Client Led Information System For Leisure

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

This document is a contextual report for my project. The intention of this report is to give a general idea of the topic that I have selected for my project. The contextual report aims to set the scene for the reader and offer them with detailed background knowledge of the topic. It ensures that the project does not imitate previous work done by explaining the links between my work and other research. Puts in place the basis of which the project is to be developed.

Table of Contents 2

1.1 The Project 2

1.1.2 Client led information system 2

1.1.3 Project Goal 3

1.1.4 Project Context 4

.1.5 Project Objectives 4

1.1.6 Techniques for Research 4

1.1.7 Structure of This Report (Client led Information System For Leisure Centres) 5

Section 2: The Contextual Review 6

2.1 Market Research 6

Backup Procedures 7

Client Survey 8

2.2.1 Target Audience 8

2.2.2 Interview Approach 9

2.2.4 Interview Results 13

2.2.5 Database Comparisons 13

Analysis of features 13

2.6 .Functional and non-functional requirements 14

2.7 Project plan 15

Ghantt Chart 15

Section 3: Project Planning 17

3.1 Design Blueprints 17

3.1.2 Design Approach 18

3.1.3 Testing Plan 19

3.1.4 Evaluation Plan 20

References 20

1.1 The Project

1.1.1 Project Key Words:

Flat-File, Database Design, Database Management, Relational, Database Comparisons, Sports, Leisure, Sports Facilities, Sports Gear, Client, Information

Literature review

1.1.2 Client led information system

 User involvement.

If you understand what your client need and want, you can plan to deliver. The relationship of client involvement to successful systems development has been the focus of much attention for information systems, I researched and found out that for some time, common understanding has been that extensive user involvement is vital, and essential to information system success.

System development

Systems are so big and complex that teams of architects, analysts, programmers, testers and users must work together to create the millions of lines of custom-written code that drive the business.

To run this, an amount of system development life cycle (SDLC) models have been created: waterfall, fountain, spiral, build and fix, rapid prototyping, incremental, and synchronize and stabilize.

The oldest of these, and the best known, is the waterfall: a sequence of stages in which the output of each stage becomes the input for the next. These stages can be characterized and divided up in different ways, as well as the following:

Project planning, feasibility study

Systems analysis, requirements definition

Systems design

Implementation: 

Integration and testing

Acceptance, installation, deployment: 

Maintenance: 

1.1.3 Project Goal

The objective of this project is to create a client led information system that will manage data for leisure centres. This information system will be the end result of widespread research and investigation work into the necessary factors that will provide a working database that has all the features necessary for SMEs to quickly recover important data for the user. In addition the findings of this research I will conduct can then be used in order to design such a system which I can then begin implementing. Whilst implementing I will work with possible users of the system to examine the system and make sure it is conforming to its proposed requirements. Such testing will permit me to make the necessary final changes to finish the development of the system.

1.1.4 Project Context

Project Context. The plan of using the client led information system to run data for organisations has been present as a key element for a successful business. Information systems can be viewed as an important factor in making sure the overall security of data and information for an organisation. An example of a paper based system is a bank statement which consists of many pages of paper which is not practical as it meant that the data could simply be lost or stolen. Electronic databases are far more secure and safe as will allow users to save their information. Databases have hugely grown since coming out, in terms of the services that they can provide to users and the features which they boast. However, when designing a database, it is important to consider which features are actually worth including in the database.

.1.5 Project Objectives

To investigate into:

What data would a leisure centre require?

How long will it take to gain the correct information?

What features are generally regarded as the best for making a great database (Customisation? Speed?)Capacity?

To produce a information system that has:

The capability of allowing users to run queries on the database.

The option for users to customised the database in such a way that they feel comfortable with.

1.1.6 Techniques for Research

Techniques for research. This part will include the study and research into database analysis, design, implementation, testing and evaluation of existing databases within organisations. I had a look at other databases for leisure centres; I will group the features that are usually found in databases in order to make it possible to break things down into core categories. Core categories will allow me to make my own comparisons among the current databases that are present in organisations.

Development Creation

Development of the information system, it important to identify which programming languages that I will be using in order to realise my artefact. The programming language I will be using to make my database will be Structured Query Language (SQL).

SQL is used to communicate with a database. It is the standard language for relational database management systems. SQL statements are used to perform tasks such as update data on a database, or retrieve data from a database. Some common relational database management systems that use SQL are: Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server, Access, Ingres, etc. Although most database systems use SQL, most of them also have their own additional proprietary extensions that are usually only used on their system.

SQL will be the best solution out of these possibilities as it is more suited to generally managing the data within an information system including the retrieval, inserting, updating, deletion etc. of data.

Methodology

To make sure that this Information system will be well planned and managed. It will be important that I make use of a suitable development methodology. After long research the methodology that I choose for development of this artefact will be the top down methodology.

The top down methodology is commonly used for databases so I decided to use it for my information system. The top down methodology involves a number of key processes that are essential to make sure the right procedures are accepted out during the expansion of a database. In addition a requirements specification which can be described as a detailed summary of all the expectations that are placed upon the artefact. Also, it will include entity relationship modelling (ERM). An example of an entity is a student in a school system. An extra process present in the top down methodology is normalisation which can be defined as a procedure which aims to remove the irrelevant data dependencies in a database by identifying the main attributes in the database and analysing their data dependencies.

Why did I choose this methodology? For the reason that it seems the most appropriate for the growth of a database. Also the entails specific procedures are absolutely vital to create a successful development of a database. The procedure of ERM is mainly significant as this stage will typically permit for identification of which tables that will be current in the database. Every entity that is built-in the system will usually be a table in the database.

1.1.7 Structure of This Report (Client led Information System For Leisure Centres)

Section 1: Introduction

To structure this report this introduction will outline the way in which the project is going to work. I will state the specific targets that I will set to make a brilliant information system for the duration of the project and explain any techniques, methods and procedures I will be using and following.

Section 2: The Contextual Review

This part of my report will be divided down into two main sections. One of the sections will be Market Research and the other will be Client survey. The market research section will be focussing on analysing the existing relational database management systems. I will also go to my local leisure centre and ask questions on how their information system is run.

The market surveys part will be mainly me gathering information from the public in order to provide me with a user’s outlook of their requirements i.e. questionnaires. The information collected will be looked at so I can have a clear summary of what users would prefer. I will assemble this information by making my own surveys and questionnaires which I will deal out to perspective users for them to complete. This should help me to find out what types of features they would appreciate in the system

I will be taking the data and information collected from my research, also conduct an interview using it to plan the organize my project. While creating if I discover any features that the user does not like I will ensure that I do not include those features in the implementation of my artefact. In addition the interview will also permit me to find out which information I will need to include in the information system. I will also have the chance to map out the timescales that I will try to adhere to by use of specific deliverables completed by certain dates and times.

2.1 Market Research

2.1.1 Categorisation of Database Elements

I am going to compare the current database systems that are present in leisure centres. If I am to do this successfully I will need to spot the core features which are included in databases. This will allow me to compare different types of databases in organisations and see what makes a good database.

Queries

Queries are a feature of an information system which allows a user to request specific information from a database. One example of a query is the user constricting a query to locate the clients that are above 21 years of age" however that is just an example of a basic query but a more difficult query is a user running a query to "find the title of a member of the leisure centre in the gym section who lost the most weigh in the month of November. The queries are frequently based upon data that is stored in tables within the database otherwise they can also be based upon an existing query in the database.

In addition not only can queries be used to show information for database’s, they can used to update data fields, to delete data , add data to the database, create new reports, create new tables etc. SQL statements are used to query a database. There are SELECT statements which are queries that simply display data that is stored in the database. Also, the UPDATE statement allows data that is already stored in the database to be transformed using specific conditioning.

Relationships

Firstly an important feature of a database is relationships. Relationships can be described as the major links that are shaped between entities within the database. The links are essential for the reason that they ensure the database is efficient and effective by taking away the occurrence of data redundancy, data inconsistency and data repetition. The different types of relationships which can be defined; this includes one-to-one relationships, one-to-many relationships and many-to-many relationships. One-to-one relationships are relationships where a record in one table is directly related to only one other record in another table. One-to-many relationships are relationships where a record in one table is related to more than one record in another table. Many-to-many relationships are relationships where more than one record in one table is related to more than one record in another table. Many-to-many relationships are not very effective in a database as they lead to data repetition for the reason that data will keep appearing as there are too many links.

Backup Procedures

Backup procedures are essential to the creation of an information system so to ensure that the information system is not at risk to loosing the data it is important that precautions are taken to create backups .in order to archive this a backup procedure must be put in place so that all the data is is copied to an external hard disk drive. so i case of a failure, i.e. system crashes the data of the leisure centre will be safe and sound.

Search Facility

Also another feature that could be included is a search facility. This could be an area in the database that allows the user to search for information by simply entering keywords into a search bar or field. This will allow the user to find what they are looking for rapidly. If they wanted to find a specific report that has already been created then they could just type in the first few letters and it would provide a list of all reports with that title. For example if the was a report created for a Miss Jones all you could need is the address and D.O.B.

Relational databases

Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)

A database can be defined as a single, centralised pool of organisational data. The software that manages such a pool of data is known as a database management system (DBMS). An RDBMS can be considered as a DBMS that makes use of multiple related tables to manage a pool of data.

An example of an RDBMS is a student record system for a school. In this system, there are three tables; students table, subjects table and grades table. Each table will have their own individual attributes including a primary key. A primary key can be defined as an attribute of a table that uniquely identifies each record in that table. The primary keys are; student ID, subject ID and Grade ID.

An alternative way of managing data is by using a DBMS. An example of a DBMS can also be a student record system. However, in this system, there is only one table that contains all the data in the database. All the attributes in the table are unrelated which means that there will be no primary keys.

Client Survey

2.2.1 Target Audience

My target audience will be the leisure centres for the reason that I am creating client led information system which is going to be for information systems for it will be practical for me to target the current systems that are available so that I can match and exceed it.

2.2.2 Interview Approach

The interview approach. For me to ensure that the information I receive from my client survey are highly accurate, I will aim to interview to three of my local leisure centres asking them the same nine questions. I will distribute the interview on the 18/11/2012 to both centres. I will also try to target the users just to get their views on how they think the leisure centre is handling their information. I will be recording the interviews on my iphone.

2.2.3

Vauxhall Recreation centre... Location = Luton

INFO; Vauxhall Recreation club was established as a private members sports and social club for the employees of Vauxhall Motors in 1931.

Over the years the club has continually strived to move with the times with significant changes and improvements taking place along the way. Our crowning moment came in 1995 when we moved into our new ‘state of the art’ facility on Gipsy Lane. Since then the club has become a hub for leisure in the community and has built an enviable reputation for delivering a diverse range of activities which is supported by excellent service. (Winner of the ‘National Sports Club of the Year’ award)

The club’s facilities can be enjoyed by both members and non members and is no longer exclusively for the usage of Vauxhall employees which has often been the general misconception over the years.

Q) What is the process when a user joins?

A)" The customer will need to fill in a fitness profile then a member will put the details on a computer then they will receive a little card so they can get themselves swiped in."

Q) What is the process when someone does not want to be a member no more?

A)" The customer must give one months notice and will need to do that by written consent. "

Q) How do you advertise the gym registration and football tournaments?

A) "Well alot of it is word of mouth really for the football tournaments we don’t do a great deal of advertising but as for the gym we put ads on the local paper and if there is a discount running we will send about 4 colleagues to the local universities to advertise "

Q) What age group usually sign up for activates and how do you organise separate activate timetable on the system.

A) "According to the fitness profile we will just add the new member to the existing timetable but we do offer one to one sessions which at a different cost, and a timetable which is suited for the user"

Q) Do you organize events at your Leisure Centre? And if so do you have an Events Management System?

(A) "No not usually"

Q) Do you have a backup system?

(A) "We do have a backup system which is updated every two days."

(Q) If there is a system failure what is the procedure?

(A) "Depends on what the problem is, for example if the problem is minor we have a technician but if its major then we would call our insurance to provide a technician."

(Q) How would you rate the Reliability and Security of your system ?

(A) "The reliability of the system is very good, we work to make sure it runs fast and stays consistent. Also for the security part we download the latest antivirus and software to prevent treats."

Southbury leisure centre... (London Enfield)

INFO; Southbury Leisure Centre is at the heart of your local community. Facilities include a 25 metre swimming pool, a large gym, exercise studio and sports hall.

This sports centre is brought to you by your local council, in partnership with Fusion, a highly experienced sports and leisure organisation. As a registered charity, Fusion continually reinvests to improve and develop what’s on offer in your community.

Q) What is the process when a user joins?

A) " They fill out a paper form but It depends which activity the customer wants to sign up for example , if it’s the gym they have a deposit £30 then £40 if they want to come anytime they want or pay the £30 which will be a pay as you go contract which is 3.50."

Q) What is the process when someone does not want to be a member no more?

A) " The customer need to inform a member 1-5 days after the direct debit has been taken then we will cancel the membership and just email them a questionnaire on why they wanted to leave their membership."

Q) How do you advertise the gym registration and football tournaments?

A) "Our location is really good because it is in the middle of a cinema and 3 successful restaurants so most of our new customers just come to say to want to have a look at the prices for activities, and for the rest we create posters and hand them out.

Q) What age group usually sign up for activates and how do you organise separate activates timetable on the system?

A) "it’s usually adults from age 22 onwards. For activates most of the classes will be a scheduled time and day and once the customer joins they will be added to the timetable.

Q) Do you organize events at your Leisure Centre? And if so do you have an Events Management System?

(A) "No we do not"

(Q) Do you have a backup system?

(A) "We do have a backup system which is run every week.

Q) If there is a system failure what is the procedure.

(A) Our insurance gives us the option of a technician 24 hours a day if a problem happens we are covered.

(Q) How would you rate the Reliability and Security of your system?

(A) "At the end of 2011 we was not satisfied with the speed of the system so we made sure we resolved it by 2012. The security of the system has always been up to date we make sure of that with our weekly checks

Tottenham Green Leisure Centre

INFO; Tottenham Green Leisure Centre is a multi-facility indoor centre set in the busy hustle and bustle of Seven Sisters and only a short distance from the legendary Tottenham Hotspur Football Club ground.

Q) What is the process when a user joins?

A) "The process is very simple the customer will just have to fill out a sheet of paper, the paper contains information about themselves i.e. name, D.O.B, address and so forth."

Q) What is the process when someone does not want to be a member no more?

A) The process of a customer wanting to leave is simple they take 2 mins filling out a form however must give 2 weeks notice.

Q) How do you advertise the gym registration and football tournaments?

A) "Well we don’t run football tournaments. However we do have a gym and we advertise it by putting ads on the local paper."

Q) What age group usually sign up for activates and how do you organise separate activates timetable on the system?

A) "It varies because primary school children in year 6 come every Tuesday. Then they love the swimming lessons so much they usually tell their parent to sign up with them so the age rate is from 10 -70 most likely.

Q) Do you organize events at your Leisure Centre? And if so do you have an Events Management System?

(A) "We organize a football league competition and have a system in which we update the league positions of the 13 teams which play one match every week.

Q) Do you have a backup system?

(A) Defiantly you never know what might happen so we do a back up every two days.

Q) If there is a system failure what is the procedure.

A) "We phone our local technician who is about 10 mins away."

(Q) How would you rate the Reliability and Security of your system?

A) " Both the reliability and security of the system are really good we look out for the latest software to keep the system running in the best condition.

2.2.4 Interview Results

From the following interviews I conducted with Tottenham Green Leisure Centre, Southbury leisure centre and Vauxhall Recreation centre. I found out that the 3 leisure are quite similar, for example the process when a customer is joining is the same for all 3 leisure centres and also the fact that the centres all have a backup system however only one has an events management system.

2.2.5 Database Comparisons

Type of database

Queries

Relationships

Backups

Search Facility

Events Management System?

Tottenham Green Leisure Centre

Yes

Yes

Yes

Every Two Days

Yes

Yes

Southbury leisure centre

Yes

Yes

Yes

Every week

Yes

No

Vauxhall Recreation centre

Yes

Yes

Yes

Every Two Days

Yes

No

In addition so that I can make an accurate analysis which provides me with solid knowledge of the best features for a information system, I will produce a chart to display this clearly.

A chart/table displaying some of the important features present in existing databases that I have looked at.

Analysis of features

This part will be about the analysis of features. The table shows the systems in which I have researched I can see that the features which are the most important for all the systems I researched are relationships and backups, which comes as no surprise to me for the reason that relationships are necessary for any information system to be considered successful to allow tables to be related. Secondly backups are also very significant for many reason one is without them the centre you run the risk of losing all the data which is stored on the system in the case of a system collapse or natural disaster. Features queries and search facility seem to be there one without the other for example where a system has queries it may not have a search facility and vice versa.

2.6 .Functional and non-functional requirements

Functional requirements

Business Rules- in the 3 leisure centres I interviewed one similar functional requirement is that you have to be a registered member of the leisure centre to have access to use any of its equipment.

Cancellations –With cancellation of the membership the 3 leisure centres all require the customer to give notice before they cancel, however require different times space for example Tottenham Green Leisure Centre requires 2 weeks whereas Southbury leisure centre states 1 week and Vauxhall Recreation centre requires one month including a statement for reasons why.

Historical Data/ Back Up – when conducting the interviews with the 3 leisure centres Backups and historical data are one of the most important aspects in the database the only difference between the leisure centres is that backups are conducted on different days.

Authorization -- The process of granting or denying access to a network resource. Most computer security systems are based on a two-step process. The first stage is authentication, which ensures that a user is who he or she claims to be. The second stage is authorization, which allows the user access to various resources based on the user's identity. The 3 leisure centres is plain and simple as soon as you become an employee you will be given a log in number however depending on what position you are in you can only access different parts.

Non-functional requirements

Availability – Availability of the database is key for the leisure centre. Tottenham Green Leisure Centre and Southbury leisure centre have to call their local technician where as Vauxhall Recreation centre has technician who works at the centre.

Reliability – from the interviews I had with all the leisure centres i can the workers stated that the system is 100% reliable.

Security – The security of the 3 leisure centre is practically the same. However Southbury leisure centre stated that they check for updates every week to make sure their up to date.

2.7 Project plan

Ghantt Chart

Part A

This is the first part of my Gantt chart in this section i listed the task in which i completed and will complete in the coming months, I also stated how long it will take me to finish it .

The results secton from october to 6th december.

Part B

The results section from december to febuary

Section 3: Project Planning

3.1 Design Blueprints

3.1. Design Document

Database Philosophy

This database will be providing users with access to supplier information and current members who are registered on a direct debit basis. The database will include the features that are required based upon the results I receive from my early in my interviews, also including queries and relationships.

This database will be a relational database as it will have many different tables that are related to each other. I will include tables that will hold the information of suppliers, the information of staff and users.

3.1.2 Design Approach

The design approach, I am going to use design methods which will include UML diagrams (Use Case, Activity etc.), IPOS diagrams, document flow diagrams, data flow diagrams, entity relationship models, Normalisation, JSD, test planning, evaluation.

In addition there are many approaches that can be taken to the design of this project; one being agile development, also the waterfall method or spiral methods can be used.

Queries

The queries is very important, I will make sure that this database will be capable of operation various types of queries to allow users to retrieve specific data from the database. This will consist of select queries that will allow users to manipulate specific data. In addition design queries that will allow users to delete data which they do not need in the database these will be delete queries. And finally an update queries that allows the users to update specific areas of the database where they have not been updated.

Passwords

From the 3 interviews I conducted all of the leisure centres have passwords for almost everything so it’s only makes sense to make the same for the system .I will ensure that the database is protected by a password that only the managers and supervisors of the organisations will have. This is so that management of authorised access and level of access is ensured properly.

Backup

I will be implementing in a specific backup plan and recovery protocol. The backups will take place early midnight about 00.30, and the data will be backed up onto an external hard drive. The recovery procedure will include the user loading the old data from the external hard drive and copying it onto the original system so that it can begin functioning normally again. I have enquired the leisure centres and come to the conclusion early midnight is the safest time to back up the system.

3.1.3 Production Planning

Platform

Oracle (2010) has stated that:

"The database will be based on the PC platform and will run on Windows based computers (specifically 2000/Vista/7)

Machines must be compatible with SQL preferably MySQL

Machines must also meet the minimum hardware requirements for MySQL which are CPU: Intel Core or Xeon 3GHz (or Dual Core 2GHz) or equal AMD CPU. RAM: 4 GB. Graphics: nVidia or ATI with support of OpenGL 1.5 or higher. Display: 1280*1024 recommended, 1024*768 minimum.3

3.1.3 Testing Plan

In House Testing

As the information system is being developed I will ensure that regular tests are being run on the database. This will be done to ensure that there are no errors or faults with the system. There will be minor checks that are performed frequently probably daily or whenever something needs to be attended to. Other than that after each stage of development is completed I will test that all features are working properly.

Beta Testing

This will be beta testing where I give the nearly completed database to the public. The people that I will be giving the database to will be the target audience that I already surveyed. I will then be able to compare the feedback given with the results from the interviews this type of testing will also last roughly a week.

Alpha Testing

My alpha testing this will include a small group of people about 4 or 5 that I will give the alpha build of the database. I will ask them for feedback of the database to see if they experienced any problems such as bugs or errors. This will be for about a week.

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3.1.4 Evaluation Plan

Client Results

I have already spoken about how I will compare the results of the survey that I carried out in section 2 with the feedback that I receive from the testing. In order to understand whether or not I have managed to develop a successful database, the feedback should be positively satisfying from the user’s point of view.

Reflective Findings

I will also be able to look back on the project and the methods and approaches which I adopted to see if they were effective. For example, did the design approaches turn out to reflect that of the final product? This will allow me to understand what approaches I should look to adopt in the future. I will also look at how useful the SQL language turned out to be and whether or not it was appropriate to use.