Information System Analysis on Footwear Vendor - Report Example

INFORMATION SYSTEM ANALYSIS ON FOOTWEAR VENDOR Table of Contents 0 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….5 1 Executive Summary (System request)……………………………………….6 1.2 Description of the current system……………………………………………6 1.3 Problem Definition……………………………………………………………6 1.4 Proposed System………………………………………………………………6 1.4.1 Define proposed system objective and its advantages………………..6 2.0 The Planning………………………………………………………………………..7 2.1 System Development Life Cycle…………………………………………….8 2.1.1 Methodology selection criteria………………………………………..8 2.2 Feasibility Analysis……………………………………………………………9 2.2.1 Economic Feasibility……………………………………………………10 2.2.2 Technical Feasibility…………………………………………………….11 2.2.3 Operational Feasibility…………………………………………………12 2.3 Project Size…………………………………………………………………..12 2.3.1 Function Points Approach…………………………………….12 2.3.1.1 System Components…………………………………..13 2.3.1.2 Function Point Estimation…………………………….13 2.3.2 Work plan………………………………………………………13 3.0 Requirement Gathering Methods…………………………………………………14 Interviews, Questionnaires, Observation, Document Analysis ……….14 2.3.1 User Requirement and System Specification……………………….15 2.3.1.1 User Requirements…………………………………………….15 2.3.1.2 System Specification…………………………………………..16 2.3.1.3 Non-Functional Requirement…………………………………16 2.3.1.4 Functional Requirement………………………………………16 2.3.2 Use-case diagram…………………………………………………17 2.3.3 Use-case Descriptions……………………………………………17 3. The Analysis……………………………………………………………17 3.1 class diagram………………………………………………………18 3.2 Sequence diagrams………………………………………………..18 3.3 State diagram………………………………………………………19 4.0 The Design……………………………………………………………….19 4.1 User Interface design……………………………………………………20     4.1.1 User interface Structure diagram………………………………….20     4.1.2 Screen Sketches (no snap shot) with State Table…………………21 4.2 Database Design………………………………………………………….22 4.2.1 Normalization………………………………………………………22 4.2.2 List of Tables with data dictionary……………………………..23   4.2.3 some diagram such as ERD or class diagram………………….23 5. Critical Analysis……………………………………………………………24 6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………24 7. References…………………………………………………………………....25 8. Appendices…………………………………………………………………..26 1. Introduction 1.1 Executive summary (System request) Currently, the information that is conveyed in the websites or web-based information system (WBIS) are becoming an increasingly significant investment for businesses in terms of making the products and services accessible to the customers. The WBISs is only meant to pass information, but can also be used to interact with the customers in an effort to achieve the goals and objectives of the business. Therefore, design and analysis of WBISs require a distinct strategy from those websites that give information on the request of the users, for example, websites for advertisements, directory and catalog (Bouchoux, 2009), p.56). There are a number of aspect of graphics that are involved. The WBIS give emphasis on visual design for every web page but fail to offer a strategic means of designing the website structures. There are also methods of designing websites, for example, OOHDM. These design methods are vital in modeling applications that can direct its users to their desired information. However, for WBIS users, accessing certain info is partly one of the objectives of the business. They also have the obligation of processing data, communicating and collaborating with partners by use of WBIS. These methods of modeling fail to answer the vital questions in designing and analyzing WBIS, for instance, it does not tell how or if the users managed to achieve their business objective by use of WBIS, how the process of WBIS responds and processes to the user inputs and how the users connect with each other. Maintenance is a critical issue when the websites begins to have frequent visitors and users (Saeed, 2014, p.45). Unfortunately, research on maintenance is very scarce although there are some commercial tools that can be used to identify broken links within the websites, but they fail to offer info for getting rid of such problems. Reports from software engineers argue that the cost of maintenance can reduce if errors are found in the phases of design and analysis. 1.2 Description of the current phase The current phase of Trendz only shows the implementation details and explains how the system will work, which include how the users interact with the system, the format of info and the specific technology. The users who browse on the website cannot interact with other users. The website is almost static meaning that there is very little that the users can do to interact or connect to other links (Zaphiris, & Kurniawan, 2007, p.79). The links that the customers click should automatically direct them to the content of the page, which sometimes fails to do so. The phase 1.3 Problem definition Trendz website is a footwear vendor that operates out of west Yorkshire. The aim of this footwear company is to offer footwear in sizes that are hard to find such as extra small and extra-large and also offer unique designs for a niche market with extra costume-related footwear and designs. The current problem that this website faces is lack of intuitiveness when it comes to navigation. The website also lacks automatic updates in terms of stock levels. The website does not give its users the opportunity to view its product updates, which harbors the business strategy of marketing its products. These are the two mains issues that ought to be fixed in order to continue the operation of Trendz. 1.4 Proposed system The method of maintenance for Trendz website include redesigning the purchasing and browsing process to make it simpler and intuitive, offering a possible design schematic for connectivity of database to allow automatic update of stock levels and drawing a mockup of the new design and auto updates (Reay, Ramshaw, & Harvey, 2013, p.53). The method used in designing and analyzing the new website proposed include PilotBoat and WebArchitect that will be used in support. These tools and methods will focus on functions and architectures of Trendz website instead of the appearance of its web pages. 1.4.1 The proposed system objective and its advantages The main concern is the content of Trendz website and how the web pages connect with each other and also how they can be best managed to augment sales in footwear. The methods will consist of two approaches, which include dynamic and static approach. The entity relation (ER) will be used for static analysis while the scenario methods will be used for dynamic design and analysis. The E-R method defines the entities and their relationship to each other (Tuffery, 2011, p.98). The scenario methods clarify how to access the web sources and how the web sources are used and who uses them. It also clarifies each web source attributes. The Web Architect facilitates the direct manipulation of meta-level links in web resources. PilotBoat ensures that the users collaborate via the websites. The proposed WBIS will offer a number of services for the various users of Trendz website, for instance, attendee’s registration and tracking of agenda for the committee. 2. The Planning 2.1 System development life Cycle (SDLC) Just like software development, Trendz website development also has life cycle that can be categorized into distinct steps. These steps help in aligning various activities to achieve a certain goal that can lead to the completion of the project. The team that will be working has to know these steps so that they recognize their roles when it comes to conducting a certain task, thereby producing the best quality (Johnson, 2003, p.21). However these steps vary from one application to another. The development process may follow some particular methodologies, frameworks, languages and modeling tools. Just like any industry, the life cycle in Trendz web development must obey a set of standards the development team will have to follow to produce quality work. 2.1.1 Methodology selection criteria Methodology selection criteria vary from one website to another depending on the objectives that are expected to be achieved. The criteria is used to establish which is the best method of establishing intuitiveness when it comes to navigation through the website. The methodology criteria that will be implemented in Trendz website include planning, analysis, design, implementation and finally maintenance. In the planning phase, the team involved will determine the goal of trend, which in this case is making the Trendz website simpler and more intuitive for navigation. The team will also run a feasibility study amongst the development service and the users considering various factors such as practicality, cost of equipment and cost of the project. The system analysis phase will involve refining the goals of the project by actively discussing with the users through interviews and questionnaires. System design is the documentation of a number of details like functions and operations of screen layouts and process diagrams. Implementation phase is where the ideas that have been discussed are put together and coding begins. The coded website has to be tested before it is released in the market. Once the final website has been approved, the website can be deployed for the active users. While the website is in use by the clients, it has to be maintained frequently and if possible upgrading depending on the number of users who have subscribed to the website. 2.2 Feasibility analysis Feasibility analysis involves the practicability of the newly designed website for Trendz. Before the website is launched for the clients to start navigating, some feasibility analysis will have to be done for the website. It means the team will have to determine how practical the website will be. Sometimes the newly designed website may prove to be quite expensive to maintain and these are some of the aspects that must be considered by the team before launching the website. Some of the aspects of feasibility that will have to be analyzed include economic feasibility, technical feasibility and operational feasibility. 2.2.1 Economic Feasibility Economic feasibility has to do with aspects of costs that will be incurred while designing and implementing the new website fro Trendz. The team will have to ask themselves if the new website will be economically viable considering the demand of the footwear product. This means that after conducting interviews from the web users, the team will have already determined how, why and when the users navigate the website. Interviews conducting will not give an accurate number, but will give a rough estimate of what the clients prefer to be included in the website. The managing team will them make their calculation based on those results to determine if the cost of design and maintenance of the website will be worth it. In other words, the cost of designing and maintaining the website should be reasonable compared to the impact that the newly designed website has brought. For instance, if the newly designed website has augmented sales in Trendz footwear, then it will be logical to spend on the website maintenance. In other words, it will be pointless to spend money designing a website that will not bring any positive impact to the users. 2.2.2 Technical feasibility Technical feasibility has to do with the technical practicability of the newly designed website. The technical feasibility will be conducted in the testing phase of website development. After the planning, analysis and design of the website, it has to be technically tested to see if will be practicable in real life. The team of software engineers will code and test the website for its technical aspects. Technical feasibility comes when the clients want to use the website. The website has to be simple and easy to use for any normal person who wants to navigate the website. This will be the selling point of the website. No client would want to spend his time navigating through a website that he does not even understand. The website should be understood by any person who can browse on it. Therefore, it means the team will have to consider simplicity and user friendly aspects of designing the interface. 2.2.2 Operational feasibility There is only a slight difference to operational feasibility and technical feasibility. If the website is practically operation, then it means that it is not technical for its users. The modern world is fully of busy minded people; people who want to have things very fast and continue with their businesses. Practicability of the website will help such people who are always on the rush. If the website proves to be impracticable of having some faults that the clients may fail to understand, then the clients will immediately withdraw from the website and look for an alternative where they can purchase their footwear. Practicability is a vital aspect in web design, especially when it comes to marketing the products and services of any business. Everyone wants to use easy things, not complicated because they are busy. The first click on a website should direct the user to the appropriate link; not to an advertisement or some weird website. This is the strongest part of the website because it will make the customers keep on coming to navigate and buy new products in the website. 2.3 Project Size Project size, like the name suggests is the measurement of the project in terms of system component and the function point. The project size can also be measured by the number of users who visit the website annually. If the number of user who visit the website increase annually, it means the project size is expected to be big, while if the number of users who visit the website does not increase, then the size of the project will not be big. 2.3.1 The function point approach This is a measurement unit that is used in expressing the quantity of the website functionality to its users. The unit of measurement will be used to measure the size of the project. The cost can be computed from the projects that were conducted in the past. There are ISO standards that can be used to measure the size of this project. The requirements of the website can be grouped into external interfaces, internal files, inputs, inquires and outputs. Each of these are then identified, classified and assessed for their complexity. 2.3.1.1 System components The system components are the constituents of the website, which can be used to measure the size of the project. The main components of the Trendz browser include the server, the configuration, the client, request, response, cookie jar, logging, error handling, data storage, session management, authentication and rendering. There may be many more applications, but these are the ones that will be used in developing the Trendz website. The server is meant to receive the request from the backend being used; it is the connection between the python and the backend. The configurations are the web interfaces. The requests are the URLs and the headers of HTTP. There must also be a mechanism that will be used to respond to the clients. The source code must also be detected automatically. Data storage is also a vital component for the website and is meant to store information that may have been synchronized or shared by the users. All these components are used to estimate the project’s size. 1.3.1.2 Function point estimation Function point estimation is used to measure the size of information that is available on the website. It shows the size functional info that the user can recognize in the website. There are various ways of estimating the function point and some of them include analysis effort, program evaluation, function point analysis, cocomo and parametric estimation. The function size is important because it helps in budgeting for the costs of the entire project, maintenance of the website, determining the size of the website and the productivity of the project when it is completed. 1.4 Work Plan The work plan of the project will be in phases, which will begin from preliminary analysis. System analysis, design, development, testing and integration, maintenance and evaluation will follow the preliminary analysis. The preliminary analysis involves description of benefits and costs, establishing the objectives of the organization and the scope of the problem. System analysis involves the analysis of the requirements of the end user. System design are the operations that will be conducted in the design process. Maintenance of the website involves updating the website and evaluation of the system’s performance. 1.4.1 Requirement gathering methods 2.4.1.1 Questionnaires Questionnaires will be given to the users who navigate through the Trendz website. The users will be asked questions that will be used to determine the faults of the website and cases where the users fail to get satisfied. The questionnaires can be sent directly through the website without having to follow up the users because it would be quite cumbersome and time consuming to follow up the clients physically with papers that require them to answer questions. The questionnaires will be strategically placed on links within the browser and the clients will have the opportunity to click on the links. These questions will be used to evaluate the functionality of the browser in terms of stock updates and ease of usability. The answers given by the clients will help the management team to decide on the improvements that the browser may need. 1.4.1.2 Interviews The interviews are similar to the questionnaires expect for that fact that interviews require the physical presence of the respond, who in this case, is the user of the website. The management team will interview the respondents regarding the issues that they may find unsatisfactory. Interviews have an advantage over questionnaire in that they are first hand info from the respondent. The interviews will only require the thoughts and feelings of the clients regarding the website. In some cases, the respondents may be asked personal questions to see if they really like or dislike the current web interface and the product that Trendz offers them. However, interviews may not work for people who are out of reach or come from other countries. Language barrier is also another challenge that may be faced while conducting interviews because not all the clients may understand English. 1.5 User Requirement and system specifications 2.5.1 User requirement The interface of the user must be extensible, convenient and secure. The requirements of security include the company’s obligation in protecting information that has been authorized from authorized entry. The user also has the right of confidentiality while purchasing the footwear. The user must also be protected from any fraudulent activities. The user interface must be simple to use and also efficient. Confidence is vital in any website that sells products because no user would want his transactions to be made public or his account information exposed. The design of the interface must offer the users some confidence so that they can make transactions without fear of losing their money. The website must also collaborate with financial institutions that are trusted. It must have ways of solving disputes incase payment is compromised. The website should also protect the users from making purchases that are not intentional, for example, error in typing, which can be done by introducing warning boxes. The users must get secure information for authorization, for instance, use of card numbers ‘while making payments. The customer records must also be confidential. The users must also get a message that assures them of the successful completion of a particular transaction when they have made payment. 2.5.2 System specifications The system should be designed in such a way that it has stages involved in purchase of goods. These stages include negotiations with the customer or bidding, agreement of contract and payment for the product. In the phase of negotiations or bidding, the customer has to place his bid or negotiate for the best price of buying the footwear (Khan & Raouf, 2006, p.162). The highest bidder is the one who gets the product. In the agreement phase, the company offers the client a variety of footwear, which the client has the option of accepting or rejecting. The company has to make the offer and the customer must accept the offer. All the documents must conform to the published standard. The mechanisms of payment must be well designed to avoid ambiguity. The payment is the last and most crucial stage of the interface design. This stage will require authentication via credit card numbers and there must be a confirmation message if payment is successful. 2.5.3 Non-functional requirement Non-functional requirement are the control mechanisms, targets of constraints for the newly designed website. These requirements describe the level standard that a function ought to be offered. For instance, the levels needed for response period, technical constraints, access and security requirements and constraints of the project. The requirements of service level are the service quality that is needed and they are vital to physical design and planning of capacity. They identify quantifiable target values for every service level. The service level includes reliability, throughput, responsiveness and availability of services. Security includes definition of frequency and urgency of fallback, recovery or backing up data. Restriction of access should be about protection of data, the data that ought to restricted to a certain role. Non-functional requirements may relate to a certain functional need. 2.5.4 Functional requirement These are the features or facilities that are required. They deal with what the system ought to do or offer users. These include a description of the necessary functions and details of data that the system has held. 2.5.5 Use case list A use case is a methodology that will be used by Trendz website to organize, clarify and identify the requirements of the system. A use case diagram is used to portray the system element’s interactions. Diagrams of use case are done in unified modeling language. Considering the objectives of Trendz, use case will include customer relations, processing of payments, updating of catalog and ordering the footwear through the website. Since Trendz is a purchasing website, the customers the client will register. 2.5.6 Use case diagram A use case diagram has four major constituents, which include the actors, the boundary, the connection between the use cases and the actors, the use cases, which are the particular roles that each item plays. The boundaries are the interests of the Trendz web system to the rest of the world. The actors are the individual items with each of their role.The diagram below illustrates the use case for Trendz. 3. The analysis The method of design and analysis of WBISs has the class diagram, sequence diagram and state diagram. The E-R analysis will represent the class diagram. The problem domain where a WBIS ought to operate will be analyzed through E-R analysis. The sequence diagram or the scenario analysis governs the how the users network with the WBIS to achieve their business objectives. Based on the outcomes from the analyses, the state diagram will be designed (Geigert, 2013, p.112). The features of the web resources that constitute the WBIS will be used in maintenance. The construction of the WBIS will depend on the design. The scenarios will be used to test the WBIS before it is presented in the workplace. It will continue to be revised and maintained throughout its use. The figure below indicates the analysis flow and the WBIS design. 2. 1 Class Diagram 3.2 Sequence diagram 2.3 State diagram 4.0 The design User Interface design The user interface design is critical for developing ideal design for the user. The user interface has the following advantages: It provides the user with a certain unique experience. The user interface must give the users a unique experience that will make them fall in love with the website. The user must be able to experience some new design, planning and conceptualization that will ensure that the business achieves its goals (Davis, 2002, p. 74). The information architecture, which includes organization of content, naming conventions, and the navigation of the site must be well organized within the site. The site’s usability must be simple and easy such that it can attract a number of visitors within the site frequently. The usability of the website promotes a user center design that examine the ecommerce transaction from the perspective of the customer. The objective is to fulfill the needs of the customer as much as possible, which benefits both the client and the company. User interface structure diagram 4.2 Database design A properly designed database offers the users with updated information. The correct design is vital for the company in achieving its objectives in working database, investing the time that is necessary to understand the principles of good design. There are some principles that guide the design of the database. The first principle is to avoid duplicating information because it is wasteful and augments the possibilities of inconsistencies and errors. Another principle that is vital in the database design is the completeness and the correctness of information. If the database has some information that is not correct, any reports that get info from the database will also have info that is not correct. Therefore, any information that is made from the reports will be deemed to be wrong. A good database design has the following properties. The database design must split info into tables that are based on subject to reduce unnecessary data. The design must also offer access with the info that it needs to link info on tables. It must be able to support the integrity and accuracy of info. Finally it must contain the reporting and processing requirements. 4.2. 1 Database Normalization Normalization of data involves efficient organization of info in a database. Normalization of data is significant because it helps getting rid of redundant data and ensures that there is a sense in dependence of data. These are the two main goals of data normalization because they help in decreasing the quantity of space that can be consumed by database and also helps in logical storage of data. There is a series of guidelines (normal forms) that can be useful in database normalization. These series include the first normal form (1NF), 2NF, 3NF and 4NF. The 1NF gets rid of duplicative columns, develops distinct tables for every group and helps in identification of every row with a single column. 5.0 Critical analysis When designing a systems design for the footwear company, the management team will have to consider the purpose of the new design, the performance requirements and schedule. The design must be compatible with other equipment personnel and computer software. The team must also assess the areas of risk, which include schedule basis and cost. The final system design must be assessed to ensure that each configuration has been implemented in detail. The process requires an extensive planning before implementation begins. The team of system design must budget before they start the project. The team will also consider conducting interviews in the market to know other people’s opinion about the new design. 6.0 Conclusion The trendz website is a footwear company that is faced with the challenge of intuitiveness when it comes to navigation within the website. The website also lacks a system that can automatically update new footwear products that are available for sale. The clients who navigate through the site do not get that unique user experience from the web interface. The problems that Trendz company faces calls for a new design of the website to improve the sale of footwear and also to drive the company towards achieving its goals. The management team proposed a method of curbing these problems. The team redesigned the browsing and purchasing system to make it more intuitive and simple. Some of the proposed methods for re-designing the website include WebArchitect and PilotBoat method. The planning of the design follows the software development cycle (Khan & Raouf, 2006, p.72). The team involved in the design of the new system conducted feasibility tests to determine if the new system would be practical. Economic feasibility was conducted to see if the costs of designing the new system would be practical and reasonable. Technical feasibility was conducted to see how technical the new design. Operational feasibility was conducted to test the workability of the new system; the new system must be simple and easy to use. The size of the project had to be estimated using the function point approach, which measures functionality of the website to its users. The requirements of the website are categorized into inquiries, inputs and outputs (Reay, Ramshaw & Harvey, 2013, p. 213). The methods of gathering information were mainly interviews and questionnaires. Bibliography Bouchoux, D. E. (2009). Legal research and writing for paralegals. New York, Aspen Publishers. Davis, C. S. (2002). Statistical methods for the analysis of repeated measurements. New York, Springer. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=231393. De marco, M. (2012). Information systems crossroads for organization, management, accounting and engineering ; ItAIS: The Italian Association for Information Systems. Heidelberg, Physica-Verlag. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7908-2789-7. Khan, W. A., & Raouf, A. (2006). Standards for engineering design and manufacturing. Boca Raton, FL, Taylor & Francis. Johnson, J. (2003). Web bloopers 60 common web design mistakes and how to avoid them. Amsterdam, Morgan Kaufmann. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk &AN=204205. Gil García, J. R. (2012). Enacting electronic government success an integrative study of government-wide websites, organizational capabilities, and institutions. New York, Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2015-6. Geigert, J. (2013). The challenge of CMC regulatory compliance for biopharmaceuticals and other biologics. New York, NY, Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614- 6916-2. Tuffery, S. (2011). Data mining and statistics for decision making. Chichester, West Sussex, Wiley. http://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=40918. Reay, D. A., Ramshaw, C., & Harvey, A. (2013). Process intensification engineering for efficiency, sustainability and flexibility. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk &AN=486200. Zaphiris, P., & Kurniawan, S. (2007). Human computer interaction research in Web design and evaluation. Hershey, PA, Idea Group Pub. http://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=14722. Saeed, S. (2014). User-Centric Technology Design for Nonprofit and Civic Engagements. Dordrecht, Springer. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1731093. Appendix Prototyping This involves development of a system model. They assist system designers to create a system that is easy to use and intuitive. It is an iterative that constitutes part of the analysis phase for the SDLC. They are not created for functionality, but for feasibility for achieving the business goals. They come in a number of forms, which include tech sketches to operational systems of high tech. They are advantageous because they help in involving the users, improving the user satisfaction and decreasing the cost in development. It helps the programmer in working with the customer to meet their needs satisfactorily. Iterative/ Incremental This approach divides the project in independent parts. Example is when they are used in sites of social networking in sections such as member profile, blog search, search members, forgot password and sign in. Depending on the requirements of the product owners, the management team may begin with member registration or profile. Spiral model One of the newest models in SDLC is the spiral model. It is an adaptive method that includes the activities of the project. It includes the adaptive features that cycles over the project development until the project ends. The spiral method starts with the planning phase. It includes activities such as the design choice, feasibility study, and implementation strategy and design choice. Read More