The Online Booking System: of Abi Dry Cleaners - Case Study Example

Analysis Table of Contents 4.0 Introduction 3 4 Current Dry Cleaner Booking System 3 4 1 Rich Picture of Current Dry Cleaner System 4 4.2 Requirements 5 4.2.1 Functional Requirements 5 4.2.2 Non-Functional Requirements 8 4.3 SWOT Analysis 10 4.4 MoSCoW Analysis 10 4.5 Risk Analysis 12 4.6 Summary 14 References 15 4.0 Introduction Abi Dry Cleaners provides several cleaning and laundry services to the customers. The dry cleaning services are gaining much popularity in recent times and the number of customers requesting for the facilities of Abi Dry Cleaners has increased. In order to enhance the effectiveness of services, an online booking system has been proposed for Abi Dry Cleaners. The online booking system project is designed with the intention of streamlining the operations and rendering a user-friendly way for customers to provide their requirements. 4.1 Current Dry Cleaner Booking System Presently, the booking system for dry cleaning is generated through manual and offline way, i.e. the orders are taken physically and accordingly sent for processing cleaning activities. In the present system, Abi Dry Cleaners cannot pull higher number of customers. Furthermore, the current system is also quite slow to react to the requests of customers. Due to the ineffectiveness of the manual booking system, Abi Dry Cleaners is unable to exploit the demand of dry cleaning services. The present system maintains a list for different requests of customers which is used for providing dry cleaning services. There are several problems of the present booking system of Abi Dry Cleaners such as only few reservations can be made because of manual process and it also takes huge time for recording the reservations and transactions. There is also an issue of validation in the present booking system. Besides, the employees face difficulties in managing the collection and the date of delivery of services. Furthermore, the present booking system also necessitates considerable paperwork which is quite difficult to manage (Imam, 2005). 4.1.1 Rich Picture of Current Dry Cleaner System Consequently, in order to overcome the problems related to the present booking system, an online booking system has been proposed. The online booking system will not only satisfy the existing customers, but will also attract new customers. Furthermore, it will also allow Abi Dry Cleaners to promote its dry cleaning services to a large section of target customer segment, resulting in increased revenue. However, in order to achieve the desired objectives, the online booking system requires reliability, consistency, flexibility and security (Agheorghiesei & Ineson, 2010). In accordance with the requirements of customers, the online booking system would need log in information, contact information, on-going dry cleaning tasks along with their status, estimated time for competition of on-going tasks, customer advice for dry cleaning, organisational history, testimonials, requests and prices for several service packages (Carlson Wagonlit B.V., 2006). The new system would assist is quick retrieval of information. It will react to several queries made by different customers and viewers. The new system would be menu driven and user friendly. It will assist the users by providing individual messages. The assistance can be summoned at any point of time. The booking system provides information for introduction or withdrawal of any new services and facilities. It will be designed in such a way that the booking chart is accessible on time. It would reflect the latest status concerning different activities and thus would help in administering tasks based on users’ requests. The progress and delivery of services is accessible at any time (Al-Hijaj & et. al., 2013). 4.2 Requirements The users of the online booking system are customers, employees and administrators and the system will be developed in such a way so that it supports multiple users performing simultaneously in the system. Website interfaces will be used for accessing the booking system. The requests of users will be sent to the main server of Abi Dry Cleaners. 4.2.1 Functional Requirements The following table demonstrates the functional requirements of customers from the online booking system. Table 1: Functional Requirements of Customers Functional Requirements Description and Justification Home Page There will be a home page for Abi Dry Cleaners which will be the key interface for the online reservation system. The homepage contains several menus under which the users and visitors will find their requisite information regarding the organisation along with its services. The home page will be user friendly and will allow the users to place order to query regarding any aspect. Login Facility The users will be able to enter to the booking system of Abi Dry Cleaners through login page. In order to enter in the booking system, the users will require providing personal information and they will be redirected towards the login page. A logged in user will also be able to securely log out from the system by clicking at ‘logout’ button. Check Status Facility The users of the online booking system will also be able to check the status of their dry cleaning tasks and estimated date of delivery. Easy Booking Process One page booking facility will be provided to the users with certain simple steps. Booking Slip At the completion of booking or placing an order, the customers will be provided an online slip which would be used as a reference for the purpose of taking the delivery of cleaning. Other Related Links The online booking system will also provide links to other pages such as services, special offers, prices and customer support. Sources: (Wang & Senecal, 2007; Wilton Green, 2014) The functional requirements for administrators are demonstrated in the following table. Table 2: Functional Requirements of Administrators Functional Requirements Description and Justification Login Facility Similar to users, the administrator can also login by entering their unique pin number. After login, the administrator will be redirected to the administrative page. Access Customers’ Account The administrator will be capable of accessing customers’ account. The key functions that would be granted for the administrators are adding, deleting and updating customers account. Access Employee Account The administrator would also be able to create employee account and accordingly delete or update them with new information. Access Customers Order The administrator will be able to check the dry cleaning order of the customer. Apart from this, this functionality will also help to view customers’ orders, edit them and check out the process. Dry Cleaning Services and Prices The administrator will also be capable of adding, deleting or updating different dry cleaning services and related costs. Printing Invoice The administrator will also be able to print the invoice for any request given by the customers. Source: (Kumar, 2010) 4.2.2 Non-Functional Requirements The following table demonstrates the non-functional requirements of the proposed online booking system Table 3: Non-Functional Requirements of Online Booking System (Mairiza & et. al., 2010) 4.3 SWOT Analysis The following table demonstrates the SWOT analysis of the online booking system for Abi Dry Cleaners. 4.4 MoSCoW Analysis According to MoSCoW framework, the requirements of the online booking system can be classified into four categories which have been described below. MUST HAVE: MUST HAVE signifies the key requirements of the online booking system as without them the facility would have no worth, such as: Capability to securely accept online transactions through credit and debit cards Online reservation for dry cleaning Accessibility of customers’ database to the employees and administrator Customer service support only during official hours Technological assistance only during official hours Proper interface between service and delivery system Performance observation and report Online shopping and hosting facilities SHOULD HAVE: SHOULD HAVE signifies the vital requirements which should be provided according to time. The online booking service will still have value without these requirements such as: Capability to accept other type of payment apart from credit or debit card Incorporation of customer database to service system 24 × 7 complete customer support 24 × 7 complete technological support Promotional offers such as gifts, coupons or discounts COULD HAVE: COULD HAVE denotes such requirements which would be useful for the online booking service system unless there is budget limitation or time restriction. However, these requirements are not the central aspects of the online booking service, namely: Cross selling ability Marketing reporting ability Profit reporting ability WOULD LIKE TO HAVE: WOULD LIKE TO HAVE represents such requirements which are not required at present, but can be used in order to upgrade the system such as: Live chat facility Active customer contact Capability to update service information with technical assistance Customer review regarding services of Abi Dry Cleaners (Kuhn, 2009) 4.5 Risk Analysis There are several risks that have been identified in the online booking system which have been described below: Risks Mitigation Contingency Financial Risk Since, the online booking system is based on the idea of ‘Electronic Fund Transfer’, it always generates a risk of financial fraud. Several customers fear that in online booking system, providing information about credit or debit card can create irreparable error in the personal financial information and therefore can result in illegal access to bank account. Moreover, there is also a risk of loss of float while using debit or credit card. In order to reduce the financial risks, the payment system would be made secure through implementing proper security measures. It would assist in maintaining the faith of the customers. Technological Risks The transmission of a variety of technologies and their proprietary protocols at times generate risk of system complexity. The technological risks can be categorised in two areas namely equipment problems and system problems. Different equipment can make it challenging for the booking service to develop and screen the network efficiently. The system problem can also appear in case the Internet goes down, system breaks down as well as in case of server failure. These system problems can result in loss of valuable information and hinder the booking services. The technological risks can be reduced by installing right technology for the online booking system. Furthermore, in order to deal with the determined system risks proper backup methodology will be used. Operational Risks There are several operational risks for the online booking system such as during cancellation of the booking, risk can be generated by non-refundable money. Besides, risk compatibility can also occur in certain debit/credit cards or in certain operating systems. Operational risks would be handled through providing information to the customers regarding the online booking facilities so that they consider the outcome before providing any information. Business Risks The online booking system can generate business risks with respect to improper incorporation of services with the business objectives. Furthermore, shortage of skilled employees can also generate risk for the online booking system to operate effectively. In order to reduce the business risks, a feasibility study will be undertaken. Besides, the system would be made simple and user-friendly so that no concrete technological knowledge is required in order to operate the online booking system. Source: (Kemere & Sosa, 1991) 4.6 Summary The proposed online booking system for Abi Dry Cleaners will assist the customers to place their order for dry cleaning services through the use of website. It would incorporate several functionalities such as checking different services and monitoring the status of cleaning among others. The online booking system can materialise to be a successful project as it would provide benefits ahead of manual reservation as well as flexibility of services. Furthermore, the online booking system will also provide an opportunity for Abi Dry Cleaners to enhance the customer base. References Agheorghiesei, D. T. & Ineson, E., 2010. The Impact of Online Booking Systems on Customer Loyalty in Romania. Journal of Tourism, No. 11, pp. 45-54. Al-Hijaj, A. A. K. & et. al., 2013. Design and Developing Online Iraqi Bus Reservation System By Using Unified Modeling Language. International Journal of Scientific Knowledge, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 19-28. Carlson Wagonlit B.V., 2006. Toward Excellence in Online Booking. The Way Business Moves. [Online] Available at: http://www.carlson.com/cdc-cms/pdf/Travel%20Presentations/Report-excellenceinonline-booking.pdf [Accessed January 29, 2014]. Imam, A. M. G., 2005. Online Airticket Booking System. SRM Engineering College. [Online] Available at: http://digitallibrary.srmuniv.ac.in/dspace/bitstream/123456789/909/1/2641.pdf [Accessed January 29, 2014]. Kemere, C. F. & Sosa, G. L., 1991. Systems Development Risks In Strategic Information Systems. Information and Software Technology, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 212-223. Kuhn, J., 2009. Decrypting the MoSCoW Analysis. Dity Weekly Newsletter, Vol. 5.44, pp. 1-2. Kumar, P., 2010. Online Hotel Management. Cochin University of Science and Technology. [Online] Available at: http://dspace.cusat.ac.in/jspui/bitstream/123456789/4276/1/OnlineHotelMgt.pdf [Accessed January 29, 2014]. Mairiza, D. & et. al., 2010. An Investigation into the Notion of Non-Functional Requirements. University of Technology Sydney, pp. 311-317. Wang, J. & Senecal, S., 2007. Measuring Perceived Website Usability. Chaire De Commerce Électronique, pp. 1-20. Wilton Green, 2014. Home Laundry Services Online Booking Form. Wilton Green Laundry. [Online] Available at: http://www.wiltongreen.com/request+an+order+online.php [Accessed January 29, 2014]. Read More