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Computer Project
Index
1.11 Discussion on all findings and understandings of current system 3.9Written evidence of acceptance of system and implementation strategy by user
- Name: Mohammad Hamza Ali Nofil Centre Number: PK
- 1.1 Description of the orgranization Topics Page number
- 1.2 Area of problem
- 1.3 Current method used by school
- 1.4 Origin of data
- 1.5 Form of data to be used
- 1.6 Goal of project
- 1.7 Plan of Gathering information
- 1.8 Gather information
- 1.9 Sample document from current system
- 1.10 Current data structures
- 1.12 Brief discussion of current system
- 1.13 Inefficiencies and problems in system
- 1.14 Reasons for required hardware
- 1.15 Reasons for required software
- 1.16 Requirements specifications
- 1.17 Alternate Solution
- 1.18 Evaluation of proposed solution
- 1.19 Evidence of user involvement
- 2.1 Nature of solution
- 2.2 Aims and objectives
- 2.3 Input design
- 2.4 Output design
- 2.5 Data structures
- 2.6 Process model
- 2.7 Intended benefits
- 2.8 Limits of scope of solution
- 3.1 Method of making solution
- 3.2 Screen shots of development methods
- 3.3 Database screenshots
- 3.4 Note on fulfilness of design specifications
- 3.5 Comments of teacher and user
- 3.6 Programming
- 3.7 Testing
- 3.8 Installation
Section 1: Analysis
1.1 Description of the organization
Islamabad College of Arts and sciences was founded in 1980 by school principal Nusrat tahir (the current principal). There is one branch in G-11 and one in G-6 sectors of Islamabad. There are no branches of the school outside of Islamabad. The school has 4 sections. Pre-school, Primary section, Middle Section and Senior section which consists of 2 sub sections (O-level section and A-level section). The currently appointed head of the senior section is Munazza Ishtiaq. The campus building itself is quite large and there is a football ground, basketball court and a swimming pool. Location of school: G-11/3, street 98 Name of school: Islamabad College of Arts and Sciences Name of principal: Nusrat Tahir
1.2 Area of problem :
The area of the problem is the schools senior section administration and the method with which it stores student records. The people in charge of the administration are Munazza Ishtiaq (senior section head) and sheraz khan (senior section coordinator).
1.3 Current method used by the school:
Currently a student record contains two sub records, one which contains the fields name, class, subjects taken ( academic record ), and the other which contains personal information like name, date of birth, nationality, address ( personal record ) etc. As time passes some extra things are added in the personal record such as result cards, warning letters etc. The academic record is stored as a spread sheet on the section heads computer. To search for a particular record, one would have to start from the beginning of the file containing all academic records and search till the end or until the desired record is found. On the other hand, the personal record is paper based meaning it is cut off from the academic record. Retrieving a personal record is done by hand. Security is not an issue with the personal records because they are kept in lockers and the keys are only with those who have authorized access (section head, principal and coordinator).
1.7 Plan of information gathering:
- Conduct interviews with the people in charge of the student record system (senior section head and coordinator)
- Borrow the registration document (which makes the bulk of the personal record) to see exactly what information is asked (picture of registration form will be posted below).
- I will directly observe how a complete student record is made. 1.8 Gathering Information:
1.8.1 The First Observation:
I observed the entire process of applying for an admission to school. An applicant comes to
school and acquires a registration form. He fills it out and submits it to the main office at
which point he is sent to the senior section office where Munazza Ishtiaq conducts a small
interview asking the applicant his name, grade in which he will be studying and the subjects
he wishes to take. This information is then filled out in the spread sheet based academics
record which is arranged in alphabetical order from A-Z.
The registration file is first reviewed by the main office and is then sent to the senior section
office where it is put inside a folder with the applicants name written on it. This is the initial
personal record but it is updated with the passage of time. The record is then kept in a locker
depending on the grade for which the applicant has applied. Inside the locker, there is no
order in which the records are arranged.
1.8.2 Interview Planning:
I will interview Munazza Ishtiaq (Section head of the senior section) and Sheraz khan (senior section coordinator) to gain data regarding the student records. My questions will mainly be focused exactly what problems the administration is facing with the current “system”. I will ask questions in accordance to the answers given to me by Ma’am Munazza and sir Sheraz; however, there are a few questions that are a must for me to ask. They are as follows: Questions for ma’am Munazza: Q.1 Can you tell me something about the current system for student record management used in the A level section? Q.2. Can you tell me a few draw backs of your current system? Q.3 What exactly do you want to see in the new system? Q.4 I was going through the registration form and I noticed that applicants were supposed to enter their blood group as well. Now can you tell me whether this field is an absolute must to fill out because it just seems unnecessary? Q.5 What about student nationality? Why is that necessary? Q.6 There are two other fields here. One is asking whether an applicant has any siblings at ICAS and other is asking whether an applicant has any other relatives at ICAS. Can you tell whether filling out these fields is necessary and if yes, why? Q. 7 What about the fields which ask the student about their mother or father’s designation? Q.8 What methods does the school use to back up the records? Q.9 Does the school offer scholarships? Q.10 On average, how many students are there in the A-levels section per year? Q.11 What is the minimum number of subjects a Student can take in A-levels? Q.12 What is the maximum number of subjects a student can take in A-levels? Q.13 Which subject’s class has the most students in it?
1.8.3 First Interview:
Interviewer: Hamza Nofil (me)
Interviewee: Munazza Ishtiaq (senior section head)
Date: 2nd December 2014
Time: 8:30 am
Hamza: Good morning Ma’am Ma’am Munazza: Good morning Hamza. Hamza: Thank you for taking out the time to have this interview with me. Ma’am Munazza: It is my pleasure. Shall we begin? Hamza: Yes definitely. Can you tell me something about the current system for student record management used in the A level section? Ma’am Munazza: Well the student record is divided into 2 sub records, the personal record which consists of the registration form and things like certificates or warning letters. And the academic record which consists of data like subjects taken. The academic record is on my computer whereas the personal record is on paper. Hamza: Can you tell me a few draw backs of your current system? Ma’am Munazza: It is quite time consuming to compile a complete student record considering one half of it is on paper while the other half is on the computer. It is also quite easy to gain access to anyone’s academic record because there are little to no security options. Also searching for a particular academic record is quite time consuming since you have to start from the beginning of the list till the end until you find the desired record and the personal records aren’t kept in any order at all. Hamza: I see. And what exactly do you want to see in the new system? Ma’am Munazza: It should not be time consuming to search and combine personal and academic records. There should be good security so that only those who are authorized can have access to it. It should also be fast and easy to use. Hamza: Thank you for your time ma’am. I will get back to you once I have reviewed the information. Ma’am: See you soon.
1.8.4 Second interview:
Interviewer: Hamza Nofil (me)
Interviewee: Sheraz Khan (senior section coordinator)
Date: 3rd December 2014
Time: 9:00 am
Hamza: Good morning sir. Thank you for agreeing to have this interview with me. Sir Sheraz: No problem Hamza. What do you want to ask? Hamza: What exactly is your role in the student record system? Sir Sheraz: I search the record when one is needed and I convert it into the form in which it is required, be it on the computer or on paper. I also decide where a personal record is stored inside the locker. Hamza: So in your opinion, what are the draw backs of the currents system? Sir Sheraz: Well, searching for a record takes a lot of time. For example, let’s say I’ve been asked to find Salman’s personal record from the A2 locker, so I’ll have to open the A2 locker and go through each and every file until I find Salman’s record. What’s worse is that the records in the lockers are not stored in any particular order which makes searching difficult and time consuming. Same is the case for compiling. Hamza: Thank you for your time sir. Sir Sheraz: You’re welcome Hamza.
1.8.5 The Second Observation:
After I conducted my interview with Munazza Ishtiaq I decided to observe the system a second time and look out for the inefficiencies pointed out by ma’am Munazza. Same as the first time, an applicant fills out the form and then hands it over to the main office. Then, he is sent to the senior section office and ma’am Munazza conducts a small interview regarding the subjects the applicant wants to take in the grade to which he has applied. Ma’am Munazza goes through the spread sheet file until she finds the right spot where the students information must be stored ( in the spread sheet file, the placement of data stored depends on the students name, those whose names start with A come first and those whose names start with Z come last.). The problem with this method of data storage is that it takes a considerable amount of time to look for the exact place where the data must be kept. This is the same case when a particular record needs to be searched. Data security is also one of the issues I need to address with the program that I’m going to design. During my second observation I noticed some students just walk up to ma’am munazza’s computer and access their academic records without having authorized access to the data. However, the personal records are rather secure because the lockers are locked and only sir Sheraz has the keys to them.
Ma’am Munazza: Well, the second option does not provide us with the right amount of speed and security that we need. So, we choose the first option. Hamza: I see. Now can you ask you some questions regarding the information that is completely necessary to be included in the program? Ma’am Munazza: Sure. Hamza: I was going through the registration form and I noticed that applicants were supposed to enter their blood group as well. Now can you tell me whether this field is an absolute must to fill out because it just seems unnecessary? Ma’am Munazza: It is an absolute must to enter the blood group because it may be needed in case of an emergency. Hamza: What about student nationality? Why is that necessary? Ma’am Munazza: You see Urdu, Islamiat and Pakistan Studies are compulsory subjects for Pakistani students who are appearing in O level examinations. Non-Pakistanis don’t need to appear in these subjects. Hamza: There are two other fields here. One is asking whether an applicant has any siblings at ICAS and other is asking whether an applicant has any other relatives at ICAS. Can you tell whether filling out these fields is necessary and if yes, why? Ma’am Munazza: Well the “relatives at ICAS” field is not necessary. It is just there to gain some extra information about the applicant. However, the “siblings at ICAS” field is important as those who have siblings at ICAS are eligible for fees discount. Hamza: What about the fields which ask the student about their mother or father’s designation? Ma’am Munazza: It helps us decide whether or not to give the particular applicant tuition wavier. Hamza: Does the school offer scholarships? Ma’am Munazza: Yes, but only to those who have attained exceptional results in the cie exams (at least 2 A’s). Hamza: On average, how many students are there in the A-level section per year? Ma’am Munazza: Approximately 60. Hamza: What is the minimum number of subjects a student can take in A-levels? Ma’am Munazza: 3 Hamza: what is the maximum number of subjects a student can take in A-levels? Ma’am Munazza: 5 Hamza: Which subject’s class has the most students in it?
Ma’am Munazza: Mathematics. Hamza: Aside from Math, which other subjects have a high number or students? Ma’am Munazza: Physics, Chemistry, Business Studies and Economics. Hamza: What methods does the school use to back up the records? Ma’am Munazza: There is no method to backup the records. Can you include that as part of your program? Hamza: I most certainly can. Thank you very much for your time ma’am. I’ll have the requirement specification ready soon and will bring it over for you to sign it. See you soon. Ma’am Munazza: No problem Hamza. See you soon.
Signatures:
Ma’am Munazza (head of senior section):
Sir Sheraz (senior section coordinator):
Hamza Nofil (me):
1.8.8 Observation report:
The observations of the current system were carried out to add more credibility to the answers given by Munazza Ishtiaq (head of senior section) and Sheraz Khan (senior section coordinator) during their interviews and to gain some information that they may have forgotten to give. According to the observations, all the information given to us during the interview is true to the dot. Searching for a complete record does take a lot of time because of the fact that one half of it is on paper whereas the other half is on a spread sheet software on the computer. Compiling a record is also very time consuming due to the very nature in which the record is stored. The records are either compiled on the computer by use of scanner or on paper by use of printer. Data security is also an issue. I myself saw a group of students simply walk up to the computer and access their records even though they aren’t authorized to do so.
1.9 Sample Document from Current System:
1.11 Discussion on all findings and understandings of current system: A student fills out the fields in the registration form which makes the bulk of the personal record. The registration form is sent to the main office where it is checked. If it is accepted then it is sent to the senior section office. The data for the academic record is taken via interview of the student. Personal records are stored in lockers and academic records are stored on spread sheet software on the computer. The current system is slow and not user friendly. That is mainly because of the fact that one half of it is on paper whereas the other half is on the computer. Searching for a particular is also quite time consuming. The personal records are not stored in any order and the respective lockers have to be searched serially until the desired record is found. The academic records are stored in alphabetical order which makes searching somewhat easier but it is still really time consuming due to the sheer number of students and the fact that despite being stored in alphabetical order, the file still has to be searched serially. Personal records are secure from those who are not authorized to see them by use of locks on the lockers, the keys to which belong to sir Sheraz. The academic records are not secured and just about everyone can have access to them. There is also no Backup mechanism in the current system so in case there is a system failure all data will be lost.
Signatures of those involved:
Nusrat Tahir (principal):
Munazza Ishtiaq (senior section head):
Sheraz Khan (senior section coordinator):
Hamza Nofil (me):
1.12 Brief discussion of current system: I will give a brief description of the current system by describing how a new applicant’s record is processed. An applicant fills out the form and then hands it over to the main office. This form makes the initial personal record. Then, he is sent to the senior section office and ma’am Munazza conducts a small interview regarding the subjects the applicant wants to take in the grade to which he has applied. This information makes up the academic record. These are the inputs. Meanwhile, the personal record is checked by the main office and once it is accepted it is sent to the senior section office. In the spread sheet file ma’am Munazza finds the proper location for the academic record to be stored. This is the processing phase. The academic record is stored in the proper location and can be viewed later. The personal record is stored is stored in the in locker of the class for which the applicant has applied in the senior section office. These are the outputs. 1.13 Inefficiencies and problems in the system: Searching for a particular record (personal or academic) is a time consuming process. The personal record is on paper whereas the academic record is on a computer, meaning that compiling a complete record is quite a difficult and time consuming task. There is no record funtion to compile a complete record incase one is required which means that the job will have to be done manually which is quite difficult and time consuming. There is no data security with the current system. Anyone can gain access to student without even being authorized to do so. The current system is not user friendly and takes a considerable amount of time for someone to figure out exactly how to use it. There are no Backups of the records.
1.16 Requirement Specifications: After conducting interviews and observations I have created these requirement specifications:
- Create a method of storage which contains all student data from personal and academic records.
- Different data like student data and subject data will be stored in different places.
- Reports have to be designed where all data about student (personal data, subject data etc) will be together in case a complete record is required.
- A method has to be made which prevents mixing up of records of students who may share the same name.
- Create a mechanism with which searching for student records is fast and easy.
- Make sure that all data in a given field is valid and sensible.
- Design a program with which the aforementioned stored data can be manipulated.
- The program must be simple and easy to use.
- There must be good data security in the program.
- Backups must be made.
- Printers must be installed in case a hard copy of a record is required.
Signatures of those involved:
Nusrat Tahir (principal):
Munazza Ishtiaq (senior section head):
Sheraz Khan (senior section coordinator):
Hamza Nofil (me):
1.17 Alternate Solution: Aside from the solution being used to solve the given problem, there was also another solution that had not been chosen. The alternate solution somewhat retains the current method of record storage with the academic record on the spreadsheet file on the computer and the personal record on paper. Printers and scanners can be installed so that if a complete record is needed in either soft or hard copy, the appropriate one of the 2 devices can be used. Search time can be greatly reduced by narrowing the searches. For example, if the personal record for an A2 science student is to be searched, the locker labelled “A2 science” will be opened and then searched serially until the required record is found or until the end of the list. If the academic record of a student whose name starts with b is to be searched, then the folder titled A-C will be opened on the computer and then searched serially until the required record is found or until the end of the list. The level of security for this solution will be the same as that of the current method. 1.18 Evaluation of Proposed solution: The proposed solution will have a faster method of searching and will almost completely cancel out the time it takes to search for a record in the current system. The proposed solution will have better data security due to use of user names and passwords. The system in the proposed solution will be user friendly since it will all be on the computer and the program will be straight forward and easy to use so that even those who aren’t computer literate can navigate through it without having a problem. The system does not have a backup mechanism, so in case there is a system failure all data will be lost.
