Football Website with Online Ticketing and Reservation System - Essay Example

Project Evaluation Report Football Website with Online Ticketing and Reservation System By This report evaluates the implementation andalso the design of an reservation and online payment system for booking seats for football matches. The system was developed to solve a present issue faced by the football math facilitators. The website enables the football fans to purchase tickets as well as make bookings online. The primary objective of this project was to develop a reservation and online payment system for booking seats for football matches. There were other objectives that were defined to be met by the final project. These were met to the latter. The research carried out at the beginning of the project was quite useful; the development programs were just right and the methodology worked out perfectly for this project. A waterfall methodology was used in the development of the website. All the stages of the methodology proved to be very necessary for the completion of the project to be a success. The website was developed successfully and project finished at the planned time. Table of Contents Chapter One 1 Introduction 1 1.2 Aim 1 1.3 Project Objectives 2 1.4 Rationale behind the Project 2 Chapter 2 3 Research 3 2.1 Research 3 2.2 The Literature 3 Chapter 3 6 Methodology 6 3.1 Methodology 6 3.2 Discover 6 3.3 Design 7 3.4 Development 7 3.5 Testing 8 3.6 Maintenance 8 3.7 Research Progress 8 Chapter 4 9 Project Management & Employability 9 4.1 Project Management 9 4.2 Meetings 9 4.3 Employability Skills 9 4.4 Newly Developed Skills 10 4.5 Team Work 11 Chapter 5 12 Product Evaluation 12 5.1 Website Review 12 5.2 Navigation 13 5.3 Design 13 5.4 Functionality 13 Chapter 6 13 Project Conclusion 13 6.1 Project Review 14 6.1.1 Research 14 6.1.2 Methodology 14 6.1.3 Implementation 14 Bibliography 17 Appendix A: The Development Process 17 Appendix B: Sample Survey 18 Appendix C: Website Design Milestones 19 Appendix D: Gantt Chart 20 Appendix E: Project Plan 21 Chapter One Introduction This report will evaluate whether the development of an online football ticketing and reservation website was successful. The basic purpose of this project was to develop a website that would allow football fans to buy their tickets online as well as make reservations on the games they want to watch beforehand. The purpose was to produce a website using a combination of SQL and CSS development languages and also the use of MS Excel and MS word. Several objectives were defined at the commencement of the project. They included; conducting research to determine the technologies to use in the project as well as specifying the tasks to be carried out in the development of the online booking system and also to determine their deadlines. The basic goal of this project as to create a website where football fans will purchase their tickets as well get to learn of upcoming games whilst booking online from the comfort of their locations. The website was to be developed in such a way as to allow fans to view and log into the website even on their IPhones and other portable internet enabled gadgets. 1.2 Aim At the end of the project period, several things had to be achieved. A working online ticketing system that will have achieved the objectives and solved the problem statement was the main aim, as well as the submission of the project as a requirement for graduation. 1.3 Project Objectives The main objectives of this project were to develop an online ticketing system that would also serve to give information to the fans on the upcoming events and also on any other offers of football news that might be of interest to the fans. 1.4 Rationale behind the Project The rationale behind this project was that in Bahrain there are no online service for booking and selling matches’ tickets which makes the stadium entrance crowded with people buying tickets which could eventually cause some fans to be late for their game. The website’s functions were to help in the solving of these issues. This is supported by the various advantages of online transactions which are provided in E-commerce websites, advantages such as less time consuming when shopping, for example, online transactions allows user to shop at home without leaving their room or office this can help save time of such tasks as users won’t need to leave their home to go shop in person and pay in cash (TechAtHand, 2008). Chapter 2 Research 2.1 Research A major research was conducted at the beginning of the project to help in the determination of the most appropriate and suitable approach on how to go about the development of the project. This research was conducted with the aim of determining the best methodology to develop the website as well as the best developing languages to use. The research was used to determine the laws concerning domestic laws that governed the development and use of such kind of websites. It actually bore fruit as it became clear that there were laws like the Disability Decimation Act which dictates that developers have to make their websites accessible to the disabled persons. It was also discovered after conducting the research that there were Copyright laws that protected Intellectual right of individuals. Other laws have also been passed which include the Electronic Communications Bill, Data Protection and even the Human Rights Act has the potential of influencing how a website is used (Hedley, 2008). The results of the research indicated that the use of SMS was the most efficient method of communicating to the clients as it is widely used as people were more likely to respond to SMS than emails (Yang and Xu, 2007). The research proved to be very helpful in the gathering of information about the targeted users. This information was later used in the determination of the system architecture. 2.2 The Literature The review of literature was of much use as much was discovered that proved to be useful in the development and design of the website. I was discovered that some websites were designed in a manner such that before one logs into the website, they receive some messages that contain the codes that they use to enter (Krug, 2000, p.93). These were purposely for security reasons and also for the avoidance of ticket broking. The review proved that with the incorporation of this security detail in the website, the better security would be an added advantage to the user as well as the client. It was determined too that this will reduce the number of fans that are locked out of the field due to lack of tickets with reasons of not being able to afford these tickets. The literature review helped the developer realize that SMS use has been on a steady increase among the community (Mueller, and Mueller, 2003 p.67). This was crucial information that was used by the developer as it was determined that the best way to communicate with the client from the website would be by SMS. The literature review proved that people were more likely to respond to SMS than they were to email which is the next most available mode of communication. According to the literature review carried out, it was discovered that the SMS technology was being applied in several organizations for delivery of services. Literature states that the method has proved to be efficient and effective. That the technology could be used to remind the clients of outstanding debts, inform them of the arrival or availability of their placed orders or even any relevant information that the football team deems important to pass to their customers (Ould, 2007, p.54). Apparently this concept could also be used to generally pass any kind of information from the proprietor to the football fans. It became apparent that the SMS technology could also be used as a means of communication of company’s reference queries in companies which is a form of service of virtual reference. The technology of text messaging could also be used for the services of referral, in guiding the users to the information source. It was determined also that the technology is an efficient and effective means of receiving technical help from the staff of the company or organization like difficulties in accessing the databases. For the announcement of any changes in the organization’s operations, theses SMS could be relayed to the customers, staff and all the other stakeholders (Thatcher, Bohman, Burks, Henry, Regan, Swierenga, Urban, and Waddell, 2002). This information served to assist the developer in concluding that the SMS technology was necessary in this system. Chapter 3 Methodology 3.1 Methodology Following the research that was carried out, it was concluded that the most appropriate development methodology was the waterfall system development (Appendix A). This methodology takes a more sequential approach to the development of the site. The approach followed the Discover-Design-Develop-Test-Maintenance process. As this method allows for the smooth and sequential flow of activities, there was sequential and progressive development of the system (Attewell, P., and Rule, J. B., 1991). By following this methodology, analysis of the gathered information was carried out. This helped determine the specific requirements of the system. The resource requirements of the system were also determined at this stage of the development process. The design as well as the production stages followed after the analysis stage. At the design stage, the website’s framework was designed. It is at this stage that the user requirement and needs were considered in order to develop and come up with a system that would solve these issues as well as be ideal. The data gathered at the research stage was used here. 3.2 Discover Before the development of the website started, research was conducted on other competitor’s websites that offered similar or almost similar services as the perceived final online ticketing website (sample website survey Appendix B). This allowed for the system developer to come up with better design concepts and also to incorporate aspects and functionalities in the site that were not common in the others thus giving it an edge. The major decisions that were made at this stage were, whether: to use of HTML5 to use a Content Management System. to develop a Flash Site. The findings of this discovery were very practical and the designer used this information to design a better website compared to the ones of the competitors. This was a plus too as the designer made sure not to repeat the mistakes and errors in design that were evident at these websites. 3.3 Design At this stage, Adobe Photoshop was used in the creation of the website. The site’s designs focus was the presentation of the content. Continuous navigation was incorporated into the site to enable the users find all the major content areas they might need (Benun, I., 2007). The designing of the website was not without milestones (Appendix C) but was achieved at the end. 3.4 Development The changing of the mock-ups to real web pages had to wait for the approval of the design by the client. Web development software, Adobe Dreamweaver, was used to turn the mock-ups into functional web pages, with features of drug-and-drop, pre-built buttons and functions for adding images and links. Once the layout was completely coded in CSS and HTML5 programming languages, it was integrated with the system that is selected for the purposes of building an operational website. Word Press was used in the making of the system as it has links between pages and web features that are more advanced. The Frontline SMS software was ready as it does not need a connection to the internet and just works with the plan that is available on all of the GSM mobile phones. A company management software was used in the incorporation of the SMS management. 3.5 Testing Once implemented, the system was put to test, whereby each part was examined. The ability of the system to send SMS’s to the clients and the other functions were tested. 3.6 Maintenance With the website now ready online for use, it should be well maintained and promoted so that the fans or clients can be made aware of its existence and how they can access it. The act of creating the awareness can be done by the optimization of the search engines, or even advertising with Google as it is the most popular search engine. 3.7 Research Progress The research process went according to plan and there was no need to make any changes to the initially planned research methodology. The right data collection techniques were employed and the collected data was sufficient enough to generate good conclusions upon analysis. The research methodology was a success though not without challenge (Benbasat I., 1989). Chapter 4 Project Management & Employability 4.1 Project Management The project was well managed according to the plan. To assist in this there was a Gantt chart that assisted in the time planning as well as activities that would take place in the whole project life cycle (Appendix D). The chart that is laid out in time was stringent but quite reasonable. The deadlines were met and all the projects activities were achieved at their set time. The Gantt chart lays out the different phases in the development of the software. These phases were to follow one another in order as indicated. There were subtasks that were housed by the main tasks. 4.2 Meetings For this project to be a success, meetings had to be scheduled between the programmer and the client. This was to enable the programmer get a clear picture of the meetings with other people involved in your project 4.3 Employability Skills The employability skills that I applied in this project are: Note taking- this I did as I was noting down the system requirements as per the client needs as well as my on planning when I was planning and designing the system, Data collection and dissemination- my written skills were put into practice as I collected data. This act helped me improve on my written skills. Analysis and reporting skills- My analysis skills were improved as I worked on the project as I had to do a lot of analysis. The reporting skills were horned as I reported on my findings as well as I write this project report. Report writing – this skill was sharpened and is still being sharpened as I write this project report. I have had guidelines from my supervisor as well as the set guidelines on report writing. Team work- I sharpened my ability to work in a team as I had to work with several people to make this project a success as it is. In light to this I learn to do my part and rely on others where the project entailed some collaboration with other parties. 4.4 Newly Developed Skills I developed new skills as I worked on this project. These skills have proved to be very important and have improved my employability. These skills are: Time keeping- I learnt to keep time and work out all the projects stages according to the allocated time without delays. Planning Skills- I learnt to plan for projects I considerations to the aspects of the specific project. This skill is a plus to my resume as I can now plan for a project better than I would have had I not started or done this project. Table 1: Employability Skills Employment area: Enter the industry area you currently plan to enter after graduation Identified Skills (examples are given to start you off – delete any which do not apply and enter your own) Rating before [0 – 5] Ratings after [0-5] Development method Note taking 2 4 It is sometimes difficult for me take notes in lectures because English is not my first language. I will develop listening skills by watching documentaries and news programmes Data collection and dissemination 2 4 I will improve data collection techniques by improving written skills Analyse and report on a topic 3 4 I will improve analysis techniques by being more observant Report writing 2 4 I will improve report writing by trying organise reports and their paragraphs Ability to work as part of a team or independently 3 5 I will improve independent work skills by organising my time more effectively 4.5 Team Work The process of developing and coming up with this project, allowed me to interact with other people at a personal level. This was a test to how good I was at team work. It was a challenge at first but I managed to cope and learnt a few tips that enabled me to cope with these people. The outcome of it all was that I ended up creating new relationships. Chapter 5 Product Evaluation 5.1 Website Review The end product is generally a good product though it requires working on. The reason for the imperfection is the time limit factor. There was not enough time available for the project development and testing. The deeper and more serious functions of the website will be developed more as I continue to interact with the client and get to know their specific needs. 5.2 Navigation The navigation is quite good and the customers can easily access the different areas of the website. The site has very easy to follow instructions which are very clearly displayed. There is also a frequently asked questions (FAQ) tab where the customers can get to have the answers for the commonly asked questions. These are so broad that almost everything is noted and catered for here. 5.3 Design The website has well defined and very clean graphics that have made use of cool and appropriate colours. The font size of the text ion the website is also appropriate and very readable. The colour of the text is also appealing. 5.4 Functionality The testing of the website was carried out and there are basic aspects that were working. The database of the website was working well and the customer’s data could be stored well. The site was able also to send SMS’s to the clients automatically, thereby a great achievement. Chapter 6 Project Conclusion This project was a success and will go a long way in achieving the set objectives as well as create a basis for further research by other parties in the future. This success is based on the fact that the objectives were met and all went according to plan. The football customers can now get to buy their tickets online and also get to know the current news concerning the football matches that were at play or in season. There are also offers that the client offers the customers once they buy the tickets. The customers will also be able to learn the current and available offers. They will also be able to place their bets online on the teas they think will win and stand chances of winning money. 6.1 Project Review The objectives were met and though the project could not be completely perfected due to the time constraints, it was a success. The initial planning of the project was on pointy and proved to be very helpful; as the project started well. This also gave the project a good basis for development and progression as everything was well laid out and planned. 6.1.1 Research The research conducted proved to be efficient. With more than 50% success rate, the questionnaires gathered information that proved to be very helpful in the design and development of the website. This is because the requirements of the client and perception of the perceived end product were recorded. This information was used in the reaching of a conclusive decision on the design that would best meet these requirements. 6.1.2 Methodology The waterfall methodology employed in this project proved to be very accurate in the development of the system It was a success and all the steps in the development life cycle were followed without any major issues. 6.1.3 Implementation The system was implemented at the client’s site and the basic functionalities were functioning well. There will be need for follow up with the client for maintenance and to advice on what they would do in certain aspects and eventualities. The system is a success. Reference Attewell, P., and Rule, J. B., (1991) Survey and Other Methodologies Applied to IT Impact Research: Experiences From a Comparative Study of Business Computing. In The Information Systems Research Challenge: Survey Research Methods - Volume 3, (Kraemer K L, Ed.), pp.299-315, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. Baroudi, J. J., Olson M. H. and Ives B. (1986) An Empirical Study of the Effect of User Involvement on System Usage. Benbasat I (1989) The Information Systems Research Challenge: Experimental Research Methods - Volume 2, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. Benun, I., (2007), Designing Websites for Every Audience. Cincinnati, Ohio. Krug, S 2000, Dont Make Me Think. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders. Mueller, J.P. and Mueller, J 2003. Accessibility for Everybody: Understanding Section 508, Apress. Ould, M 2007, Business Processes: Modeling and Analysis for Re-Engineering and Improvement, Wiley. Thatcher, J., Bohman, P., Burks, M., Henry, H.L., Regan, B., Swierenga, S., Urban, M.D., and Waddell, C.D 2002, Constructing Accessible Web Sites, Birmingham, UK: Glasshaus. Bibliography Appendix A: The Development Process Figure 1: The Development Process Appendix B: Sample Survey Figure 2: Sample Survey Appendix C: Website Design Milestones Figure 3: Website Design Milestones Appendix D: Gantt Chart Figure 4: Gantt Chart Appendix E: Project Plan Task Name Duration Start Finish Planning 31 days Mon 9/23/13 Sun 11/3/13 project plan 4 days Mon 9/23/13 Thu 9/26/13 project contract draft 3 days Sun 9/29/13 Tue 10/1/13 research for contract draft 1 day Wed 10/2/13 Wed 10/2/13 submit the contract draft 1 day Mon 10/7/13 Mon 10/7/13 contract feedback 1 day Thu 10/17/13 Thu 10/17/13 edit the contract 6 days Sun 10/20/13 Fri 10/25/13 submit final contract 1 day Sun 11/3/13 Sun 11/3/13 Research 23 days Sun 11/10/13 Tue 12/10/13 research for report 5 days Sun 11/10/13 Thu 11/14/13 sit up project plan 3 days Sat 11/16/13 Tue 11/19/13 write the report 14 days Tue 11/19/13 Fri 12/6/13 submit the report 1 day Sun 12/8/13 Sun 12/8/13 Christmas Holiday 1 day Sun 12/8/13 Sun 12/8/13 Design 15 days Mon 2/3/14 Fri 2/21/14 create ERD diagram 6 days Mon 2/3/14 Sat 2/8/14 user interface design 5 days Mon 2/10/14 Fri 2/14/14 visual design 1 day Mon 2/17/14 Mon 2/17/14 customer UML design 1 day Tue 2/18/14 Tue 2/18/14 cart UML design 1 day Wed 2/19/14 Wed 2/19/14 review current progress 1 day Thu 2/20/14 Thu 2/20/14 admin UML design 1 day Fri 2/21/14 Fri 2/21/14 Development 20 days Mon 3/3/14 Fri 3/28/14 build website design HTML5 CSS 6 days Mon 3/3/14 Mon 3/10/14 create tables MYSQL 8 days Tue 3/11/14 Thu 3/20/14 build PHP codes 5 days Fri 3/21/14 Thu 3/27/14 test plan 1 day Fri 3/28/14 Fri 3/28/14 Testing 7 days Tue 4/1/14 Wed 4/9/14 test whole website 4 days Tue 4/1/14 Fri 4/4/14 fix error 3 days Mon 4/7/14 Wed 4/9/14 Evaluation report 21 days Thu 4/10/14 Thu 5/8/14 write the report 20 days Thu 4/10/14 Wed 5/7/14 submit the report 1 day Thu 5/8/14 Thu 5/8/14 Figure 5: Project Plan Read More