Contents

Contents..................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1.................................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Background of the study.......................................................................................2 1.2 Purpose Scope and Applicability............................................................................3 1.3 Methodology.........................................................................................................4 CHAPTER 2.................................................................................................................. 5 2.1 System Requirements...........................................................................................5 2.2 System Analysis....................................................................................................8 2.3 System Design......................................................................................................9 2.4 System Implementation.......................................................................................14 CHAPTER 3................................................................................................................ 15 3.1 Conclusion...........................................................................................................15 3.2 Limitation and Further work.................................................................................16 APPENDIX..................................................................................................................16 4.1 User Guide..........................................................................................................16 SYSTEM DIAGRAMS................................................................................................... 17

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CHAPTER 1 1.1 Background of the study

For parcel and cargo service providers, giving their services in the least time shows their best performance. Clients/ customers will be at their best if the package reaches its intended destination in a golden hour to avoid inconvenience for involved parties. It could be quite disappointing for an individual if their intended package took forever on the road. In many cases the intended means of delivery for the package is via road and in this day and age traffic on the roads could be quite unpredictable, hence a system that could track the whereabouts of the parcel real-time could be quite convenient for both the service provider and clients. We all at times would like to keep track of all what we do and it is hard to maintain and retrieve even track anything when it is all in paper form. For portable things this is very easy but for something that we moving from one place to another such as a parcel that contains very important and valuable properties can prove to be very difficult to make it work. When one sends a parcel we all get the need to know where exactly the parcel is headed and if it gets to the right destination right on time. With this in mind I came up with a mode to keep track of all parcels and documents sent and delivered through parcel and cargo delivery services using an online parcel delivery management system. My project the parcel delivery management system will consist of an operating system and an online management system that will be used to track the parcel. It will be developed on a windows 7 operating system platform and using php, java scripts and MySQL database. The parcel management is a very small price to pay to make sure that all parcels sent are sent and delivered to the right hands

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1.2 Purpose Scope and Applicability

This system is needed to ensure that the parcel delivery company meets all mandates about the delivery of parcels to its clients. In order to make this possible, the system greatly decreases the amount of paper work that must be filled. This system shall also help the company ensure that they are providing adequate and up to standard services by enabling the management the status of each parcel sent and that it arrives to its destination safely and without any alterations. The system shall assist the management in quickly and effective dispatching and delivering of parcels. It shall reduce the paper work that is currently filled for each parcel sent which shall in turn help the company meet the clients expectations. This reduction of paper work will allow the company to keep costs low; however it shall not replace the way in which the companys operations are carried out. The system shall not take into account congested roads and areas of high traffic. The users should be aware of traffic conditions when a parcel is sent, it shall not also determine the vehicle or mode of transport in which the parcel shall be sent with. Metropolitan areas across the world are facing the problem of increase in congestion. Every year due to traffic congestion millions of hours of vehicle delay increases in fuel consumption and environmental pollution. Recurrent congestion is due to two major reasons.

High levels of traffic demand during peak travel hours cause reduction in the available roadway capacity Traffic accidents and other incidents cause an unanticipated reduction in road capacity

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1.3 Methodology
In order to come up with the parcel management system I did a lot of research using interviews and questioners in various parcel delivery companies including, Mash bus services, Mololine services and Coast bus services among others. The various problems related to parcel delivery faced by this companies is a lot of paper work leading to misplaced parcels hence a delay on the delivery of parcels to clients. A sample of the questioners used is as follows;
a) Is your parcel delivery service competent enough that you get no

complaints from your clients? i) Yes ii) No If no please explain the kind of complaints you get

b) Do customers parcels get misplaced often?

c) Do your customers experience late deliveries of their parcels?

i) Yes ii) No If yes explain

d) Is a lot of paper work a problem in your office?

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e) Would you use a computer system that manages the delivery of parcels in your company? i) Yes ii) No If yes, what kind of system would you have installed? What would you expect the system to do for you? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 2 2.1 System Requirements

This section introduces the requirement specification document for the parcel management system. It provides the purpose and scope of the system. It identifies the involved users and helps to explain their roles. The document also describes general software and hardware constraints as well as any assumptions and dependencies concerning the system. The majority of this document focuses on the specific requirements lists. SYSTEM FUNCTIONS The parcel delivery system shall help ensure parcels are sent and reach their destinations efficiently in order to reduce costs for the parties involved. To facilitate these needs, system shall allow its users to input information pertaining a particular parcel that is sent. Based upon the clients needs the, the system shall prioritize which parcel to be sent how soon and by which means. The system shall also use the information provided to help the users decide on which destination to send the parcel. The system shall also keep track of all parcels sent in order for faster retrieval of the parcel. The user can update the parcels progress allowing the management to know when a parcel

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arrives to its destination. This can be used to make sure that the company is meeting all the client expectations and are providing the right amount of services in this area. USER CHARACTERISTICS There are three main groups of users that will use the system. The first group of users is the administrators. The system administrators are concerned with data integrity and system stability. This group has the highest computer skills set and is capable of supporting a computer network. Their interaction with the system is very limited and is only necessary for backing up and archiving data from the database or to provide basic computer support to the other users of the system. The management team makes up the second group. They interact with the system to view reports and statistics about the quality of services their employees are providing. They have basic computer experience and are familiar with word processors, e-mail clients and other management reporting systems. They spend most of their time ensuring that clients needs are met and that parcels are delivered efficiently. The final group is the system users. They are proficient in typing and have intermediate computer knowledge. They are used to working quickly and efficiently and are capable of working under high-pressure situations. They are the only group that deals directly with customers over the counter and phone on a daily basis. This group communicates with the customer to determine the kind of assistance the need. They input the relevant and required information to send a parcel and save it in the database they also use the saved information in the database to help customers receive their parcels. GENERAL CONSTRAINTS Software limitations System shall need windows 2000 or greater installed Web browser(Firefox or Google chrome) installed

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A server Each system user shall need a PC capable of running Microsoft Windows 2000 or greater, with a web browser installed The database shall be stored on a Windows, Linux, or UNIX server using APACHE and MySQL and all computers shall need to be networked together so that they can have access to the database.

Hardware limitations

ASSUMPTIONS AND DEPENDENCIES The system assumes that the users have adequate skills with using computers and computer software. The system also assumes that the given company can afford all the requirements specification of the system USER REQUIREMENT MASTER LIST This section contains the listing of all requirements for the parcel delivery system. The list contains unique requirement numbers and names with a short description of each requirement. REQ1: User input The system shall allow the user to input information relevant to sending a parcel. REQ2: Uniqueness of a parcel The system shall determine the uniqueness of each parcel sent as no parcel will have the same details as another REQ3: Prioritize parcel The system shall prioritize each parcel sent REQ4: Locate available means of sending parcel The system shall find the easiest way to send the parcel according to the customers needs. REQ5: Parcel status update The system shall allow the user to update the status of each parcel, whether or not it reached its destination and was collected REQ6: Parcel actual time update The system shall calculate the actual time it took the parcel to arrive to its destination

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REQ7: Information storage A database shall store all information to ensure quick access and security REQ8: Management report The system shall provide a mechanism for displaying results and statistics regarding the companys services. REQ9: User retrieval Users shall have the ability to access information regarding parcels sent REQ10: Payment details The system shall save all payment details made by the customer

2.2 System Analysis

Current system Currently the parcel delivery system is purely paper work in whereby once a customer comes to send a parcel the parcel details are taken down manually using pen and paper. A copy of this information is given to the sender the other is stapled on the parcel and the third copy remains in the sending office. Once the parcel arrives and the recipient comes to collect their parcel the person in the office has to go through all the parcels that have arrived in the store matching the details that the recipient gives the officer in the collection point. This can be at times very cumbersome considering there could be piles and piles of parcels that have been received. Many a times parcels get lost in the pile if not collected on the same day or at times a customer can claim not to have collected the parcel. Merits of the current system i) Cheap to acquire ii) Easy to use requires no computer knowledge Demerits of the current system i) Very unreliable ii) More lost parcels

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iii) Cumbersome to use iv) A lot of paper work Proposed System In the proposed system once a customer comes to send a parcel, the parcel information is logged into the system and they are stored in a database. When the recipient goes to collect the parcel all they have to do is give their name which is used to search the database to see if the parcel has arrived and if it has been collected. The system keeps a record of parcels and can sort them with dates also hence the recipient doesnt have to collect the parcel on the same day if it is not that agent. Merits of the proposed system i) Easy to access parcels ii) Easy to determine if the parcel has arrived iii) Less paperwork iv) Less lost parcels v) Cleaner offices Demerits of the proposed system i) Expensive to install ii) Hard to use requires computer knowledge

2.3 System Design

The system is designed using php (codeignitor framework), JavaScript, css and my sql database. The system runs on a server and can be accessed using a web browser. Description The system shall allow the user who attends to clients to input the client information, which is the beginning process of sending the parcel. A. Input

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The user shall input the necessary information in the tab labeled Add parcel in the system users interface. The system shall have fourteen types of data in which the user must input in order to send the parcel. Some of the fields are mandatory and others are not.

The first field are designated the Sender. A string of characters shall be the type of data that is input in this field. It is a required field The sender location is the second field which is a dropdown list that is taken from the origin table in the database. It is a required field. The Sender telephone and the sender mobile are the second and third fields. The input data shall be in the form of +000 000 000 000 The email field is not a required input where applicable it is in the form of xxx@xxx.xxx The recipient is a required field and it is a string of characters that has the name of the parcel recipient The parcel type is not a required field and where necessary it is a string of characters The Parcel weight allows the user to select the range of the parcels weight from a drop down menu selection The Sender ID is a required field that is in the form of string characters The Date sent is a required field that captures the time and date the parcel was sent The time received captures the date and time the parcel was received The Status field is a drop down selection list that the user uses to show the status of the parcel which includes, sent, received, collected and not collected. Each time a parcel is received the user must log the status of the parcel in the system.

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B. Display The fourteen types of user input fields are opened on a new tab when the tab add parcel is clicked. The save button is at the bottom of the input form, the edit and delete buttons are on the right side of each parcel record on the screen

Screen Shots The login page

The user dashboard

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The parcels tab

The input form

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Input form continued

C. System processing

The system is essentially idle while the user is inputting the information that relates to a parcel. Once the user clicks the save button the system determines if the user has input the correct type of information. If the user has not the correct information as defined by the input section, the system shall alert the user to repeat the wrong fields. The system shall display which information must be corrected and the user shall be able to correct the data.

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Once the information is accepted by the system by the system, the information is sent over the network to the server. The server places the data into its proper table in the database. D. System Output The system shall display an error message if any of the information that the user has entered is incorrect as defined by the input section. In the add parceltab where the user inputs the information, the system shall alert the operator of incorrect information by displaying a red textbox by the type of information that is incorrect. E. Data Handling A database is required to store user input

2.4 System Implementation

First will be to implement a system prototype for the users this will be a rapid prototype, once it is verified the prototype will be refined once it is tested and in operation mode requirements will be changed and verified which the maintenance phase is. The diagram below shows the implementation phase

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CHAPTER 3 3.1 Conclusion

In conclusion the general development of the parcel delivery system was quite a challenge but with maximum effort I managed to come up with a working system that I would recommend for any parcel delivery company as it will ease their work and heighten their customer satisfaction. With further research and modifications the system could be upgrade to a better version that will even ease the work more reduce cases of lost parcels and fit more user requirements specifications as they arise

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3.2 Limitation and Further work

During the development process the major limitation was time. Time was a major challenging factor as most of the time was spent on research and learning the different frameworks which could be used to develop the application. Lac of some knowledge was a challenging factor also and most of the work was more based on a trial and error basis. Further work on the project will be to install a tracking system. This was not accomplishable in the first phase because from the interview process that was not a major concern for most of the parcel delivery companies mostly was to reduce paper work from their offices. Also lack of tracking devices on the companies cars was a major challenge in installing a tracking system Secondly is to integrate it to a KRA ETR register. This was not possible as most of the companies do not charge tax for their services so it would be a dormant feature also there was no enough time to liaison with the Kenya Revenue Authorities for the go ahead of installing ETR. Inn conclusion this is just the beginning phase of a greater project

APPENDIX 4.1 User Guide

1. Run your browser window 2. Type your address on the address bar 4. Type your username and password to login to the system 5. Manage parcel information by adding parcel, searching parcel, updating parcel information or deleting parcel. 6. Logout when you are done using the system

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SYSTEM DIAGRAMS
Diagram 1.1 Flow Chart Diagram

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Enter parcel info Parcel Parcel sent Sendingstatus updated Parcel unique required means Parcelqueuedinassigned fields DataParcel unique present

Insufficient data parcel Duplicate

Diagram 1.2 Activity flow diagram

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Diagram 1.3 Use case Diagram

Input parcel info

User

Determine uniqueness

Database
Assign sending means

Update parcel status

System admin

View parcel records

Creates/ view reports

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