The Design and Prototype of Usable and Interactive On-line DVD Rental System - Coursework Example

Formal Requirements Specification Functional Requirements The system should be able to undertake the following functional requirements: 1. User Management The system should be able to identify and track individual users. It should cater for user registration, identification, and management. User registration/ login New members should be able to register with ease. The registration process should capture essential user information such as name, location, telephone numbers, and age. The administrators should be able to add users (staff) and allocate them system rights according to their responsibilities User management Apart from facilitating user identification through usernames and passwords, the system should provide mechanisms for user management. It should keep a log of all user activities. 2. Book/Queue and Rent The Online DVD Rental System will allow users to search movies using their titles or codes. Once they get the movies in the system, they should be able to pay for and pick the movie, or be placed in a queue if the movie is not yet available. 3. Delivery The system should provide users the opportunity to decide whether they will pick the DVD in person or get it delivered by courier. 4. Payment Clients should be given an opportunity to choose the payment method they prefer; cash, credit card, or online payment solutions such as Paypal, Skrill, and Payza. Data Requirements Generate Reports The system should be able to generate reports relying on data from its database. The following reports should be available: Client borrowing history This should provide a summary of all client activities on the system. It should provide a customer loyalty reward system that will provide clients with points based on user activity. These points will be used to give discounts to loyal clients. Staff activities The system should track staff activity from the time they login to the time they log out. It should be able to isolate individual workers alongside their activities. Movies Inventory The movie inventory shall keep a record of all movies in the database. It should be able to locate each DVD disk and issue alerts when a DVD movie is due to be returned. This alert message should be relayed to both staff and clients. Environmental Requirements In order meet environmental requirements, the system should minimize the use of paper; reports should be printed only when necessary. This will also ensure that the surroundings are kept clean by avoiding paper littering. The system’s energy consumption should be kept to the minimum to conserve energy. In addition to the energy cuts realized by using mobile devices, the workstations used by staff and management have to be energy efficient. The systems will be powered by solar panels, backed up with rechargeable solar batteries. Usability Requirements In order to guarantee user satisfaction, the system should have the following qualities: i. The system should be easy to comprehend ii. Users should be able to learn and memorize the system with ease iii. The system should be easy to operate iv. They system’s interface should be attractive to the users Evaluation The prototype was subjected to various tests to ascertain whether it meets requirements. Ten would be users were selected randomly and asked have a look at the prototype and give their input on what they thought of it. The information was gathered and recorded through observation and listening. The evaluation covered the following areas: 1. Operability: This was meant to establish the ease with which clients can use the system 2. User Management: This tested whether clients can register and login to the system 3. Renting: This test was meant to determine whether users could rent DVDs successfully. The participants were made aware of what the system was expected to do before being given the opportunity to examine the prototype. In order to make the prototype easy to understand, the interfaces were arranged sequentially, representing the processes involved chronologically. Evaluation Results The outcome of the evaluation indicated that the prototype was largely successful in meeting requirements. Eight out of the ten participants understood the working of the prototype; they could maneuver between the interfaces easily. In addition, all participants found the user registration and login easy to use. However, the prototype fell short of catering for users who want to rent multiple movies concurrently; such a client would have to rent each DVD individually. Discussion and Conclusions Despite its attempt to remain simple, the system meets a majority of its requirements. The fact that a majority of participants in the evaluation were satisfied by the prototype means that the system is in the right path. However, the login and registration buttons should be located in every interface; if not, only the home screen should be accessible to unregistered users. Storyboard Home Page When the user launches the application he or she will land in the home page. This form has a search box through which clients can search for movies using their titles. The page also has login functionality, as well as a link that directs new users to the registration page. Users enter their usernames and passwords into the respective fields to get access to the system. Users can also click buttons to view available movies and TV shows. Users who find it difficult to use the system can also get assistance by clicking the help button. Movies/ TV-Shows Movies are further grouped into subcategories depending on their genres; there are action movies, thrillers, romance, and horror movies. Clicking any of the buttons displays the movies available under the respective subcategory. The “home” button returns the user to the application’s home page. The “TV-Shows” category operates in a similar way as the “Movies” category. Registration Upon clicking the “Register” button in the “Home” page, a new user is directed to the “Register” window. The new user will enter his or her first name, last name, username, and preferred password into the available fields. The user will be required to enter his or her password twice to avoid making a mistake. He or she will also enter his or her email address, physical address, postal code, and date of birth into the fields provided. If the username, password, and email are valid, the system will commit the information to the database upon pressing the “Submit” button. Renting Once a user has identified the DVD he or she wants to rent, he, or she, will enter its details in the “Rent” window. This will capture the “Movie ID”, name, number of copies and rental days. The system will use this information to generate the total cost which the client will pay. Clicking the submit button completes the transaction. The DVD can then be delivered to the clients address or get picked from the DVD store. Read More