SYSTEMS ANALYSIS & DESIGN
Introduction
Watches4U Company is owned by Danny and Janice Robinson. They deal majorly with the sale of watches. The business has been expanding in the recent past and the owners are devising mechanisms of improving the quality of services being offered by the company. The management is contemplating to integrate a sales management system that will help them in managing their daily business activities at the firm. Some of the system requirements include:
i. Server – the system should be in a position to manage its own server that will be used for coordinating all the activities in the firm.
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ii. Hardware requirements – There should be a powerful computer system to be used in the implementation process. The system should have at least 2 GB memory and a processor speed of 2 GHz. Internet explorer version 5.0 and above should also be installed in the system. The computer to be used in the installation process should be able to accommodate windows XP or a later version.
iii. Internet connection – there should be a dial-up or any high-bandwidth connection for the system.
iv. Internet service provider is also a requirement so that the system can be used to transact business activities online. In order for the system to be accessible remotely, the following sets of requirements are also necessary:
a. A static public IP address – this helps in identifying the local area network to other external network resources.
b. A T1 line – used for providing a link to the communication channels
c. Network interface card – for connecting the computer to the external communicating devices.
d. A public SSL certificate – this helps in securing the data stored in the system
System requirements
System requirements involves stating all the expected functionalities of the system and then laying down the requirements that are needed, in the case of the Watches4U Company, there is a need for performing an upgrade on the systems that they are using for information provision. They are currently using a manual system which has proved to be very slow. The new system is meant to have advanced features which have more functionalities than the older system. The new system should also be more powerful than the older system. The new system is to include a new set of servers which can be used to link different departments in the company and handle the company’s data properly. The new system should also have data back-up services so as to ensure data availability even if the system fails.
Overview of the system
i. Departments of the company
There are several departments in the company. All the departments need to communicate with each other. They are all interlinked by the company’s network infrastructure. The information systems in the company have to be robust and stable so that they can be able to handle the daily activities of the company effectively. The company has some remote stores which are connected via the use of satellites. The company also communicates with their suppliers through the use of wide area networks.
The diagram below shows how the different departments are interconnected. All the interdepartmental connections are done through the use of wired media. Typically the category 5 cables were used for the connections. Connections between the remote stores and the company are done through the use of satellite connections.
A use case analysis is normally used for identifying the requirements of a system, the information used in the system to define the processed which are used during the design process and the classes used. The use case analysis forms the foundation onto which the system will be built. The representation shown below describes the use case analysis used for the development of the information system used by Watches4U Company.
In the Use case diagram below we have the following components:
a) Actors – they include the entities that are used by the system. They mainly constitute the people who are involved in the process of system interaction. In the case of Waches4U company, the following actors were involved in the design process:
a. Customers
b. Sales representatives
c. Shipping department
d. Cataloguing department
e. Stocking department
f. Technical department
b) Connections/relationships – this involved the relationships that existed between different departments in the company. The connections that existed are the connections from Actors to Use cases and the relationships between the Actors or between the Use-Cases.
Interactions taking place between the users and the system
A customer needs to sign up for the system. The company has created an online version that can be accessed by users through the use of their computers and their mobile phones. Once a user has signed up for the system, he/she is given an account and the details fed into a database. Once all these have been entered, he can later log into the system. The Company’s website has diagrams for the different categories of watches being sold by the company. The watches are properly labeled with their specifications and prices clearly indicated on the tags. Users can the log into the company’s website and select the item that best fits his/her needs. The user can then proceed with payments. There is a variety of payments options that are available for the website. Once the payment has been processed, the shipping department is then notified and the shipping arrangements made. Delivery is then done within the next two –three business days. Once a customer receives the item he sends a confirmation to the company and his account debited.
Interactions between several departments in the company
The stock management unit is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that all the types of watches stocked by the company are available at any given time. This is made possible through the use of stock management system that ensures that whenever a sale is made, it is properly documented so that a replacement is sought within the shortest time possible. The stock management department coordinates with the shipping department so that whenever a shipment is made for products outside the company, a request is made to the procurement department so as to replace the stock. This helps in ensuring that the stocks are properly managed. The stock management department uses a counter which reduces the initial number of watches in the stores by a figure similar to the number of purchases made at any given time. this play a very important role in determining the number of watches still remaining in the store and the amount of replacement that needs to be done.
Interactions between the management and the employees in the company
Employees at different departments in the company have their data stored in the company’s database. Since the salary is based on commission, whenever a sale is made, the name of the sale representative that propagated the sale is recorded and hi/her data updated accordingly. The human resource department maintains a constant channel of communication with the financial department so that the salaries of the sales representative are updated accordingly.
Security requirements of the system
The system is encrypted so as to protect the credit card information of all the users of the system. All customers who register into the system have their credit card information properly protected and a guarantee is given to any customer on the safety of his/her information. An assurance of USD 5,000 is given to any user who may feel that his/her information has been exposed to a third party.
According to the Use Case diagram shown above, the users open the home page and perform the registration process. Once they are through with the registration process, the information fed by the users is then sent to the company’s database. The users can then proceed with transactions and perform payments to the system depending on the payment methods that is suitable for them.
UML Analysis Class Diagram
The UML Class diagram describes the system’s structure by showing the classes of the system, operations involved, relationships that exist in the system and the attributes of the system. The class diagrams forms the main building blocks for object oriented modeling. The class diagrams can be used both for general conceptual modeling and specific modeling. In the case shown below, specific conceptual modeling existed between different departments that shared similar resources while the general modeling existed between different types of customers of the company. The company has two sets of customers. They are related using the generalization conceptual models as shown below. General conceptual models are shown using the triangular sign as shown below on the objects for the customers.
The class diagram mentioned above plays a very important role towards the system analysis design. It ensures that all the requirements of a system are well laid down thus making it easy for the system implementers to carry out the activities of implementing the system. the above use case diagrams show the basic building blocks that must be taken into consideration before the process of system design starts.
Algorithms
The following set of algorithms was used for designing the system to be used by Watches4U Company to offer different sets of information to their users.
i. Pseudocode – for carrying out a transaction in the company
1. If the item being searched by the customer is available
Print "found"
Else
Print "item missing"
2. Set total to zero
Set grade counter to one as you reduce the counter in the stock management department by 1
While grade counter is less than or equal to ten
Input the next item
Add the number of items bought to the total
3. Initialize total to zero
Initialize counter to zero
Input the first model of the watch
Input the number of items bought
add this number into the running total
add one to the customer number counter
if the counter is not equal to zero
add the number of items requested to the number in the counter
else
print 'no items were entered'
end procedure
Flow chart for the purchasing process
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