized with the new bookshop system, there is bound to be increased customers.
Projected costs of implementing the new bookshop system
Projected benefits from revenues
Currently, 30 clients visit the bookshop per day. These are the book borrowers and buyers. Each client buys books worth £60 per day. This will come to approximately 0.666 million dollars a year. The new system will enable the bookshop get more clients who have not been tapped before. These are online clients.
The following is what is predicted will be gained after the system has been implemented
There will also an increase in the efficiency of the bookshop. There will be improved management of the system.
Alternative option
Another alternative way was to have an offline system that the bookshop attendants and staff could be updating. This option could be used by staff alone and the users and buyers would not access the system. This system was disapproved because the user processes would still be manual. It could also be hard to have tracking of the buying and borrowing process.
