A2

 Computing
Analysis  Stages
_____________________________

Dan Chong
2011

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A2  Computing  Analysis  Stages
De4inition  and  Investigation
Analysis  Section  1.1:  Description

Description of the Organisation

The Music Department at Kingʼs College has a locker system, where students who play
musical instruments can apply for a locker, so that they can store their instruments and
keep them safe during or after school hours. Students at Kingʼs are sorted into 11 houses.
The organisation of the ʻmusic lockersʼ are handled by Mrs Thompson, the assistant to the
Head of the Music Department. They are interested in introducing a priority system in the
lockers which will improve the current system, because some students with very expensive
instruments did not get assigned to a locker through the current system.

Methods currently in use

If a student wants to apply for a ʻmusic lockerʼ, they will go to Mrs Thompson, who will type
their details into a Microsoft Word document, and then look at a sheet of paper with the
locker numbers and combinations on it so she can give them the combination to a locker
which is not currently in use. In this case, instrument serial number is not recorded. Each
student is then written in the Microsoft Word document next to their current locker. The
current system is on a first come first served basis.

Origin and form of the data used

The information comes from the student applying for the locker, who will give Mrs
Thompson their names, houses, which instrument they play, and year group. The lockersʼ
info are on pieces of paper, which shows the locker number and each lockers has its own
unique combination.

System Requirements

The system will require a Windows computer, or a Mac on bootcamp, running at least
Windows XP, with Microsoft Office 2010 installed on it.

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Analysis  Section  1.2:  First  Interview
What does the music department do at the school?

Apart from the academic teaching of music, it provides instrumental tuition for 360
students, provided by 22 outside teachers. And it runs the concert band, the jazz band, the
chapel choir, Kingʼs Voices, and any other small music group in the school.

What is your role in the music department, Mrs Thompson?

I am the music administrator, so i mainly run the music lessons and the music roster for
students, but I also run the lockers, the hire of music instruments. We have 3000 bits of
music at the moment and the rest is not on the computer yet, so there are millions to go.

What tasks that you currently perform in the music department are time consuming
and in need of a new system?

The lockers. As well as the bass, amps and the leads.

Of these tasks, do you think they could be sped up with the aid of a computer
system?

Absolutely. Actually i am using the same program as the library to manage the sheet music
for the choir and to manage all the instruments, it is a huge job but that is actually quite
helpful, the lockers - I also use synergetic a lot to manage the groups, the glee club, the
bagpipes, but the lockers do not fit into those. If the lockers could be integrated either
synergetic or into the school library system that would be better than having an extra
system on top of it.

How come the systems havenʼt been integrated previously?

Well, I have hassled the IT guys for a while, since I started here, but so far they havenʼt
gotten round to it.

I donʼt really think they will get round to doing it anytime soon, so would you be
comfortable with another system to manage the lockers?

Yes, Iʼd still like a system to manage the lockers easily.

What is the worst part of the task?

It takes me usually 30 minutes to explain how to use a lock to a Year 9 boy, but the other
sort of step that gets left out in the process is that somebody gives up a lesson but I donʼt
get their hired instrument back, and it sits in the locker all day and so my lesson rosters, I
need a way of knowing that the student who has dropped the lesson has a locker and a

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hired instrument, so I can free that locker up and give it to somebody else, or someone
else will be missing out, so a tag system would be good.

Who is involved in the process?

Me. Just me, but it used to be Mr Sherwood and the other staff.

How are you involved?

In the whole process.

How much IT experience do you have?

Enough for the job, so, Iʼve known the library program since it was invented, about 12
years ago, and synergetic. Weʼve developed a few new extra things for the music
department.

What types of data are in the process?

I collect their name, their house, and whether they are in a band. So sometimes a person
has got an instrument hired and they are in the concert or jazz band, but I havenʼt realised
that they have left the bands in which case I donʼt take any steps to cancel their locker and
retrieve their instrument, so thats the biggest sort of gap in the tagging.

Would you introduce recording the serial number, or year group?

I suppose you could use the student number, but I donʼt need that. Certainly when Iʼm
using synergetic or the library program, that would be using the student number, so that
would be a way of integrating the new system with those.

Where do you get the information from?

From the students themselves. Although I get the information for which band they are in
from synergetic because Iʼve logged that information there, but often I donʼt know when
they have left the band that they are in.

How do you store this information currently?

In a Word Document and a folder. Iʼve had a breakthrough, so I keep the number of the
lock and the code in a document so I can still get in even if the lock is moved. Iʼve tried
numbering them but that didnʼt work.

Are you comfortable with a computer system being used to process these tasks?

Absolutely, Iʼd look forward to it.

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What operating system do you run and what version?

No. Well I will let you have a look. Version 10.5.8.

What sort of time-frame for the system are we looking at here?

Well, Iʼd like a faster, efficient way of doing things, well really as soon as possible.
Probably about six weeks.

The only way I see that happening is that I create an Access Database, because it is
quicker. However this will only be an option if you have a Windows computer.

I donʼt think Iʼd like to change from Mac.

I see that your computer has been authorised to run, and that you have installed
VMWare Fusion on your Mac. Are you aware of this?

No, I donʼt know what the program does at all. Itʼs a bit confusing as they installed a lot of
programs I donʼt use on this computer.

Did you know that you can run Windows from the VMWare Fusion program?

Oh really? No, that is new to me.

In that case, an Access Database would be able to be run from your current
machine, while running other Mac programs. Would you be happy to do this?

Great, then I am happy for that to happen.

Do you have Microsoft Office, and if so, which version?

Version 11.4.2 Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac.

Are you familiar with Microsoft Access?

No, Iʼve been using Mac since I started here.

How many lockers are there in the system at the moment?

Iʼve never counted them because Iʼve never numbered them. But there are one hundred
and one.

Is the locker system full?

Not quite, but some boys were supposed to see me today to get lockers.

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If a priority system was to be introduced, how would priority be decided, for
example year group?

At the moment the boarders are given priority over day boys and the day boys would use
the day storeroom, and take their instruments home, but the year group priority would be
obsolete.

What about cost of instrument?

Actually that makes sense, and the other consideration is size, and we donʼt have many
cello lockers, and also height, and they have to be given to a specific locker.

In that case, how many of these cello lockers do you have, and which other types of
locker are there?

There are ten cello lockers, twenty medium lockers, and the rest are small.

Alright. Thanks for your time, thats all I will need right now.

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Analysis  Section  1.3:  Requirements  Speci4ication  of  the  System

List of tasks

All the tasks in this process are handled and completed by Mrs Thompson.
At the beginning of the school year, Mrs Thompson deletes all of the names in the locker
word document, un-assigning all of the students from the locker system.
Then Mrs Thompson sends out a notice to all students, asking students to see her in her
office if they would like a locker. It is currently on a first come, first served basis. If there
are still lockers remaining after the beginning of the first week of Term 1, the locker
assignment again runs on a first come first served basis for the rest of the year until all of
the lockers are being used by students.

As a result, the new system needs to:

1. At the beginning of the year, un-assign all students and instruments from their
respective lockers.
2. Send out a notice by electronic mail to all students, reminding them to sign up for a new
locker if they want one.
3. When the user inputs the data of the students, the system will assign the students with
the highest priority to lockers. The other students who have the least priority and are not
chosen by the system will not receive a locker.
4. Those students who have been assigned lockers will be sent an e-mail saying that they
have been assigned to a locker, and the details of the code of the locker and where it is
located.

The new list of tasks will look like this:

1. Clear all student assignments of lockers at the beginning of the year. Automated by the
system.
2. Send out e-mail to all students, prompting them to give their details to Mrs Thompson if
they would like a locker.
3. Mrs Thompson will then input all of the data given by students into the system.
4. System calculates who is assigned to a locker, determined by the new priority system
being introduced.
5. Email is sent to students who have received lockers this year, along with details such as
the code of the locker.

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Field lists

Mrs Thompson gets the studentsʼ details from the students themselves, when they go to
see her at the start of the year to apply for a locker. The info she gets is the studentʼs
name, their house, year group, what band they are in, and which instrument they play.

In the new system the fields that need to be filled in are:

- Name of student
- House
- Year Group
- Whether they are a boarder or day boy (which is determined by the ʻhouseʼ field)
- Which instrument they play
- Size of instrument
- Cost of instrument
- Which school music groups they are in
- Which locker they are assigned to
- The code of the locker

Calculations and Decisions

Since the current ʻfirst come, first servedʼ system is not a satisfactory system for the
current locker system, a priority system for students needs to be introduced. Cost of
instrument, size of instrument, and whether the student is a boarder have been identified
as areas which rules must be established.

As a result, the new system needs to be able to:

- Calculate priorities for students who have large instruments

- Calculate priorities for students who have expensive instruments
- Have priority for students who are boarders at the College

The system will sort through the entries which will be entered by the user. This way, the
students who need the lockers the most will be assigned lockers, and the rest of the
students who have signed up and are not of high enough priority will not have lockers.

Extra wants

Mrs Thompson wants the locker system to be integrated with the synergetic school
attendance system and the school library system. However, I have looked into this
possibility, but it seems extremely unnecessary to integrate these systems, as the systems
used at the College are of a totally different nature to the one that will be designed. It is
also very difficult to integrate these systems as I do not know the level of programming and
the language used by the programmer who coded the library and the synergetic
attendance system used by the college.
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Analysis  Section  1.4:  Diagrams  for  new  system

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Analysis  Section  1.5:  Second  Interview
As a result of my research I have come to the conclusion that the new locker system
will be created either by a php/sql online database, or a Microsoft Access database.

This would require you to use the VMWare software on your computer. Are you
happy doing this?

Yup, as long as someone can show me how to run it I should be fine.

Okay, Ill get one of the IT guys to show you how to use the program in the near
future.

After reading the system requirements would you be comfortable if the suggested
system was implemented?

Yes, I am satisfied with the ideas that you have shown me.

Do you think anything should be added to the requirements?

No, I think you have covered all the necessary points.

Do you think any sort of changes need to be made before I begin the design of this
project?

I think everything seems to be in order.

Do you think that an automated email component in this system would work?

Yes, this would be a very helpful addition, please add it into the project.

Which priority would be the most important, ranking from 1 to 3, the student being a
boarder, the cost of the instrument, or the size of the instrument?

I think that the Cost is important, so number one, and next the size as it is also pretty
important, and then the boarder priority.

We have decided to use A Microsoft Access database because:

It will be easy to program the Access database, easy to print reports and to get specific
information. Because the program is made to make databases, the presets and wizards
will make the database quicker to create, based on the time frame. You are also able to
edit the database easily if there are any changes, unlike an SQL/PHP database, which
makes the Access Database hassle free to edit if mistakes are made.

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Hardware and Software requirements

Currently Mrs. Thompson uses a Mac desktop computer, running the Snow Leopard
operating system (Version 10.6.6). However, she is happy to install the Windows XP
operating system on Bootcamp or on VMWare Fusion, and install Microsoft Office so that
she can run the Microsoft Access Database.

As discussed during the interview, the system will be compatible with Microsoft XP running
Microsoft Access 2010 so Mrs Thompson can run the system on the computer that she is
currently using in the Music Department.

Requirements summary

- Mrs. Thompson will have full access to the new system.

- The new system will assign lockers to students.
- A priority system will be introduced, so that students who need the lockers more get
them.
- Display the lockers and who is assigned to them in the system.
- Email students if they have a locker or not.
- Be compatible with Mac OS X running Windows XP on Bootcamp.

Sign-­‐off  and  con4irmation

I have read, are satisfied with the

conditions, and are happy for the
system to be designed.

Dan Chong Mrs Karen Thompson

_____________________________ _____________________________

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A2  Computing
Design  Stages
_____________________________

Dan Chong
2011

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A2  Design  Stages
Design  Section  2.1:  Objectives  and  Bene4its
Objectives

Following my interviews with Mrs Thompson, the requirements for the system have been
laid down and the design of the system can begin, so that the updated system will be
faster, more efficient and easier to use than the one on paper. Therefore the objectives of
this new system should be to make the new system quicker to process, and make it easier
to use than the current one in place. It should also carry out tasks that match the old
system exactly so that no changes have to be made to the process, and should introduce
new features that make the overall task a hassle free experience.

Since the current system is basically all done by hand, by Mrs Thompson herself, a large
amount of the processing will be automated by computer system, apart from the entering
of data received from the students. The new email system mail merge system is to be
introduced as well, eliminating another time consuming part of the task carried out by Mrs
Thompson.

After the entry of all the data of students who wish to use lockers in the Music Department,
the new system will calculate the priority of the current students in the system and email
those students who have been assigned lockers. This makes the task extremely simple for
Mrs Thompson, as the only thing she has to do is enter in the data into the system and the
rest is automated.

To be able to edit the records in the current way of doing things, Mrs Thompson will have
to go into the Word Document, make the changes, and then print out another copy of the
document. In the new database changes can be made quickly by just editing the record.
This is a new feature which will reduce the problems if a mistake is made during data
entry, although validation on entry of data should reduce the number of mistakes in the
process anyway.

Benefits

- The new system will be much quicker than the old system
- The system will now be managed by a program which is made for databases, instead of
a word processing software. This makes the system more reliable and has many obvious
advantages over the old one, such as much simpler data entry instead of managing
things by Microsoft Word tables.
- The fact that menial and repetitive tasks will either be automated or sped up by the
system is a massive benefit to the new system.
- Now that the students are kept in records, Mrs Thompson can also easily manage who is
and who isnʼt in a band in the current system.
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Design  Section  2.2:  Design  of  Tables

Student Table design (fig B1)

Field Name Field Type Examples Validation Use Origin

StudentID AutoNumber 23124 Increments of 1, is a Automatically Generated by
unique value, and is generated by Access
required. Access.

FirstName Text Joey Required. Must be text First Name of the From the student
only. Will prompt if not student in the
entered. system.

Surname Text Barton Required. Must be text Last Name of the From the student
only. Will prompt if not student in the
entered. system.

House Text Marsden Required. Must be one The house of the From the student
of 12 houses only, from student.
a drop down. Will prompt
if not entered and will not
accept any other data.

Email Text j.barton@kings Default text: The email of the From the student
college.school. example@kingscollege.s student, so that
nz chool.nz. Must be an they can be
email address and is a informed if they
requirement. have a locker.

YearGroup Number 12 Required. Must be The year group of From the school
numbers 9, 10, 11, 12 or the student. system or from the
13 only. Will prompt if student
not entered. themselves

Instrument Text Saxophone Required. Must be text The instrument From the student
only. Will prompt if not that the student
entered. plays.

CostOfInstrument Currency $530.00 Required. Must be The cost of the From the student
number only. Will prompt instrument, so
if not entered. that the priority
can be decided.

SizeOfInstrument Text
Large Required. Must be text The size of the From the student
ʻSmall, Medium, or instrument, so
Largeʼ only from drop that the priority
down. Will prompt if not can be decided.
entered.

Boarder Boolean Yes Boolean data only. Whether the Calculated from
student is a the house or from
boarder so that the student
priority can be
decided.

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 Field Name Field Type Examples Validation Use Origin
MusicGroupX Text Jazz Band Must be one of 6 cultural Needed to From the school
(Five Fields groups (Choir, calculate priority, system or from the
replacing X with Orchestra, Jazz Band, if this is left blank student
1-5) Concert Band, Chamber the student has themselves
Group, Lesson) and less priority.
nothing else. There will be 5 of
these fields.

LockerNum Number 45 Must be number only. Student will know After calculation,
Calculated by the which locker they from the locker
system. are allocated to, if table
they have one.

LockerCode Text 3-15-43 Must be text only. Student will know From the locker
what the code for table after
the locker is, if calculation.
they have one.

Priority Number 2 Calculated by the Determines the Calculated by the

system, so no text priority of those system.
should be entered in the who are assigned
box. lockers. The
higher the
number, the
higher the points.

Explanation

The student table design, Fig. 2.1, contains all of the data entered by Mrs Thompson into
the system, which has been retrieved either from the synergetic system or the students
themselves.

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Locker table design (fig b2)
Field Name Field Type Examples Validation Use Origin
LockerNum Number 23124 Increments of 1, is a Automatically Generated by
unique value, and is generated by Access
required, up to 101. Access.

LockerCode Text 3-15-43 Must be text only. Student will know From the locker
what the code for table after
the locker is, if calculation.
they have one.

LockerSize Text Medium Required. Only allows To determine the From inspection of
text ʻSmallʼ, ʻMediumʼ, or size of locker and locker.
ʻLargeʼ, from a drop which instruments
down menu. can fit in them.

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