Mini Project Computer Studies 2010

Mini Project
Computer Studies 2010
1. Introduction
This project is my Computer Studies course work of Cambridge GCE O level for the year 2011. I have done on field and off field research before composing this course work project. I have consulted experts, accountants, individual employers and experience personal in this field of work. In the project I have attached questioner and all the individual answer scripts. I have made this as a summary to database designing done for Illusion Company Private Limited by using information given by the company to their standards, requests and recommendations.
Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19
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Content
Name
1. Introduction 2. Problem Definition 2.1. Client Description 2.2. Nature of the problem to be solved 2.3. Software Used 3. Investigation 3.1. Meeting held with the company 3.2. Questionnaires to employs and customers 3.3. Observation 4. Description of the current database 4.1. Overall design of the current system 4.1.1. Flowchart showing overall design 4.2. Method of data collection 4.3. Method and Medium of data storage 4.4. The type of processing used 4.5. User friendliness of the current database 5. Evaluation of the current database 5.1. Advantages. 5.2. Disadvantages 5.3. Suggested Improvements 17 17 17 15 15 14 15 15 6 7 - 12 13 4 5 5
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6. Objectives
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6.1. General Objectives 6.2. Specific Objectives 7. Description and evaluation of the given two solutions. 7.1. Solution One 7.1.1. Advantages. 7.1.2. Disadvantages 7.2. Solution Two 7.2.1. Advantages 7.2.2. Disadvantages 8. Chosen Solution 8.1. Advantages of the chosen solution 8.2. Limitations 9. Methodology 10. Data Design 10.1. Data Dictionary 11. Program Flow Charts 11.1. Flow Chart One 11.2. Flow Chart Two 11.3. Flow Chart Three 11.4. Flow Chart Four 11.5. Flow Chart Five 12. Hardware Requirements
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12.1. Processor 12.2. Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 12.3. System Memory (RAM) 12.4. Monitor Display 12.5. Mouse 12.6. Keyboard 12.7. Printer 12.8. DVD / CD-ROM Drive 13. Software Requirements 13.1. Operating System
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2. Problem Definition
2.1. Client Description
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Illusion Company Private Limited have been supplying broadcasting equipment to Maldivian electronic field for quite some time. The company was started in 1976 to supply broadcasting equipment to Radio Maldives, the only broadcasting body of the country at the time; and later in the year 1978 when Television Maldives (TVM) came to being the company began to supply equipment which they required. Later on, they expanded their field of services. In addition to broadcasting equipments they started supplying computer electronic equipments in the year 1996 when computers were introduced and started to use in government offices and later in 1998 it became familiar to the public. For the first 21 years of work the company was running in the same shop located in the capital Male which consisted of a store, administrative department and stock storage. In the year 1997 the administrative department moved to a separated office block from the shop and the stock was also being moved into a warehouse, hence the shop was expanded. Late in the year 1999, the business was developed by adding more shops which added more work forces to keep the manual database stock in check. Since then companys business expanded into more fields of work such as hardware supplying, construction material supplying, mobile phones shops and service centres, sales and service centres for authorized products(such as Apple, Asus, Dell....Etc..) pharmaceuticals and food and beverages to the Maldivian public as well as the tourism industry. Specifically they expanded their business throughout Maldives. In the year 2009 a devastating fire nearly destroyed nearly all the data in their manual database which included a lot of invoices and stock data sheets. This catastrophic fire led the company to make radical decisions to computerize their partially computerized database of invoicing / sales and stock control to fully computerized database.
2.2. Nature of the problem to be solved

Due to current database been partially computerized, the workers have to do lot of work by referring to past years invoicing/ sales and stock to make accounts
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auditingetc. Workers doing a lot of manual labor to keep the database in check has been a big headache for the company. For such reasons the company wants to completely remove the manual data check to reduce work force.
2.3. Software used

For this project I have used a variety of programs to compose a suitable database for the company which is user friendly and easy for novice worker to use. The most common programs used include Microsoft (Ms) Access, Ms Excel and Ms Word. I have also used facilities such as screen captureetc..
3. Investigation
3.1. Meeting held with the company
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Before the contract was handed over to me, a meeting was held between the company and me to ensure we had mutual understanding of each other. In the meeting the company set certain standards, special requests and recommendations which should be in the new database. Listed below are the standards, requests and recommendations set by the company. 1. 2. The new database should be user friendly. The database should have an automatic updating function to update the data when new data is inputted to the system / database. 3. The database should be compatible for the latest Windows OS and the latest computer systems. 4. Database should have an easy search many to go through the database without the user hitting brick walls 5. The time taken to serve a customer should be radically reduced by a factor of 90% 6. None of the lower ranked workers should be able to bring any changes to the database, only superior supervisors should have the right and access to change the database. 7. The database should be password protected to stop any unauthorized access of data by an unknown person or organization.
The following pages contain questionnaires forms and interviews of company workers and clients of the company.
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3.3. Observation
Before starting the work of building a database I did field work such as observations of how current database works and how comfortable are the workers using this kind of database. I found that the workers are finding it really difficult to use the partially computerized manual database. I also found that customers are feeling intimidated when it takes time for the cashiers to make invoices the customers has requested for.
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4. Description of the Current Database

4.1. The Overall Design of the current system
The overall design of the current of the current database is completely based on manual checking, data input and invoicing. For just checking one items sales and amount of stock in the warehouse it takes nearly a full day. To make invoices of the year takes up to a month to be completed.
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Check if the customer is registered in the manual database
If Yes Manually check customers history and add the purchase to latest purchasing from the company.
If No
Manually register the customer in the database with all the information about the person / company
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Make an invoice for the customer and update the stocks database.
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If Yes
If No
4.2. Method of data collection.

The data for the database is manually collected by the workers in different fields. Sometime data coming from different field is not accurate or not liable. And at times the information from field does not even reach administrative offices. In each delivery a specific worker relies all the detail about the delivery to the office.
4.3. Method and medium of data storage

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The current database stores data in huge box filing cabinets which take up a lot of space. All the data about stock and invoice copies are stored in paper format. As data is stored in data sheets are at many risks and disadvantages when stored in box file cabinets. The disadvantages are listed later on
4.4. The type of processing used

All the data for the current database is processed manually so it takes up a lot of time. After processing the data, the workers make data sheets to store the data in the current database which also takes up a lot of time. The workers manually process the data from start to end even before entering the data into the current database.
4.5. User friendliness of the current database

The current database is not very user friendly compared to its counterpart of the computerized database. A lot of workers time is taken away for maintenance, storage and entering of new and old data.
If Yes
Check whether all the information from the required fields is received by the office.
If No
Check the reliability of all the information received from the required fields If No If Yes
Send a message reminding the required fields workers to report back the precise information on delivery and stock of goods
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Input all the data into the database in the right areas. Make sure that the information is matching to data about stocks in the database.
If Yes Re-verify the database by another worker or order workers to send verified information.
Verify the data base as credible and original.
If No
If Yes
Import all the data into the main database after finalization and make it effective to the database.
5. Evaluation of the Current Database

5.1. Advantages
i. ii. iii. Latest information about transactions at hand. Any editing that has to be made can be done easily. This database leaves paper trail to help in future.
5.2. Disadvantages
i. ii. In case of fire all the data in the database can be lost. Anyone at anytime can access the database without superior officers knowledge.
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iii. iv. v. vi. vii.
Very low security. Data sheets can be easily lost. Need a lot of storage area. A lot of money is spent on paper and ink alone. Need workers to maintain the database.
5.3. Suggested improvements

i. ii. iii. iv. Make sure the database is cost effective. Bring in new computer systems for faster work. Train all staff on how to maintain the database. All data in the database should every year be renewed to make sure data is not lost.
6. Objectives
6.1. General Objectives
i. ii. iii. iv. v. The first objective of the company is to reduce cost in maintaining their current database. They want to reduce their paper costs by a factor of 85% . Their third objective is to fasten their pace in customer services. They want to have daily stock information on demand without any delays. They want to save time by referring to computerized database rather than a box filing cabinet.
6.2. Specific Objectives

i. No one from outside should be able to access the database.
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ii. iii. iv. v. vi.
The database should be protected with the latest security software. When a data about certain product is entered only it should appear in search results. When data is edited by an authorized personal from the company it should immediately take effect in the main database. The database should be able to be used in a intranet network without any down time. The database should be able to handle everything thing while working at maximum capacity of the companies servers without any crashing.
7. Description and Evaluation of the solutions

7.1. Solution One
i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. The solution one must has easy search bar to search the database. The space taken up by this database is 75% smaller than the previous database. The processing for the database is done by allocated computer systems. The data is stored in computerized form unlike the paper based one. An authorized editing will be implemented in the database with immediate effect without any down times. The processing time is shortening by 65%. The use of intranet prevents hacking into the database. The server system stores database without any malfunctions.
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ix. x. xi.
The storage of the database will be shared between computerized systems. Daily updating of the database is easy. Use Microsoft Office as the base of the database.
7.1.1. Advantages
i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. Cost effective. Takes up a lot less space compared to others. Fewer workers needed to maintain the database. No need of expensive internet security software. Most programs and software can be written by a programmer with ease. No wastages of paper.
7.1.2. Disadvantages
i. ii. iii. iv. v. Processing time is slow compared to normal working conditions. Need to buy a moderate priced server for the database. Need to connect all the shops, warehouses and offices with their own cable networks. Any changes brought to database can slow a computer system somewhere while a purchase is going on. No fool proof backups.
7.2. Solution Two

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. Solution Two has a complicated advanced drop down search menu. The space taken up by this database solution is 70% smaller than the previous database. The processing for the database is done by all the computers simultaneously. The data from the database is stored in many hard disks across allocated areas. A backup of the database is created into new hard disk every 3hrs. The processing time has been shortened by 90%. The use of both intranet and internet gives 50-50 chance of the database been hacked. Daily updating the database is difficult and time taking. Only authorized personal can access the in depth parts of the server system or the database and edit the database.
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x. xi.
The database nor server system cannot crash as backup database and servers come online if the system or database is facing any difficulties. A paper based back up is taken every year.
7.2.1. Advantages
i. ii. iii. iv. In case of system crash the data in process is not lost. The processing speed is a lot faster. Any change brought to the database does not affect the speed of the computers. Can use small server because the database uses intranet and internet.
7.2.2. Disadvantages
i. ii. iii. iv. The database all ways at risk of being hacked. Need to buy genuine anti-virus etc.. software. Take more space. Need to use paper.
8. Chosen Solution
8.1. Advantages of the chosen solution.
The solution chosen by the company is the proposed solution one. As use of this method reduces the company bills spend on buying paper, ink cartridges and printers. As this solution doesnt need any paper to store data it is more environment friendly compared to the other solution. As there is no printing done, no ink cartridges nor printers are needed to print datasheets for the database. As this database is based on servers and intranet meaning there is no outside connection from the computer systems of the company which eliminates the buying of expensive genuine anti-virus or anti-spy where software. As this database needs only computer hard disks to store the data, less workers are need to maintain the it.
8.2. Limitations
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The chosen solution for the current problems faced by this company comes with a price. This type of computerized database needs the companys workers to be trained in how to use computers and how to work with this kind of programs. Due to workers being pulled off their jobs to be trained it strains the companys staff between work and training. Other limitations include buying new hardware and cables for this database to operate in full capacity. As this database is connected to a server which doesnt have any connection to internet, the programs used can be written by a programmer or can use non-genuine softwares. Other limitations include buying cables to connect all their shops, warehouses and offices located everywhere to the server.
9. Methodology
The method I have used to make this database is simple and easy one which is most common in a database by small businesses. These programs and software included in all computer systems when we first purchase them. These programs are mostly known as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel. The database is made in Microsoft Access tables because it has an easy search box. The Microsoft Excel is can be used calculate mathematical numbers with formulas already embedded into the program, excel can be used to keep mathematical numbers in tables with ease. Microsoft Word is used to make daily, monthly and yearly reports about the sales and stock. As these programs are already there when we install Microsoft Office in any computer system its much cost effective than buying expensive program specifically designed for databases. The software and programs being used is Microsoft also makes it easy to train workers as they will already have some experience using Microsoft Windows as well as Microsoft office.
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10. Data Design

10.1. Data Dictionary
As workers will not remember the exact name, code no of a product in the database a dictionary has been written in with the database table is the Microsoft Access table search box. This box will bring in all results that closely match with the typed in name or code. As some products have matching names, product model numbers and codes the worker must verify all the codes using the search box which includes the same name, product model number and code in same area. When dealing with the customer database a dictionary is needed in the search box to eliminate any possible errors made by the worker while typing in the name of the person, group or company.
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11. Program Flowcharts

11.1. Flow Chart One
Check whether the customer is registered in the database.
If Yes
If No
Take data about the customer from the database.
Register the customer in the database.
Confirm that all the information allocated Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19 about the customers 100% correct and liable.
If No
Re-enter new information about 24 Page customer into the database.
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11.2. Flow Chart Two

Change amount of the item in stock in the computer database.
Sort the new information in order.
Update the stock and sales information in the database.
Take stock and sales files from the main database.
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Create new files with the updated stock and sales while keeping the old files for reference of stock and sales.
11.3. Flow Chart Three

To remove / delete the product code, item details from the computer system.
Sort all the information of details in order.
Delete the information from the database being used.
Take the files from the database which has details and information about the item or product that has to
be removed
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Create a new files show that the information removed detail from has the been current
database while creating backups and files for history reference showing that the item existed in the past in the database.
11.4. Flow Chart Four

Search the member from the computer database.
Sort all the information about client before searching for the client in main database.
Get all the Page information about 27 the client from the database.
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Add new information about the client recent activities with the company.
Finalize all the information about the client and their recent activities with the company in order of years, months, and days.
11.5. Flow Chart Five

Confirm that the certain number of these goods has been sold to the clients in the primary computer system.
Sort all the information in order so the processing goes faster.
Add
all
the into
new the
Take the entire necessary file from the main database.28 Page
information Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19 database files.
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Print invoices
the while
necessary making
them into the database aswell.
12. Hardware Requirements

12.1. Processor
Hardware Reason To run the operating Minimum Hardware Requirements Intel Pentium IV 3.2GHz or more processor system and to run Microsoft Access with stability and ease.
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The greater the speed of the processor and the power the more efficient Recommended Hardware Requirements Intel Processor Core i7 the system is as MS Access 2007 needs to be run in High capacity processors. This also means that work can be done much faster.
3.3GHz, 8MB
cache, 1066MHz FSB
12.2. Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

Hardware Reason
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To store the database files Minimum Hardware Requirements in the computer. Larger the 40GB Hard memory, easier to store many files without slowing the Pc down
The operating system needs at least 30GB to work and 15GB to be free at all times to function properly. The Recommended Hardware 320GB SATA Hard constant data entering will also take up space, therefore a hard disk with more capacity would be the ideal choice.
12.3. System Memory (RAM)

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Hardware
Reason
Minimum Hardware Requirements
DDR 667MHz 1GB RAM
Microsoft Windows Vista needs at least 1GB of RAM to work efficiently. So at least 1GB is needed for the OS and to run the database.
Microsoft Windows Vista needs at least 1GB of RAM to work efficiently. So 1GB of RAM taken for OS and the Recommended Requirements other 1GB run the database. DDR 4GB RAM And the other 2GB RAM to run other programs. This is to prevent the computer from getting slow while OS and the database is running. This ensures ease of work.
12.4. Monitor Display

Hardware
Reason
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Monitor is a must since the software uses graphical Minimum Hardware Requirements 17 CRT Flat Screen 1280 960 32bit monitor interfaces that can be displayed only through monitors. To display the color images on the screen.
Color monitor is needed to display the colorful images Recommended Hardware Requirements 23 LCD Flat Screen 1280 1024 color monitor included in the program. To produce a neat output reports.
12.5. Mouse
Hardware
Reason
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Standard Mouse
To select the options a mouse is needed.
Recommended Hardware
USB Optical Mouse
Mouse is required to select options, open and closes the program. The scroll in the mouse helps the user to find the data easily.
12.6. Keyboard
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Hardware
Reason A keyboard is considered necessary since data has to be entered and the keyboard is an ideal piece of hardware to enter data.
Standard Keyboard
Multimedia Keyboard
Keyboard allows to use shortcuts while using the database.
12.7. Printer
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Hardware
Reason
Printing of reports every HP DeskJet F4180 month, when hard copies are needed.
Print out monthly reports, invoices, and delivery Recommended Hardware HP LaserJet Printer notes. To print advertisement of the company.
12.8. DVD / CD-RW Drive

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Hardware
Reason
CD-R / CD-RW Drive
To burn CD-ROMs for back up purposes.
To burn DVDs which TSST corp. CD-W / DVDWriteable provide higher storage space and are better means of back up storage than CD-ROMs.
13. Software Requirements

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13.1. Operating Systems

Software Reason
Windows XP has WIMP Minimum Software Requirements Genuine Microsoft XP Service pack 3 interface. So it is easy for employees to run the program and do tasks.
Windows Vista provides more security features and it Recommended Software Genuine Microsoft Vista is the latest OS which is more user-friendly and stable.
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Mini Project Computer Studies 2010

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Computer Studies 2010

Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19

Computer Studies 2010

Computer Studies 2010

Computer Studies 2010

Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19

Computer Studies 2010

2.2. Nature of the problem to be solved

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2.3. Software used

Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19

Computer Studies 2010

Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19

Computer Studies 2010

Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19

Computer Studies 2010

Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19

Computer Studies 2010

Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19

Computer Studies 2010

Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19

Computer Studies 2010

Computer Studies 2010

4. Description of the Current Database

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Check if the customer is registered in the manual database

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4.2. Method of data collection.

4.3. Method and medium of data storage

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4.4. The type of processing used

4.5. User friendliness of the current database

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Verify the data base as credible and original.

5. Evaluation of the Current Database

Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19

Computer Studies 2010

iii. iv. v. vi. vii.

5.3. Suggested improvements

6.2. Specific Objectives

Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19

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ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

7. Description and Evaluation of the solutions

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7.2. Solution Two

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Computer Studies 2010

Mohamed Sibaaq Ali Saleem 9G 09-4005 Reg no. 19

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10. Data Design

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11. Program Flowcharts

Take data about the customer from the database.

Register the customer in the database.

Re-enter new information about 24 Page customer into the database.

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11.2. Flow Chart Two