France Vacances Project Implementation and Design - Assignment Example

Project Implementation and Design for Internet Based Expansion of France Vacances (FV) A Project by the Smart Designs (SD) Business Case The France Vacances (FV) is a company that is involve in the rental of high quality accommodation in France. The travel agency can be considered as offering services on different types of accommodations and on different occasion. The said places are offered come in different types and forms such as a wide variety of holiday cottages, apartments and chalets at various holiday resorts. Aside from the said types of vacation spots, there are also other types of spaces that are being leased by the company. The FV has offices on high streets in many cities and can also be described to have a fairly important reputation in the business. Also in terms of the customer database, FV can be considered to hold a reputation of huge booking system. Due to the need for the business to continuously improve and expand, there are different actions that are planned and projected. Included is the expansion of the business toward the international market. The said goal can be achieved through different ways. One of the most feasible methods is through the use of the internet. Objective of the Study The study is aim to determine the feasibility of expanding the market coverage of the company under study through the use of one of the most important tool of marketing which is the internet. Specifically, the objective of the study is to be able to determine the financial aspect and the implementation activities and schedule of the establishment of the internet-sales machinery, specifically the internet-based booking system. The main objective of the said project is to be able to achieve and increase in revenue by tapping a larger market which can be considered of larger coverage as compared to the present state of the FV. The FV can be considered as a company with considerable coverage in terms of the accommodation and other types of spaces. For that matter they can be considered to offer a variety of places for use. This can be the main reason for the needed exploration toward the expanded marketing and ultimately a wider range of clientele. Along with the said objective, even the services such as making online transactions are included in the objective of the project to be undertaken. Specifically, the goals of the said project are: • The primary goal of this project was to develop a new internet based booking system website in HTML. • A secondary goal of this project was to develop a booking system management server to setup, host and to deal with transaction between clients and the travel agency. Scope of the Study The scope of project will consist of function, constraints and interface. This can be considered essential specifically in the completion of the requirements related to the performance of operations management. This can be attributed to the fact that the activities that are incorporated in the said process are the core activities in the establishment of the activities and tasks completed in a company. Such activities are the planning phase, the organizing phase, the directing phase and the controlling phase. These activities are not limited by the span of time. Majority of these tasks are performed throughout the course of the task undertaken. 1. Functions The area of internet based booking system is rapidly becoming a wide field. The use of internet based booking as an integral part of daily commodity has increased dramatically in recent years. The programming scope of the project encompassed study of the HTML and the tools that would be used to build the application. In order to plan and design the application, area of internet based booking in general was researched and studied in depth. 2. Constraints • Internet connectivity is customer`s ISP dependent. • In heavy load the performance will going to be degraded. 3. Interface The interface should provide easy access to user for connectivity and for booking the hotel rooms. Justification for Project The FV is known for the provision of sales and services through the different programs and services that are available in the system. Through the projected interface on the internet, internet-based booking system will be possible. Through the implementation of the said project an additional channel for market can be achieved. Thus, an expansion of clientele coverage can be translated as an increase in revenue and profit. Internet booking system can serve as an accessibility that can present convenience to the people who are in need of the services offered by FV. Also, this type of transaction can be accessible to both the client and the company. Due to the fact that the client can feel the openness of the company, trust can be gained while confidentiality is still maintained. This is made possible since accounts of every client are independent from each other. Requirement Analysis A. Requirement specification 1. Goals The goal of the research conducted is divided into two parts: • The primary goal of this project is to be able to develop a new internet-based booking system website in HTML. • A secondary goal of this project is to be able to develop a booking system management server to setup, to host and to deal with transactions between clients and the travel agency. B. Specification of the System Interfaces There are factors that include the specification and requirements for the hardware and software interface. 1. Hardware Requirements ♦ Consumer Side Computer : Internet connection ♦ Server Side Processor : Pentium II above Hard Disk : SCSI (recommended), IDE (minimum) Storage : At least of 1 GB of hard disk space. RAM : 256MB or above Internet Adapter card : Minimum for broadband connection 2. Software Requirements ♦ Consumer Side Booking system accessed through the internet. ♦ Server Side HTML text editor MYSQl database for the storage of the client C. Detailed Statement of User Requirements: The user requirements are composed of the non-functional and the functional requirements that can directly or indirectly affect the success of the system. 1. Non-functional Requirements These requirements can be considered on contextual conditions. This can be attributed to the fact that there are views and perspectives that often questions the functions of the said factors. For that matter the non-functional requirements may be very difficult to state precisely and imprecise requirements may be difficult to verify. The said requirements include: a. User friendly interface is provided. b. Our software is reliable enough to meet the real time requirements. c. The operator reliability of the system is guaranteed. d. The system development process and deliverable documents shall conform to the process and deliverables defined in this report. e. The system shall not disclose any personal information about customers apart from their name and reference number to the operators of the system. 2. Functional Requirements This includes special specifications in relation to the tool for access. ♦ Browser (mozilla 1.0 or above, IE 5 of above, netscape 4.5 or above) Strategies for Development of the System The discussion of the strategies that are used in the development of the system can be considered of importance in the success of the project. Also, the choice of the beast approach is considered with justification. Included in the essential attributes related to the developed system are: ♦ Allow users to search for and book hotels online. ♦ A certain user can search by date, hotel, room type, price, location, and number of people. ♦ Real-time room availability checks and automatically update inventory as rooms are booked. ♦ The system features a payment gateway system to process their bookings in real-time. ♦ Hotels can be notified of bookings by email or fax as required. ♦ Users can login and review or update the details of their booking or cancel their booking. Project Planning The subsequent phase is the activity of planning that can be considered essential to the completion of the feasibility of the project to be undertaken. The project is inclusive of different details that are considered pertinent to the completion of the project. The process of planning can be considered as one of the most essential phase in the macro level of an organization and institution. This can be attributed to the fact that the said phase is the onset of the implementation of the methods to ultimately achieve the goals and objectives of the company. These goals can be classified on the basis of the output. In cases wherein the company are involved in manufacturing industry, the out output is a product or service (Summers, 1998). The FV is a company that offers services in terms of accommodations and other types of events. For that matter, a macroscopic perspective of all the processes that are involved in the projected task that is needed to be undertaken in needed to be determined. In the study undertaken, the establishment of the internet-based booking system is the main task. Included in the factors that are needed to be included are the facilities, the human engineering or ergonomics and the method and skills that are needed to be able to fulfil the task. Also the time frame in needed to be considered and established for the advantage of both the company and the clientele. Also aside from the determination of the specific factors, the particular perspectives that are needed to be considered are recognized. At the macro level which is the main perspective is mainly focused on the planning and implementation of the chronological and subsequent tasks that are needed to be completed. On the other hand the micro level is involved on the performance of the personnel that are involved in the completion of the project. The details that can be considered important to the implementation of the internet booking system are the duration of each task along with the details of interdependencies. The said specifics had already been presented and agreed upon by the representatives of the company FV. This can be considered as an essential phase since the flowchart of the actual implementation of the establishment of the internet booking system can be determined. Based on the result of the preliminary study that has been undertaken, the work has been given a cost rate of £800 per day for SD consultants. In terms of the FV scheduled use of the interface, an allowance of 12 weeks is given to be able to launch and have the system utilizable and introduced to the public. Also there are important assumptions that are needed to be included in the establishment of the said system. One of the said assumptions is that the work that is done by the SD personnel does not count the weekends. For that matter, the maximum the maximum number of days available is 60. Another assumption is the inclusion of the terms that are defined by the FV specifically in terms of the time scale. This can be considered important in defining the terms and services of the SD in conducting the project. In addition, the financial budget is given by the FV as £400k as total for the development of a fully operational system that can be used by the company for the online booking services. In terms of the activities that are needed to be completed at a particular time line, specific set objectives had been defined in the preliminary study to be able to proceed to the project planning and the establishment of the network diagram. These phase can be defined as the main preparation for the distinctive plans that will be implemented through the course of the application of the program to be developed. Table 1. The Tasks for the Establishment of the Network Diagrams Task Number Task/Deliverable (Number of Days) Prerequisite Activity 1 1 - Activity 2 2 1 Activity 3 - - Activity 4 5 17 Activity 5 10 4 Activity 6 15 5 Activity 7 5 5 Activity 8 39 6 Activity 9 10 6 Activity 10 10 6 Activity 11 24 6 Activity 12 12 7 Activity 13 6 9, 10, 11, 12 Activity 14 6 8, 9 Activity 15 4 13 Activity 16 3 14, 21 Activity 17 2 2 Activity 18 - - Activity 19 - - Activity 20 4 6 Activity 21 4 15, 20 Upon the definition of the tasks that are needed to be accomplished at assigned schedule, it is important to take note of the activities that are not included in the establishment of the diagram on the basis that they cover the span of the project development. For the matter the effects of the activities on the tasks that should be completed are needed to be defined in advance. Specifically the tasks 3, 18 and 19 are management activities, thus can be considered essential through the course of the entire project, thus these activities are negligible in the computation of the cost of the project. Another assumption is that one personnel is assigned to the specific tasks that are defined. Upon the definition of the activities that are needed to be completed and that are needed to be included in the computation and planning of the costs, the subsequent phase is the development of a network diagram that will define the flow of the activities and tasks that are needed to be undertaken. The Network Diagrams The establishment of Network Diagrams can be considered as an important phase in the planning, implementation and completion of an organizational task. AON DIAGRAM The AON diagram is one type of network diagrams which is also referred to as Application-Oriented Networking (AON) which can be considered essential on the basis of different aspects. One of the important attributed is the availability of a shorthand of the processes that are needed to be undertaken. It serves as an overview of the different aspects of the tasks and the activities to be undertaken. In the establishment and development of an internet based program that will be used for booking, the AON diagram is important to be able to determine the sequence of the tasks that are needed to be completed as well as the manpower that are required. AON is commonly used in the development of server-based network infrastructure, thus, it is the main choice in the completion of the project undertaken (Cisco, 2007; Summers, 1998). Upon the definition of the different components and factors that are needed in the implementation and establishment of the project, the network diagram, AON is established. The components that are needed in an AON establishment are: the tasks and interdependencies; total duration of each task; estimated start and finish times (earliest and latest) and float for each activity; cost of each activity; critical path and project length; and ultimately the total cost of the project. AON DIAGRAM 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Gantt Chart The Gantt chart is a type of bar graph specifically to present a time frame. It is important in organizational network planning due to the fact that the progress of the task at hand can be determined. Important components include start and finish dates that can show the duration of the task and the elements that are included in the project (Frame, 2003). The relationships of the different tasks to each other can also be determined. This can be attributed to cases wherein the completion of one task is required prior to the onset of another. To be able to determine the progress of the task, a data date line can be used which is a vertical line dissecting the task bars and the level of completion can be determined (Frame, 2003). In the SD project for the company FV, the AON is mainly based on the Gantt chart thus the two diagrams are related. The task covers approximately 60 days of work to be able to achieve a functional system that will be launched and operated on the internet with the function of travel and accommodation bookings. The period is inclusive of a number of months presented in the following figures. The successive activities are arranged and the time coverage for each task is included. Which resulted to the subsequent chart . Weeks 1 – 4 (November) 1 2 3 4 Weeks 5 – 9 (December) 5 6 7 8 9 Weeks 10 – 13 (January) 10 11 12 13 Week 14 – 17 (February) 14 15 16 17 References Aha, D. W. and Watson, I. D. (2001) Case-Based Reasoning Research and Development: 4th International Conference. Duncan Watson. Cisco (2007) Application-Oriented Networking Introduction: A Flexible Application Infrastructure [online]. Available from: . [Accessed 4 November 2007]. Frame, J. D. (2003) Managing Projects in Organizations: How to Make the Best Use of Time, Techniques, and People. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Herman, J. (1994) Finding the Business Case for Network and Systems Management. Business Communications Review, 24, June 1994. Summers, M. R. (1998) Analyzing Operations in Business: Issues, Tools, and Techniques. Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Read More