Runninghead:PROJECTFPSCVPHASE1

ProjectFPSCV
Phase1:ADatabaseforDataEfficiency
ChrisSmith
CaliforniaStateUniversity,MontereyBay
ComputerScience&Technology499
Dr.Tao
April19,2016

PROJECTFPSCVPHASE1

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ExecutiveSummary

ThisprojectisbeingcompletedbyChrisSmith(Engineer)forFamilyPromiseofSantaClarita
Valley(Client).Currently,theClientusesafilesystemwithphysicalfilestomaintain
communityinformationandcasefiles.

ThepurposeoftheprojectistocreateaworkingDatabase(DB)fortheClienttousefortheir
casefiles.ThisprojectisPhase1oftheoverallMasterProject.Themaingoalofthisprojectisto
createaDBthatwillallowtheClienttoenter,manipulate,andsaveinformationthatiscurrently
inhandwrittenform.DuringPhase1,theDBwillexistsolelyontheClientslocalnetwork.

InorderfortheClienttobeabletointeractwiththeDB,anAdminPortalwillbecreatedas
theUserInterface(UI).TheUIwillallowtheClienttoaddexistinghandwrittencasefilesto
theDB.TheClientwillalsobeabletocreatenewcasefilesandeditexistingcasefilesthrough
theUI.TheUIwillonlygrantaccesstotheDBtotheEngineeranduserspermittedbythe
Client,viausernameandpassword.

TheprojectwilldirectlyaffecttheClientthroughbetterdataefficiencyandimprovedworkflow.
TheimprovedefficiencyandworkflowwillthenaffectthecommunitytheClientservesthrough
improvedresourcesandservices.TheClientsvolunteerbasewillalsobeindirectlyaffected
throughthisproject.Amoreefficient,streamlinedworkflowmeanstheClientcanbetterdispatch
instructionsandorganizetheirvolunteerbase.Society,asawhole,andtheeconomywillalso
feeltheimpactofthisproject.Asthecommunityreturnstosustainableindependence,their
contributiontotheworkforcewillbenefittheeconomyandsociety.

AnticipatedoutcomesareafinishedPhase1,whichwillincludethenewDBandUI,alongwith
thenecessarytrainingforthestafftobecomeselfreliantinusingthesystem.

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

Introduction
.................................................................. 4
LiteratureReview
............................................................. 5
ProjectGoals&Objectives
...................................................... 7
Goals
................................................................. 7
RDBMSObjectives
...................................................... 7
UIObjectives
........................................................... 7
Stakeholders
..................................................................7
Client
.................................................................7
Community
............................................................ 8
Volunteers
............................................................. 8
ProjectScope
................................................................. 8
Timeline
............................................................... 8
Budget
................................................................ 9
Resources
.............................................................. 9
EthicalConsiderations
.......................................................... 9
LegalConsiderations
..........................................................11
Milestones
.................................................................. 11
RisksandDependencies
........................................................11
FinalDeliverables
.............................................................12
UsabilityTesting
............................................................. 12
TeamMembers
...............................................................12
References
.................................................................. 13
Appendix
................................................................... 14
AppendixA
........................................................... 14
AppendixB
............................................................15

PROJECTFPSCVPHASE1

Introduction
Name of the overall masterprojectisProjectFPSCV. ThisproposalwillserveasPhase1
of Project FPSCV. The projects intended client is Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley
(Client), a nonprofit organization, and by extension theircommunity.TheClientTheproduct
to be delivered is a Database (DB), and a User Interface (UI). The DB will store all of the
Clientsrecordsandcasefiles.TheUIwillallowtheClienttointeractwiththeDB.
The currenttechnologicalproblemthattheClientfacesisthattheydonothaveaworking
DB. All records and case files are presently being hand written and managed in an outdated,
physical file system. This form of file system causes a serious delay in managing cases and
resources, which means the community is delayed in receiving resources or is unable toreceive
any at all. If the problem continues ignored, additional time and resources will be needed to
handle each case, leading to less resources available to the community, and adversely affecting
the quality of service provided by the Client.SolutiontotheproblemistheproposedDBandUI
thatthisprojectwillproduce.
Evidence of the need for this project is supported by the length of time whichtheClient
has beenwithoutaDBandtheClientsexpression ofitsimportance.Also,theClienthadalready
been in the market for a new DB at the time of initial consultation. The benefactors of the
product are the Client and their community. This project is important because it will allow the
Client streamlined access to their records and case files for better efficiency. The improved
efficiency will also allow the Client to better allocate resources to their community, ultimately
benefitting the community. This is important because the services that the Client offers is
essentialtothecommunityanditspeoplereturningtoamoreprosperousstateofwelfare.

PROJECTFPSCVPHASE1

LiteratureReview
Overallefficiencyistheoneofthemainbenefitsofimplementinganewdata
managementsystem(DBMS)foranonprofitorganization.MeetingwiththeClienthas
educatedmeofthechallengestheyfacedwiththeirpresentsituationandcurrentfilesystem.The
Clientstoresandsharestheirdatainvariousformats:handwrittendocuments,MicrosoftExcel,
andMicrosoftOneNote.TheClientusesthesetoolstokeeprecordofstaffmembers,volunteers,
andfamiliesintheircommunity.Havingallthatinformationinmultiplefilingtoolshasleftthe
DBMSpronetoerrorsandhashinderedtheefficiencyoftheClient,resultinginalotof
frustration.IntheClientsoffice,thereareonlythreecomputers,withnoremoteaccesstotheir
information.
ThefundamentalsofaDBMSprovideforfurtherevidencefortheneedofadatabase.
AccordingtoRamezElmasri,aprofessorattheUniversityofTexasatArlington,andShamkant
B.Navathe,afacultymemberandnotedresearcheratGeorgiaInstituteofTechnology,the
advantagesofusingaDBMSallowforcontrollingredundancy,unauthorizedaccessrestriction,
backupandrecovery,multipleUIs,uptodateinformationavailability,aswellas,query
processingefficiency(Elmasri&Navathe,2011,p.1722).Oneofthepowerfultoolsofa
DBMSisitsabilitytouseaquerylanguage.Aquerycanbeusedtoretrievespecificinformation
ortogeneratereports.ThelatterisarathertimeconsumingtaskwithoutaDBMS.
Throughmyresearchofthevariousdatabasetypes,Ihaveconcludedthatarelational
databasemanagementsystem(RDBMS)wasbestfortheClientbecauseofthetypeof
informationtheClientkeepstrackof:staffmembers,volunteers,families,individuals,other
agenciesandlocalchurches,andemploymenthistory.Thedifferentdatabaseseachprovideda

PROJECTFPSCVPHASE1

uniquepurposetotheorganization.CombiningalltheirinformationintooneRDBMSwillallow
foranincreaseinproductivityandoverallefficiency.
Whendecidingwhichtypeofdatabasestructuretouse,twomainfeaturesthatdrewme
toaRDBMSweretheprimarykeyandrelationaljoins.Thesefeatureshelptoreduce
redundancyinadatabase.Aprimarykeyistheattributeorcombinationofattributesthat
uniquelyidentifiesentityinstancesinanentityset(
Rob&Coronel,2009,p.202
).Thisis
importantbecauseaprimarykeyhasadirectbearingontheefficiencyandeffectivenessof
databaseimplementation(
Rob&Coronel,2009,p.201
).Therelationaljoinfeatureofa
RDBMSallowsmatchingdatafromdifferenttablestobelinkedtogether.
AnotherimportantfeatureofaRDBMSistheabilitytoaddsecuritytothedatabase.For
theClient,securityisaprioritybecausetheyhandleprivate,sensitiveinformationfromtheir
community.Relationaldatabasesecurityincludesintegratedfeaturessuchasrolebased
security,encryptedcommunicationsandsupportforrowandfieldaccesscontrol,aswellas
accesscontrolthroughuserlevelpermissionsonstoredprocedures(Cobb,2011).
AsimilarprojectwascompletedforAfricanCommunityEducationInc.(ACE)in
collaborationwithWorcesterPolytechnicInstitute(WPI),titledDataManagementfor
NonprofitOrganizations(Berthelette,Garcia,Pacifico,&Vaughan,n.d.).TheWPIprojects
goalwastoprovideanewDBMStoimproveACEsefficiency.ThedifferencewithWPIs
projectandthisprojectisthatWPIssolutionwasasoftwaresystemcreatedbyathirdparty.
Also,WPIusedathirdpartytofinishtheimplementationprocessandprovidetraining
resources(Bertheletteetal.,n.d.).Creationofanewsystem,aswellas,fullimplementationand
trainingprocessesforProjectFPSCVwillbecompletedbytheEngineer.

PROJECTFPSCVPHASE1

ProjectGoals&Objectives

Goals. The goals for Phase 1 of Project FPSCV are to create a secureRDBMSandaUI
fortheClient.

RDBMS Objectives.InordertoachieveasecureRDBMS,Phase1callsfortheRDBMS
to be implementedontheClientslocalnetworkonly.Alongwithonlylocalaccess,theRDBMS
will require all permitted users to have usernames and passwords for login access to the
RDBMS. The latest practices in programming will be implemented in creation of the RDBMS
for added security, such as use of PDO statements to prevent SQL injections, and password
encryptions.InordertocreatetheDB,aproperDBschemamustbeconfiguredtoconformtothe
Clientsrequiredinformation.

UI Objectives. A successful UI willrequiremanyobjectivestobemet.TheUIwillneed

a page for users to login with their usernames and passwords. After login, a landing page will
serve as the users homepage, which will display all of the users current open referrals or case
files. A menu will be displayed on all pages after login for the user to navigate throughout the
UI. The Client will need a page for entering new referrals or case files. A page for editing or
updating existing referrals or case files will also be required. Another page is needed for
searching through files, and a page to display the results of the query. All pages will becreated
with technologiessuchasHTMLandCSS.Actionsandcommunications betweentheUIandDB
willbehandledbyJavaScript,PHPandMySQL.
Stakeholders

Client
. Since 1986, Family Promise, a nonprofit organization, has provided support

services such as meals, housing and job placement for thousands of homeless families in 40

PROJECTFPSCVPHASE1

states. In 2011, Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley began providing support services to
homeless families in the SantaClaritaValley.TheClientsmissionistoassisthomelessfamilies
in theSCVbymobilizingcommunityfaithgroups,strivingto
achieve sustainableindependence
for our guests while offering hope, compassion,andpreservingindividualdignity.TheClients
management team will be the only users of the product. This project will benefit the Client
through an increase in data efficiency and productivity. The Client will also be able to better
streamlinethedispersionofresourcesandservices.

Community. The community consists of displaced families in the Santa Clarita Valley
thattheClientcatersto.Thisprojectwillleadtobetterresourceallocationforthecommunity.

Volunteers. Individuals and families from various surrounding communities are part of

the volunteer base. Local churches also make up the volunteer base. An improved DBMS will
enableamoreeffective,streamlineddispatchofdirectionsfromtheClienttothevolunteers.
ProjectScope

Timeline. Project timeline for Phase 1 will be a soft eight weeks, with the flexibility of
an extension, if necessary. The steps from weeks 1 through X will be administered locally on
Engineers hardware for testing purposes only. Week X will be administered on the Clients
local network. If a milestone iscompletedaheadofschedule,Engineerwillbeginnextmilestone
aheadofschedule.
Week 1: Creation of DB schema and translation of schema into new empty DB in
phpMyAdmin.
Week2:CreationofUserLoginpageandHomepage.
Week3:CreationofNewReferralEntrypage.

PROJECTFPSCVPHASE1

Week4:CreationofReferral/CaseFileEditpage.
Week5:CreationofReferral/CaseFileSearchpage.
Week6:CreationofSearchResultspage.
Week7:Clientsideimplementationandadjustments/modifications.
Week8:Clientsideimplementationandadjustments/modifications.

Budget. This project will be completed on a pro bono basis. All of the resources
necessary to complete the project are free, open source programs. The programs will run onthe
Clientsexistinghardware.

Resources. Various resource will be used to complete Phase 1. TheXAMPPwebserver

solution pack will be used to host the DB locally on the Executive computer. Other computers
within the network, with permission, will be able to access the DB through the local network.
The DB willbestoredinMariaDBRDBMSontheXAMPPwebserver andwill beadministered
through phpMyAdmin.HTMLandCSSwillbeusedtocreateandformatthewebpagesthatwill
serve as the UI. JavaScriptandPHPwill controltheactionsandcommunicationsbetweentheUI
andtheDB.TheEngineerspersonalcomputerswillbeusedforthetestingphasespriortoClient
implementation. After Client implementation, Engineerwillhaveremoteaccessfor maintenance
andupgradesonly.
EthicalConsiderations
As with many other programs or projects, there are a few ethical issues that could arise
during the production of this project and after implementation. Ethical issues carry severe
consequences, whichiswhytheyshould betakenseriouslyandhandledwithcare.Itcarrieseven
greater weight when a program stores private, personal information. TheRDBMSbeingcreated

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for this project will store various data pertinent to the Client, their community and volunteer
base,suchasfullnames,birthdates,phonenumbers,andsocialsecuritynumbers,tonameafew.
Therefore,thebiggestethicalissuesthatthisprojectfacesareprivacyandsecurityconcerns.

Security & Privacy. A passive approach to creating the RDBMS and UI could leave it

vulnerable to a breach and possible leak of information after implementation. Such

vulnerabilities can lead to serious, negative impacts. For instance, if a breach occurred, the
operator could use the information for personal use or give it away to other nonauthorized
individuals. An attack such as this would negatively affect the Client, their volunteer base, and
the community they service. This could potentially damage the Clients credibility. The
community could also become victims of a breach in the RDBMS. Identity theft, stalking, and
socialhumiliation,aresomeofthepotentialnegativeimpactsontheClientscommunity.

SafetyMeasures.
Measurescanbetakentomitigatetheseconcernsandpreventorlessen
thenegativeimpactsoftheseissues.Withpropersecuritymeasuresimplementedinthe
programmingoftheRDBMSduringproduction,theDBcanbeprotectedfromfuturepotential
breaches.Phase1onlyimplementstheRDBMSontheClientslocalnetwork,whichlimits
accesstoonlytheusersonthelocalnetworkwithpermission.Remoteaccessfromoutsidethe
networkwillbeexclusivelyfortheEngineerformaintenanceandupgradesonly.Otheraccess
fromoutsidetheClientslocalnetworkwillbeprohibited.Usernamesandencryptedpasswords
willberequiredfromallusers.OnlyuserswithpermissionfromtheClientsmanagementwillbe
permittedtoaccesstheRDBMS.Also,databaseprivilegeswillbelimitedbasedonmanagement
specifications.Thelatestsafetymeasureswillbetakenthroughouttheprogrammingofthe
RDBMSandUI,suchasusingPDOstatementstopreventSQLinjections.Afterimplementation,

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theClientcanhelpreducetheriskofabreachbydoingpropervettingofuserspermittedto
accesstheRDBMSandbylimitingdatabaseprivilegeswhennecessary.
LegalConsiderations
There are no apparent legal considerationswithinthescopeofthisproject.Alltoolsused
for the making of thisprojectarefree,opensourcedtools.Allprogrammingwillbecustom built
bytheEngineer.
Milestones
Majormilestonesinclude:
DBcreation
UIcreation
UserLoginpage
Homepage
NewReferralEntrypage
Referral/CaseFileEditpage
Referral/CaseFileSearchpage
SearchResultspage
Clientimplementation
RisksandDependencies
As with any project of this magnitude, there exists a number of risks and dependencies.
Refer to the risk analysis table for further information on how the risks and dependencies
associatedwiththisprojectwillbemitigated(SeeAppendixA).

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FinalDeliverables
Final deliverables for this project will include: 1) a newly, installed XAMPP webserver
on the Clients local machine, 2) a new DBhostedontheXAMPPserver,and3)alocalwebsite
toserveastheAdminPortal.
UsabilityTesting
Usability tests will be administered throughout each week and each milestone of the
project. These tests will be performed during the developmentprocessbytheEngineerandafter
implementation by the Client. Usability tests will test for communication between UI and DB
along with several other actions. Refer to the Appendix for a complete list of the usability tests
thatwillbeadministeredthroughoutthisproject(See
Appendix
B).
TeamMembers
Chris Smithisthesoleengineerforthisproject.Allroles,responsibilities,anddivisionof
laborareunderMr.Smith.

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References

Berthelette,C.,Garcia,S.,Pacifico,A.,&Vaughan,B.(n.d.).
DataManagementForNonprofit
Organizations
[Scholarlyproject].RetrievedApril16,2016,from
https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/Eproject/Available/Eproject030314152606/unrestricted/Da
ta_Managment_for_NonProfit_Organizations.pdf
Cobb,M.(2011,October).ComparingrelationaldatabasesecurityandNoSQLsecurity.
RetrievedApril16,2016,from
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/answer/Comparingrelationaldatabasesecurityand
NoSQLsecurity
Elmasri,R.,&Navathe,S.B.(2011).
Fundamentalsofdatabasesystems
(6thed.).Retrieved
April16,2016,from
http://fms.uofk.edu/multisites/UofK_fms/images/pdf/Fundamentals_of_Database_System
s_6th_Edition.pdf
Rob,P.,&Coronel,C.(2009).
Databasesystems:Design,implementation,andmanagement
(8thed.).RetrievedApril16,2016,from
http://bit.sparcs.org/~dinggul/tools/1423902017.pdf

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AppendixA
RiskAnalysisTable

Risk

Likelihood Impact

Delayscreationof
theDBmaydelay
creationofUI.
Delaysineach
programming
phaseoftheUI
maydelaynext
programming
phase.

Delaysinthe
programming
phasesmaydelay
Client
implementation
andtesting.

ContingencyPlan

Low

Earlyprototypework

hasbeenperformed,
Medium indicatinga
successfulDB
creation.

Spendextratimeon
prototypetoensure
developmentsuccess.

Medium

Earlyprototypework

hasbeenperformed.
Medium Pertinentliteratureon
thesubjectmatter
willbereviewedin
preparation.

Seekinputfromexperts
onthesubjectmatter.

Continualreviewof
subjectmatter
throughoutdevelopment
process.Seekinput
fromexpertsonthe
subjectmatter.

Medium

*LikelihoodxImpact=Risk.
Low=1,Medium=2,High=3
Risk<3=Green=lowrisk
2<Risk<7=Orange=mediumrisk
Risk>6=Red=highrisk

RemediationPlan

High

ContacttheClient
andinformthemof
thedelayandofthe
newscheduleneeds.
Contactwiththe
Clientwillbe
biweeklyuntilthe
productisdelivered.

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AppendixB
UsabilityTestsList

1. UserLoginpage.
Testuserloginwithtwodifferentcorrectusernameandpassword
combinations.Testuserloginwithtwodifferentincorrectusernameandpassword
combinations.Testwithemptyusernameandpassword.
2. Homepage.
Homepageshoulddisplayanyandallopenreferralsandcasefiles
belongingtothecurrentuser.
3. NewReferralEntrypage.
Testenteringinanewreferral.AlldatafromtheNew
ReferralEntrypageshouldbestoredontheDB.Thisinformationshouldnowshowon
theHomepage,Referral/CaseFileEditpage,andtheSearchResultspage.
4. Referral/CaseFileEditpage.
Testretrievinganalreadyexistingreferral/casefile.Test
byeditingsomeoftheinformationandsavingtheupdatedinformation.Thisnew
informationshouldnowshowontheHomepage,Referral/CaseFileEditpage,andthe
SearchResultspage.
5. Referral/CaseFileSearchpage.
Testsearchingforanalreadyexistingreferral/casefile.
SuccessfulsearchwilltakeusertoSearchResultspage.
6. SearchResultspage.
TestthatsearchresultsfromReferral/CaseFileSearchtestare
displayedonSearchResultspage.
7. NavigationMenu.
TestnavigationoffullUIthroughthenavigationmenu.
8. ClientImplementation.
Retesttests#17onClientsmachine(s).