Assignment 2 CMPG 214 – 2022
You represent an IT company that has received a tender to create a Software system for a NonGovernment Organization (NGO) “Thusa Basadi”.
Your IT company is requested to study the Business Process of the NGO and deliver a Software Solution that supports their business Process.
This Assignment is mostly focused on phase 2 of the SDLC which requires developers to observe, interpret and listen, very well, to the hidden requests / instructions and system needs of a customer.
Phase 6: “Deployment” or also known as “implementation” is also important for in this assignment as this is the phase in which the user manual is prepared. Specific step by step directions with all essential information for the user to make full use of the information system
The NGO manager wants a system but is not sure how to explain what the system must do. He therefore gives you the following details of their current system:
Thusa Basadi is an organization that creates a safe home for abused women and their children (women and/ or children become “visitors” once registered by the admin workers). We have of 13 volunteers / workers and a manager working in the organization and these are their respective roles:
- 4 field workers who identify women who would benefit from our services.
- 5 social workers who address the social needs of our visitors
- 3 admin workers in the processing office where most data is captured
- 1 Store room clerk who controls stock
- 1 NGO manager
How the process works, is that a field worker brings in the victim(s) of abuse and asks one of the admin workers to capture the details for each of the abused. The NGO always wants to know the name, surname and ID number of the abused. The NGO also needs to know where the abused person(s) originates from, which field worker brought them in and whether the abused have a spouse or not.
Once The details are captured by the admin worker, they check to see which social worker has the least amount of active cases and then assigns this case to that particular social worker. Finally, the admin worker must indicate whether the abused person(s) will require a clothing pack from the store room and the size, whether S, M, L or XL. After this is done, the admin worker creates and stores a file with all this information and then the abused is considered a registered visitor of “Thusa Basadi”.
At this stage the social worker needs to be informed that they have been assigned a new case and what the details of the visitor are, the storage clerk also needs to note whether what size clothing pack to reserve from the store room for this new visitor(s). The store room clerk is then allowed to give a clothing pack to the visitor. The organizations total number of visitors per social worker and the total amount of visitors clothing packs in the store room needs to be updated. After a social worker is satisfied with a visitors stay, the social worker must be able to “release” a visitor and make a note of the victim’s progress. Once this is done, the visitor is removed or marked “inactive” from the social workers list of active cases.
One of the problems in the current system (which is still non-electronic) is that management sometimes loses track of the information gathered above and then the NGO either run out of clothing packs or discover that a social worker either does not have as many active cases as the admin clerk thought, or has to more.
Another problem is forgetting who exactly was involved in a certain case, from bringing in, to registering to who the social worker was etc.
The NGO manager wishes that they had an electronic software system that is accessible to all volunteers at the same time. Each volunteer would be able to do their own work on the system and should not be able to do what is not in their job description. It remains important that the sore room clerk only sees information relating to his role in the NGO, the same applies for the admin and social workers. The manager should be able to do any of the other workers work on the new system.
As soon as any volunteer updates any info on the system and it must update immediately, so that other workers can do their work effectively. The users are not very experienced with computer programs so they must be able to operate the program easily, with no unnecessary complexity. Not too much must be going on a single window or screen of this program – navigation between windows or parts of the program must be simple.
Tip: Rather more simple windows than less complex windows.
For the purpose of this assignment, you must create a technical document that contains the following:
1. Compile a 1 or maximum 2-page list of clear software requirements documentation based on the above-mentioned business process, experienced problems and managers wishes. This is so that the developer(s) who will be designing the solution knows exactly what the program ought to do.
(A PDF document will be uploaded with guidelines (material) on Requirements.
2. Your hypothetical IT company must have at least 1 meeting, each with its own agenda and minutes. Add the Agendas and Minutes of all meetings Held in your hypothetical company.
Suggested material – not exhaustive – you can search for other ways to do it. The main requirements must still be adhered to.
[Minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJIiHeEd4ww]
[Templates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNameb4jgUM]
[Agenda:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XELRvXCoKxU]
3. User manual for the final program using GUI screen shots. You can only design the GUI and explain to a user how they must navigate through each window and what every control on every window is supposed to do. No coding / programming will be required behind the controls. The GUIs and their explanations are more important.
The user manual must be a document that allows a novice computer user to completely use your software system in your absence. Your user manual should almost be an instance of you (your understanding of the program) that can be used to understand how the program works, in your physical absence.
Suggested material – not exhaustive – you can search for other ways to do it. The main requirements must still be adhered to. https://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/user-interface-design.html.
Key skills required for you to do this assignment:
- You must be able to analyse and translate a user’s description of a real world problem into system requirements for a software solution. The key here, is not to show off you amazing IT skills but to prove that you can receive a message (whether by interview, observation, written etc.) from a person and correctly interpret the message based on what they said – not what you wanted to hear. (PHASE 2 of SDLC) && (First seeking to understand / receiving communication)
- You must be able to have good / healthy interpersonal interaction with your -colleagues- and work together. Have professional meetings so that you can all contribute positively to this assignment / tender ?.
- You must be able to illustrate / demonstrate knowledge and carry it over to another individual or group of individuals. You have already done verbal communication in your oral presentations. Now you need to communicate with words and pictures in the attempt to be understood. (PHASE 6 of SDLC) && (Being understood / sending communication)