Revolutionized Once Slow Process

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

As we are living in the technological era, advancement in modern technology is almost reaching its highest peak. Along with these advancements, the internet has been gaining momentum in dealing with information management. There has been greater awareness in web based technologies due to the numerous potential benefits and its ubiquity nature that it offers. Due to this, many organizations and institutions are increasing their investment in web-technology and online systems.

Universities are found in almost every corner of the world and so do its software’s and Applications. However, there are still some gaps that need to be covered from the existing registration system to make it close to its full potential.

The Asia Pacific Online Student Registration System is aimed to digitize the whole registration process of the Asia Pacific University. The Asia Pacific Online Student Registration System will be a Web-Based Application which will be beneficial to the University to manage their daily applicants. The system will be made available to its end-users via a web browser. Both the students and the staffs will be able to have access to the system once they login to the system according to their prerogatives. Moreover, some advanced features will be implemented to increase the reliability, usability, robustness and security in the proposed system. In addition, the backend database will be a cloud-based database to increase the efficiency and scalability of the proposed system.

1.2 Problem Context

From the past decades, computers and technology have made a revolutionized once-slow process, to save industries time and money that was not previously possible. With today’s budget crisis, school districts are looking for ways to use computers and the Internet to streamline school business processes while substantially lowering their cost (John Anderson, 2011). Swartz (2007) has stated that institutions are gradually increasing their awareness towards the cost of acquiring inaccurate, incomplete and bad data and therefore they are changing the way they perceive and manage information.

One of the most tedious and costly processes during university year is the student enrolment and registration process. "Technology can provide new capabilities enabling institutions to create significant competitive advantages for students to live in an environment of choice and access" (Gilfus Education Group, 2010). Hyung Seok Lee stated in 2010, universities are now looking for the most advanced technologies such as computer systems and keeps upgrading it as new technology keeps evolving.

The enrolment system has not yet been saturated with computing technology and there is still some lacking in the current systems.

According to Jeff (2011), Innovative registration student system will transform the business models of universities. This means that the more innovative and advance the registration will be the more it will be changing the business models and more efficient and effective will be the process of enrolment. The current student’s registration systems still have more rooms for improvements for it to be more innovative and advanced.

Today most of the registration process is using either manual or they are making use of the desktop or stand-alone system to manage their daily activity. The scope of web application has moved at a rapid pace and has become the solution to support all sides of organizational work (Isakowitz et al., 2006).

Most of the student’s registration process is still making use of the conventional or using desktop or stand-alone system to manage their daily applicants. For the context of Asia Pacific University, it is still making use of the conventional method of registration to manage its daily applicants. Whenever the registration is over, all the data is then being input into the desktop registration software by the staffs. The main problem with desktop and stand-alone application is that it cannot be used anywhere unless it has the application or software’s installed on it. . Nowadays, Students want choice and online access to what’s available right now as stated by Jeff in 2011, as for the current system students do not have direct access to the system and they will be registered by university personnel.

Doug Mantz stated in 2011, while students complete their enrolment online greatly streamlines the process; however communication component is still a critical point to be considered.

Another major problem with the current existing system is that student can’t communicate with university if ever they have any queries unless they send a normal email which most of the time universities take long time to respond due to the great quantity of emails they receive daily.

Also in the current system, when student’s photos need to be input for ID cards, students are required to submit a passport size picture and then they will be scanned later by administration and saved into the system. This is therefore a very time consuming method and requires quiet a lots of work of having the student photos saved in the system.

The current student registration system also doesn’t provide any real-time facilities to both the administration and students side. For the case of students, they have to logon into the system to check whether their registration has been approved or not. Due to this, students sometime take long time to check their approval and this may result in a delay in proceeding with their enrolment. The same problem goes to the admin side; they might not know if ever the students have registered instantly, they have to check the registration interface from time to time to be aware if any students have register.

As stated by Jeff in 2011 that when considering innovative registration system then high quality information to be accessible in real-time by anyone who needs it should be considered. The currently system doesn’t really have accessible real-time data; it usually takes time for the application to fetch data from the database. For the registration process, highly accessible and real-time solutions should be considered.

Richard (2004) has put emphasis that information about students is vital and its time consuming to manage it and therefore the most effective tools should be used to store student’s details.

In terms of storage space, in the current system whenever student’s documents are being uploaded, they are usually in an unorganized manner or they are taking lots of space on the physical memory due to an increase in student registration processes. This also leads the organization to buy additional storage space devices and thus increasing the cost of the organization.

1.3 Rationale

Having analysed all the problems above, a web based student registration system has been proposed. Students will be able to use the system whenever they want and anytime and on any device with just the need of a web browser and internet connection. In addition, the proposed system will include some of the real time features which will help to increase the efficiency and reliability of the student registration process. Beyond that, the database which is one of the most vital parts of an application will be implemented using cloud technology. Databases on cloud will be a great plus to the organization due to its scalable, reliable and high availability nature that it offers to systems.

1.3.1 Potential Benefits

1.3.1.2 Tangible

Cost Effectiveness:

By implementing the database on clouds will make a significant reduction in organization cost since storage cost will be reduced and organizations need not to worry about buying more storage devices (for example Hard disk), it will therefore reduce the costs of data services by enabling user to choose their data storage to only what they need. When there are needs for changes, they can just upgrade the storage space according to their needs. Universities need not also to spend money on maintenance of the database since all these services will be handled on the clouds. Another factor that will reduce cost will be labour force involved during the registration process.

Availability/Reliability:

Since the proposed system will be using cloud databases, the database will be flexible enough to cope with any variations or usage of space. The clouds offer services that replicate data on multiple servers to maintain data availability. So this means that, if ever one of the databases is down, the data can be retrieved from another mirrored database. This therefore prevents loss of data.

Reduction of workload:

The proposed system will reduce the workload of staffs. Administrative staffs need not to key in student details like they did previously in the system since the students will key in their details themselves. Admins also do not have to scan the picture given by students in order to save in the system; the proposed system will have an instant photo-shoot of the student’s picture by using the webcam in their laptop or personal computer and saved it directly to the database of the system. Admins can therefore use the same picture to assign it to their id cards.

1.3.1.2 Intangible Benefits:

Efficiency:

Due to the real time features added in this report, it will help to fasten processing of the student registration system. Faster processing means there will be less time wastage from both the sides of the students and the also from the admin sides. Moreover students’ information will be highly accessible to universities personnel by making use of an efficient search query which will be available in the proposed system.

Communication Friendly:

The proposed system will increase the communication between universities and students and it helps to increase communication and therefore any doubts that are in the students mind will be cleared by the universities personnel as they have a more user friendly interface to answer queries of students.

Environment friendly:

Since Green computing is being emphasized nowadays, it’s very important that we consider green elements before developing a system. The proposed system will completely eradicate the usage of paper therefore contributing to green environment. A green system will help to increase the profit of the organization as stated by Cassandra Walsh & Adam J. Murkowski in 2010.

Students Satisfaction and Workers Satisfaction:

Since students will be directly involve with the system, they will find it more practical since they will know what’s happening during their registration process and moreover with interactivity feature that the proposed system will offer to students will make them more satisfied. Workers also will be satisfied since there workloads due to the registration process will be reduced.

1.4 Target Users

This system is being developed for multiple users, one of the main targeted users are normally the students who will be registering to Asia Pacific University and also the current students of Asia Pacific themselves. Users are also the staffs that are involved in the student services of APU who will be using this system to manage students who have been registering online. The manager of the student services will also have access to the system to monitor the performance of the registration process.

1.5 Project Scope and Objectives

1.5.1 Project Scope

The registration system will be used only Asia Pacific University student registration purposes.

Any Students around the world can register using this system.

Only authorized staff will have the login authentication to access the server side.

1.5.2 Project Aims

The main aim of this system is to increase cost effectiveness, user-friendliness and also reducing time due to registration process. The proposed system is also aimed to increase interactivity and communication. Additionally, the proposed system will increase the reliability as it will be available to students 24 hours a day. It will increase workers and students satisfaction by providing quality and advanced features. Moreover, the proposed system will eradicate almost all paper-works that is involved during the registration process.

1.5.3 Project Objectives

A cloud based database will be implemented so as to lower down the storage cost and also to be able to manage students’ data efficiently and effectively. A cloud based database will also help to increase the reliability of data. The HCI principles will be taken into consideration when designing the webpages to enhance on user-friendliness features. For the interactivity and communication section, some real time features like for example real time chat and real time notifications will be implemented. This will therefore help to enhance the communication between students and the university; the registration process will also be fastened up with real time notification. An SMS notification will be sent to the student’s mobile if ever their application has been approved so that they do not delay to proceed on with their registration.

1.5.4 Deliverables

The developer will provide a complete registration system that will solve the various issues mentioned earlier. Alongside the system will be a complete documentation containing all the holistic information of the stages that will be involved to complete the system will be provided.

The Functionalities of the system are as follows:

A Login Interface will be provided for all end-users to be able to access the system. Students will also be allowed to register to APU and make modifications to their personal details like for example change of address information or password. In addition, staffs will be able to view the documents that students have sent and approve, reject or shortlist their application based on the requirements. Staff will be able to add courses update their fees accordingly. Supplementary course like APU corporate training registration will also be part of the system which will allow students to register to these additional courses. Managers will be able to view registration reports on a monthly and yearly basis.

Some of the supplementary features will consist of a cloud based database that will store records of students efficiently in an organized way. In addition, some real time features have been added like for example: real time communication between students and university as well as real time notification to the admin side when a student has registered so that they can process with the registration as fast as possible. Also, students will be able to upload their documents online like for example results and IC. Admin will also be able to send application approval letter to students via the proposed system. Furthermore the system will allow pictures of students to be instantly snapped via their webcam so that it can be saved into the university database. Last but not the least, SMS notification will be sent to students if ever their registration has been approved.

1.6 Project Plan

The development of the project will follow the following phases:

Project Scope and Objectives

In this section, the project scope will be set and the objectives will be defined clearly so that there are no conflicts later on. This portion of work will be found in chapter 1.

Literature Review

This is research which will be carried out from various sources like published journals, newspapers, online resources and books. The literature review will be mainly divided into two main parts which are mainly the technical and domain research. The domain research will mainly look into the chosen topic areas and the similar systems that exist. The gaps of the similar systems will also be elaborated in the domain research. The technical research will look mainly into the comparison of the technical side that will be used during the development of the system like for example database management systems and programming languages.

Primary Research

The primary research will mostly be concentrated on the different data gathering methods that will be carried out and their objectives. The interview, observation, document review and questionnaire method have been chosen for this project.

Analysis

The analysis is mostly concentrated on the analysis of data that have been gathered from the primary research. The data analyzed will be verified against the objectives of the system and moreover there will be clarifications on the requirements for the system to be built. From the interview, an in depth knowledge on how the registration system works will be provided.

System design:

The system design is mainly the logical design of the system. The system design will be looking mostly into three main parts namely the system design, the database design and the interface design.

Implementation:

Once the design phase has been completed, the scrum agile methodology will be used for the development of the system. Here the logical design will be converted into the system coding. The development of the system will be a continuous process until completion.

Testing

Testing will be performed after the completion of each module. The testing techniques that will be used in this project are integration testing, unit testing and usability testing.

Documentation:

All the phases of the project will be documented until completion. A user manual will be attached along with it to provide guidance to the users of the system.

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Domain Research

2.1.1 Registration Process

The word registration means the accurate positioning is the degree of accuracy in positioning an entity relative to another entity or to another independent frame of reference (Atis, 2005). It is also defined by Temple in 2006 that registration is a step-by-by process whereby there is a collection of actions that can together contribute to the success of the organization through the production of its action.

Web-Based Online registration System:

The web-based registration system is a system whereby the whole registration process is being made available through a web portal.

According to Desousa (2008), Web based Online Registration application has four core benefits. These are the following:

Compatibility – Web Based Registration system offers much more compatibility options than traditional software. It means that web based registration can be run on any OS platforms which increase its compatibility.

Efficiency- Another key benefit of online registration is that it makes registration available to institutions and students from any web facilitated. Highly developed online registration system can be useful in all the institutional department’s since it increases the efficiency of processing of student data (MIT, 2009).The institution online registration system can be made available from any web browser according to different login prerogatives.

Web-based registration also improves security features because users do have access to the database and backend servers.

Cost Effective- Web-based registration system lower the costs of the support and maintenance and subsequently lowering the requirements on the end user system.

2.1.2 Comparative analysis on Similar Systems

2.1.2.1 Student Information Software plus (SIS+)

SIS + is web based registration software that was created in order to help universities or colleges to automate their registration process and make it available to students through a portal. SIS+ was developed by Rediker Company Ltd. Rediker LTD is the leading Software as a Service Provider that provides registration solutions for higher Education Institutions. The student Registration platform acts as an interface between the educational institutes and its applicants. (Denver, 2012). The Rediker Student Information system is currently been used in more than 100 countries over the world. (Rich Rediker, 2010)

The major Features of the system are as follows:

Online Based Registration

The SIS developed by REDIKER was not a stand-alone application but it was an online based application. This feature allows students and Administrative staffs from the university to have access to the system anywhere via a browser.

Student Records:

The online student registration is a web based application which allows student to apply to their respected university online. The application sent can then be viewed by the registering departments of the university.

Documents Submission

The software allows students to upload the required documents that were needed by the university during the registration process via the online system itself.

Status Viewing

The Students could view status of their registration like for example viewing if ever their registration has been accepted or rejected.

Paying Fees

The paying fees are to help students to clear out their fees online via the system. The students can only clear out their fees if they have a PayPal account because the fees feature is directly link with the PayPal account.

Online Reports

There is the feature of online reporting where administrative staffs can generate the reports of the number of students registering instantly and then present is to the management.

Auto Email System based successful registration.

This feature make the system send an auto generated email to students whose registration has been approved to make them aware that their registration has approved.

Evaluation of SIS+:

Universities that implemented SIS+ gave both negative and positive critics. Some Universities that implemented SIS+ reported that students were still bombarding the universities with the traditional methods because there was no clear guidelines on how to use the registration system to register to the university. An analysis made by Muhammad Miah and Adnan Omar in 2011, showed that only 10% of the students made use of the system by themselves, others came to ask help from the personnel of the university. This therefore resulted in waste of time for both the students and the faculty. The analysis of Muhammad Miah and Adnan Omar(2011) also showed that the problem raised was due to the poor guidelines that were established along with system the and this result in students not being able to understand what’s going on as for most of them who were registering, it was their first time using online registration system. This therefore has a direct impact on the quality of service that the university is providing to the students since their first impression on the university will be during the registration process; which is considered as the most critical factor to both students and the organization success (Justin Sloan, 2011).

From the administrative side, they came to an agreement that the implementation of the SIS+ improved the efficiency which was related to the registration of new students since all paperwork concerning the registration process was completely eradicated. In addition, the errors that were due in keying students’ data were significantly reduced since students were inputting data themselves directly in the system. "Institutions are putting much emphasis on the way data is being recorded and therefore there is also a much greater awareness on the cost of acquiring bad, incomplete and inaccurate data from the side of the institutions." (Swartz, 2007)

Christopher Dawson mentioned in 2007, one of the clients of SIS PLUS, there is some lacking of user friendliness and consistency concerning the design of the system and it took almost 2 months for the staffs to feel at ease with system. "Users want a consistent interface with all the available features whether they are at school Office or elsewhere."

The system was initially designed to accommodate an estimated amount of student data. However, as time passed there was a drop in the system database since the volume of the disk were full due to many students’ data being saved onto it. This resulted in downtime of the system since there was lack of IT personnel in the university so they had to contact IT professionals and this result in long process before the disk space problem can be fixed. It is also reported the cost of upgrading the storage devices is significantly high. (Christopher Dawson, 2007).

Concerning the reports that are being generated, one of the users stated in the review site that there is lack of consistent information in their report, there is no flexibility in the fonts and neither in the design. The reports being generated are not real time which means that if a student has just registered then his data won’t be shown on the reports that have been generated.

On the other hand, the auto-generated email feature in SIS PLUS is quiet effective since the moment administrative staffs has accepted the registration, an auto generated email will be sent directly to the student’s email to notify the students that his/her application has been approved and to continue on with the rest of the registration process.

To conclude, I will say that they is even though SIS PLUS has been implemented in more than 100 countries, the reviews from the users have showed that it still has space for improvements. The software is not at its 100% potential since most of the users of the system have not shown full satisfaction with the system.

2.2.1.2 Office Pro

Office pro is an online registration system that allows students to register themselves and helps administrators to manage student’s data. The aims of this application is to reduce the cost and work that is involved due to registration process and to obtain clear validated data that is ready for the student management system (Office Pro, 2011).

Figure 1: ScreenShot Of Office Pro Registration Form

(Source: http://www.schoolofficepro.com/student_registration_software_system.aspx)

Student Records

Office pro allows students to input their details digitally into the system. The staffs then can have access to the student registration and accept/reject their registration.

Email Communication

The email communication allows staffs to communicate with students via sending email, group emails can also be sent to notify students about the different Stages of the registration or the application process.

Online payment and Fees Collection

Students may opt to make payments like for example the school fees or the registration fees online.

Evaluation of Office Pro:

School pro turned out to be one of the user’s choice software for the online registration product since the product is one of the most effective products available on the market. Office pro is tailor made for only a specific university and therefore the forms are being customized based on the attributes that the customer is demanding. Unlike other systems, school pro is quiet expensive since it is tailor made for only a specific university. The software can only be purchased based on customer order.

One of the disadvantages of office pro is that there is lack of human interaction concepts when we consider the design of the forms. There is the absence of navigational webpages as we can see in figure 1 above. The webpages that are available do not link to each other to help users to navigate thoroughly through the website.

Office pro is one of the very few registration websites that allows students to communicate with their universities; however communication facility that is integrated in the application is email-based communication which means that whenever a student wants to connect with the university concerned then they have a communication interface which helps them to input their enquiries and the enquiry data is directed to the staffs email address and likewise the response of the staffs will be directed to the student’s email. Moreover, the communication feature in office pro is merely just an interface to send emails. This kind of communication is not considered as effective since students won’t know if they have received any response unless they check their emails.

2.2.1.3 Gap Analysis

Lack of efficient ways of Communication between students and University:

As we have seen previously, the present Communication Feature that Registration System is using is email based. However, Joshua Chen (2012) stated that e-mail is no more a good mechanism for communication since users may not check their emails frequently and this may lead the timeliness of e-mail based communication to be out of the window.

The proposed system will be implementing real time communication concepts. Real-time communication emphasize on the "Presence awareness" which eliminates the barriers of time and distance that is inherited by all other forms of communication (Thomas W. Burt and Gregory S. McCurdy, 2006).For the APU online registration system, students will be able to be to converse with University Registration Staffs on a real time basis, and if the staffs are online and they will reply to the students instantly but if ever the staffs are not available, they will still receive the message on the same communication interface.

Lack of Human Computer Interaction Concepts:

There was also a lack in Human Computer Interaction Concepts in the existing system. The usability feature was not taken into when designing the user interface. As seen previously, users of the system don’t seem to be satisfied with system due to poor usability. Gerrit van der Veer and Hans van Vliet(2008) pointed in his research that the effect of poor usability can result in waste of countless precious hours and high level of frustration. Therefore the efficiency and effectiveness might be visible to users of the system due to the poor human interaction concepts.

The APU Online Registration System will be designed taking into consideration the concepts of Human Computer Interaction. The author will make sure that the system follows all the concepts of the Human Computer Interaction Conceptions to its full potential. On the other hand, Armonk (2006) also pointed that usability of a system is the range and degree by which the system can be used effectively and efficiently to accomplish goals that are set for the system to accomplish.

Lack of database Scalability and Reliability:

When it comes to information system, it is very crucial that data and the systems are always available to its users. As discussed previously, there has been downtime in the system due to the limits of which data may be stored in the physical memory has been exceeded. This is an unforeseen circumstance and the organization had to invest lots of money in order to buy additional hardware and moreover this causes the system to be down for some moment since they had to wait for the physical upgrade of the memory by IT professionals.

The proposed Registration System solves this problem since it’s going to use the cloud infrastructure to implement its database. When it comes to cloud-based database, it is considered as much cost effective and reliable solution. When data is being stored cloud-based database, the storage capacity is infinite since additional space can be requested from the provider whenever it’s needed (Mike Hogan, 2008). There is no need to worry about data backup in cloud-based environment since there is the presence of automated data backup. Marcy Hoffman (2011) stated that cloud-based database data are stored securely on data centres, so there is nothing to worry about data even if ever there are any calamities since there are mirrors of the data being saved in other data centres of different regions. In addition, cloud-based database also increases the accessibility of data from the database in a faster way. (Mike Hogan, 2008).This therefore concludes that we can retrieve data much more easily wherever we are and whenever we are using it.

Lack of real-time notification:

Real-time notification has been gaining momentum since the last few years. Users are thirsting for real time information whether it’s from social networking site or online systems (Ed Finegold, 2011). From user’s perspective, real time notification is considered to be more convenient, proactive and also decreases time wastage. Productivity is indirectly proportional to time wastage, the less time being wasted the more the productivity. It can be noticed that there is a deficiency of real time notification in the current system being used for registration process analysed previously in this report.

Some real time features will be implemented in the APU online Registration System, to increase its efficiency. The real time notification that will be implemented will be both from the side of the staffs and the students so as to maximize the efficiency of the system as far as possible.

2.1.2 Asia Pacific University Registration Process

The Asia Pacific University registration process is an on-going process throughout the year since there are around 5 different intakes. Staffs can be seen involve in the enrolment process almost every day. The registration process is based on the courses level that student wants to pursue. In the case of Asia Pacific University, the registration is based on the degree, foundation, master and PHD level.

Currently, the university is making use of traditional process whereby the students have to fill up the registration form manually first. Once the student finishes with the registration form, the form is being kept for later evaluation. The students are required to attach the necessary documents that are necessary to get enrolled like for example medical certificates ad copies of passports.

Once the registration form has been completed and the necessary documents have been enclosed along. The forms are being kept by the staffs for later evaluation. The forms are evaluated based on the requirements that have been established for the enrolment of students to the institution.

When the evaluation is done, the student is being notified by email whether their registration has been accepted or rejected. Based on the response, the students proceed on with the rest of the registration process which is mainly paying the registration fees. Once the registration fees have been cleared by the student, the student’s details are being keyed in by the staffs into desktop registration application and the documents are being scanned and input into the computer. The student then becomes officially part of the university after their details have been entered into university database. The official registration letter is then being sent to the students through email or they can opt to collect it manually. If ever the students have any queries, they can contact the university staffs through email or by telephone.

To conclude, the registration process has been described according to the author’s experience on the registration process of the institute mentioned. The author has gone through the registration process of Asia Pacific University previously. However, this is just an overview of the registration process. The author has to carry out more research to know about the registration processes in depth. More details about the registration process will be discussed in the primary research section.

2.2 Technical Research

2.2.1 Programming Language

2.2.1.1 C++

C++ is a programming language which was developed in 1979 by Bjarne Stroustrup. Bjarne Stroustrup added features to c and named it "C with Classes" and was later named C++ in 1983 (Dennis Ritchie, 2012) .C++ can be considered to be a fast programming language after compilation.

C++ inherits all the benefits of C language. Moreover, C++ added a ton of features like for example encapsulation, multi inheritance and polymorphism as compared to c to give more options to programmers. The biggest addition was the addition of some of the object oriented features which helped programmer to improve the efficiency of coding and to enhance on reusability of codes (Hao Chen, 2010).

However, C++ has also got some downsides; one of the disadvantages is that it is prone to data type’s errors because it doesn’t offer a strong type checking. In addition, it is platform dependent which means that it can’t be supported by all platforms. C++ is also considered not be purely object oriented because it doesn’t possess the garbage collection features. In terms of security, it makes use of pointers which is less secured for storage of data.

2.2.1.2 Java

Java was first developed by James Gosling and his team from Sun Microsystems in 1991.Java was initially designed for programming of home Appliances. In 1994, James Gosling linked java and the internet. The version of Netscape browser released in 1995 and it was compatible to run java Programs (Hao Chen, 2010).The original name of java was oak but since oak was being used by another programming language, it was later changed into Java which was inspired from coffee.

One of the benefits of Java is that it open source which means that people can make use of it for free. Java is considered to be a pure object-oriented language as compared to C++ as it possesses some modular programs to enhance on reusability of codes. Moreover, Java is platform independent; it can be run on multiple platforms. This feature therefore allows programmers to move programs that have been developed from one computer to another computer system very easily (Hao Chen, 2010).

On the other hand, java is considered to be one of the most memories consuming programming language because of the extra layer that exist between the programs and the systems. The extra layer is known as Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The JVM makes the system execute the actual instructions. Any programs that are written by Java must first of all be executed by the JVM.

2.2.1.3 C#

C# was designed by Anders Hejlsberg, a lead architect of Microsoft in 2001 (Hao Chen,2010).C# was intended to be purely Object oriented and was subjected to be "C-Like" but there was not much similarity between them. The original name of c# was "Cool", but since Microsoft had a pattern of adding # to letters so they came out with name C#. C# was considered to be the main option for the development of web based application (Hao Chen, 2010).

C# is considered to be a perfect balance of all programming language. Almost all the gaps that were in C++ have been improved with the introduction of C#. One of the significant benefits is that c# is purely object oriented. The problem with pointer that was initially in C and C++ was resolved because of the introduction of garbage collector almost like the one in java. C# has direct access to the premises of .NET frameworks and therefore it can take advantage of the pre-developed components for development of web applications. In addition, c# can be connected with relational database system such as Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL by just a few simple connection steps.

The c# compilation is quiet simple as compared to those in java and C++. In C# the source code is being converted into "Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) Code". THE MSIL code is being packed as a Win32 executable file along with some additional features. The MSIL is then converted into the operating system and CPU specific code by using the Just in time compiler at run-time as shown in the figure below:

Figure 2: Compiler of C# language (Source:http://publications.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/16995/Chen_Hao.pdf?sequence=1)

The key disadvantage of c# is that it is too dependent on the .Net framework. It will be difficult to implement c# on its own without the integration of the .Net Framework.

2.2.1.5 Justification

C # has been chosen over other programming languages because of the benefits that it offers. C# has been chosen over C++ and C because of its pure object oriented features which are not present in c and C++. Moreover, since the front end will be using the .Net framework, c # is much more compatible with asp.net since both of them are Microsoft products and therefore provide a better interlink with each other as compared to java. In addition, since the Asia Pacific University Online registration will be a web based application, c# is the best option here because it entails a large framework which contains a lot of pre-developed components which will facilitate the development of the web based applications.

2.2.2 Frameworks

2.2.2.1 Asp.Net

Active Server Pages.Net commonly known as ASP.net is a web framework developed by Microsoft; it allows programmers to develop dynamic web application, web sites and web services. The first version of Asp.Net was release in 2002 with the version 1.0 of the .Net Framework. Asp.Net is being developed on the Common Language Runtime (CLR) which allows programmers to write code using any language which is compatible with the common language runtime like for example Visual Basic, C# and much more (Anand Narayanaswamy, 2010).

Asp.Net is declared to be more beneficial over other script based technologies since the compiling is being done to one or more DLL files on the web server. The compilation is automatic the first time the page is requested. This specific feature helps to soften the development with the performance of compiled binary.

Success Stories:

Due to the advanced features that it offers ASP.Net has become one of the most successful products of Microsoft. It has helped programmers to build well-known websites like for example Msn.Com, Myspace.com and DotNetNuke (Holly yalove, 2010).

Benefits of Asp.Net

Support Multi-Languages

One of the main strengths of asp.net is that it supports multi-languages. Asp.net supports around 25 different languages which leave the programmer to have a more open choice to choose from popular programming languages like for example C#, vb.net and much more as compared to PHP (Dev, 2009).

This feature also enables multiple programmers to work on the same system since they can switch languages in the middle of the development without having to write all the codes again (Kevin Jordan, 2011).

2. Support Multi-Languages

One of the main strengths of asp.net is that it supports multi-languages. Asp.net supports around 25 different languages which leave the programmer to have a more open choice to choose from popular programming languages like for example C#, vb.net and much more as compared to PHP (Dev, 2009).

This feature also enables multiple programmers to work on the same system since they can switch languages in the middle of the development without having to write all the codes again (Kevin Jorda,2011)

3. Real Object Oriented Framework

Asp.net offers a much better code management and code structure. The reusability benefits that is offered by object oriented concepts decreases the effort of coding from the part of the programmer.

Asp.net is also considered to produce much faster web application due to the optimized compiled code rather than PHP which runs as interpreted code

(Steve Kozyk, 2009).

4. Security

The application built in asp.net is supported by Windows Authentication which enforces on the security of the application and hence making it more secured than PHP.

5. Ease OF Development

Development is considered easy in ASP.net due to the server controls that are present in visual studio apart from the user controls. This therefore reduces coding effort that is needed and also making data management more efficient. There is no need to install any external plugins to have access to these controllers unlike PHP frameworks (Malin De Silva, 2011).

6.Rich In features and functionalities

Since asp.net is built within the .Net class Framework, it has direct access to the huge .Net Libraries which offer more than 4500 classes with full of functionalities like for example File Upload, SMTP and much More. In addition, there are thousands of third party components which are supported by asp.net rather than in PHP (Amrsaafan, 2009).

7. Easy Debugging:

It easy to code and to find errors in visual studio because of its highlighting error features. It highlights the syntax if ever it’s wrong instantly and therefore decreases the time needed to spend on finding errors (Dev, 2009).

It is also easy to debug and create asp.net web based application because all those tasks are performed within a single development environment (Ram Babu, 2011).

8. Support and documentation

Since asp.net is being developed on Microsoft Platform, there is no doubt the programmer will get their hands on the most updated documentation on the MSDN site by Microsoft where everything about Asp.Net is being written in much detail.

The reliable Customer Support through the MSDN service will also be a big plus to the programmers since they can have code snippets or ask any help of ever they are facing any problem during development.

Drawbacks of Asp.Net:

High Cost

The major disadvantage of Aps.Net framework is that all the software that is needed to build the application must be bought and they are relatively expensive unlike PHP which is open source and free.

Asp.Net doesn’t have any compatibility with any other platform apart from windows this is because it is a Microsoft Product and therefore can only be developed on Microsoft Platforms unlike PHP which uses Cross-Platform.

2. Platform Dependent

Asp.Net doesn’t have any compatibility with any other platform apart from windows this is because it is a Microsoft Product and therefore can only be developed on Microsoft Platforms unlike PHP which uses Cross-Platform.

2.2.2.2 Justification

The researcher has opted for the Asp. Net’s framework for the development of the APU online registration system. The Asp.net framework has been chosen for the development because it has a variety of in-built features and API which will be useful for the development of the APU online Registration System as compared to other framework like PHP. It also supports multi programming languages which will leave the developer a more open choice to choose which ever programming he/she wants unlike PHP’s framework. In addition, as ASP.net is developed by Microsoft, the developer will therefore get in hand to the most updated documentation where everything about ASP.net will be described. Moreover whenever the developer will have any problem while developing the APU online registration System, he/she can share the issues faced on the asp.net site, experts and programmers from the MSDN community will contribute in sorting out this issue more quickly and easily. Moreover, there are tonnes of code snippets available on the MSDN site which can be helpful to the developer of the APU online Registration System. Concerning security features, we can notice previously, asp.net has many in built security features powered by Microsoft which is not the case in open source frameworks. Security is one of the Key Features to consider for the development of the APU online registration system since there will be the transmission of private details between the university and the students during the registration process.

2.2.3 Database Management System

SQL Azure and SQL server are the two options that were considered as the back-end storage of the system. SQL Azure is a cloud based relational Database by Microsoft While SQL server is also a Microsoft database Product such that it doesn’t offer the cloud facilities as compared to SQL Azure.

The SQL Azure was chosen over SQL server after considering various factors which will be elaborated below.

One of the most significant benefits of SQL azure over SQL server is that since it built on both clouds and Windows Server technologies, there is no doubt that it offers a high degree of flexibility in terms of variations in usage and loads. With technology integrated with SQL azure, there is no need to worry about data in case of hardware failures since multiple redundant data copies are being saved automatically onto multiple servers which makes data still available and allows business continuity ( Dinakar Nethi,2011). SQL azure also offers services such as automatic failover and automatic data recovery from failures which are not provided by traditional SQL server.  SQL Azure Database also manages load balancing and, in case of a server failure, there is transparent fail-over to a healthy machine hosting one of the backup copies of your database.

Another advantage of SQL azure is the elastic nature that it offers makes it highly scalable. One of the major problems with databases is that as data grows there is additional needs for space and therefore storage devices have to be bought which is considered to be significantly high (Dinakar Nethi, 2011).This problem is solved with SQL azure since it has elastic nature which allows customers to just increase the storage space without need of buying additional physical storage devices. Moreover, SQL azure offers the Pay as you grow pricing which makes sure that customers pay for only the storage that is being used. (Mike Hogan, 2008).

Another advantage of SQL azure is that it is self-managed. Self-managing means that it enables the organization to provision for data services without the need to worry about the support of the databases. This is because since SQL azure is a cloud based technology, therefore support is being provided by the service provider and there is no need to pay additional support charges unlike SQL server whereby support should be maintained by the organization itself (Sunguk Lee, 2011).

To conclude, SQL azure has taken the lead over SQL server because of its cost effective, scalable and its high availability nature. Since cloud computing is the new promising computing system and Database plays an important role in any Information System (Sunguk Lee,2011); SQL azure has been considered to be the best solution for developing web based application since it has the newest technology implemented with it and also because of the numerous advantages as described previously that it has over SQL server. Moreover, due to most of the similarity features that it has with SQL server, it is as easy to develop database in it as in SQL server.

2.2.4 Methodology

2.2.4.1 Waterfall Methodology

The waterfall methodology has been widely used since 1970 by many developers (Melon fire, 2006). The waterfall model is well known for its simplicity and linear model which implies that it is very simple to understand and use stated by ISTQB Guide in 2010. The waterfall methodology offers numerous benefits such as disciplined development like for example every phase have a defined start and end point and progress can be easily identified with the use of milestones by both client and developer (Melon fire, 2006).

Another advantage of the waterfall methodology is that it emphasizes much more on the requirements and design stage before the development which ensure that customer’s expectations are met and also reduces time wastage and effort (Shah Nawaz Alam, 2010). On the other hand, Melonfire stated in 2006 that gathering the requirements and design improve the whole quality of the project since it is much easier to correct errors at the design stage rather than in the testing stage. In addition, documentation is being produced at every stage of the development which makes the understanding of the final product much clearer.

One of the major disadvantages of waterfall model is the lack of backward stability since for waterfall approach we can’t change any implementations that have been made from the previous stages unless beginning the whole project from scratch again. Another disadvantage of the waterfall approach is in development stage from which the system will be tested at the end of each module which leads in a tonnes of codes to be debugged at the end and is more stressful for the programmer (Tutor, 2012).

http://www.sdlc.ws/agile-vs-waterfall/

Waterfall model

Figure 4: Waterfall Stages

(Source: http://istqbexamcertification.com/what-is-waterfall-model-advantages-disadvantages-and-when-to-use-it)

2.2.4.2 Agile Scrum

The Agile Methodology is described as a conceptual framework that is needed to undertake any software projects. There exist many agile software development methods but the most popular one is the Agile Scrum (Craig.D, 2009). "Scrum Methodology is defined as a methodology in which you can employ various processes and techniques within which complex products can be developed" ( Ken Schwamber, 2009).

The agile scrum methodology is mostly used for managing and controlling iterative and incremental projects of all types. The Agile scrum is gaining momentum nowadays in the software community due its proven productivity. This methodology concentrates mostly on how to manage tasks within a developing environment (Reliable Software, 2010).

One of the key benefits of agile scrum is its iterative process in the development stage. In the scrum, projects are divided in sprints (divided into succinct work cadences) which typically last two or three weeks in duration. Sprints generally involve the development of related functions of the system. Once a particular sprint is completed, it is sent for unit testing. This therefore reduces the bulks of code that need to be debugged at the end of the development (Kevin Thomson, 2009).

Another advantage of agile is that the client gets a release demo before the final release and they can provide feedback on the correction that is needed at a much earlier stage. This is an iterative and incremental phase of the development stage since the systems get polished to satisfy client satisfaction as sooner as possible rather than having to wait weeks and months to find out that a software delivery was off course all along.

One of the main disadvantages of agile is that there is flexibility to change the requirements; this is one of the major causes of Scope Creep since project Managers will be tempting to demand additional functionalities and hence changing back the requirements. It therefore becomes much harder to define business case for projects and to fix prices (Kelly waters, 2007).

Another disadvantage of Scrum Agile is that there is lack of necessary designs and documentation. The project can most often goes out of track if ever the customers are not clear about what final outcomes they want.

2.2.4.3 Wet Agile

Wet Agile is the terminology used for the hybrid of Scrum Agile and the waterfall methodology. Wet Agile removes all the gaps that have been mentioned previously in this documentation.

The hybrid version of waterfall and agile methodology is well suited for web developments since there is a formal documentation process along with flexibility in the agile development methodology to make corrections in the early development stage as we go along (Nari Kannan.2010).

Agile Hybrid Methodology

Figure 5: Wet Agile Stages

(Source: http://www.calsoftinc.com/process-framework.aspx)

Success Stories of Hybrid of Scrum Agile and Waterfall:

Many companies are switching to the "Wet Agile" methodology because of numerous benefits that it offers to them. The "wet Agile" has been tried by many companies and they found their success in using it. So far, the results have been great. As stated by Jon Arnold on March 19, 2012 in his article, the "Wet Agile" methodology has helped his company to suppress deadlines, save budget, and keep clients happy. Steve Hardin and IT Business Edge’s (ITBE) director of software development stated ITBE uses hybrid approach of Scrum Agile and waterfall. Hardin rated the hybrid approach as an ideal one as compared to single approach. The director of Firefox also made the same remarks as Hardin did for the hybrid version of waterfall and Scrum Agile and stated "We are tied to only effective Methodology" which means that they are most likely to be happy with the current methodology that they are using and hence it is increasing the effectiveness of their software.

Requirement Analysis and Definition

In this phase, all the possible requirements of the system will be captured. Requirements are defined as a set of functions and constraints that the end users expect from the system. The requirements will then be analysed and the different possibilities of incorporating the requirements in the system will also be considered. A requirement specification document will then be produced at the end of this phase which will help as a guideline for the next phase. All the requirements of the APU online registration system will be arranged in an orderly manner in the software requirement specification document.

System Design

Before the coding phase starts, it is important that the requirements are being understood clearly and should also have a brief idea how the end product should looks like. A design model will then be prepared based on the requirements specifications from the earlier stage. The design phase will be mostly a mixture of agile scrum and waterfall design phases. High level design using UML diagrams and dataflow diagrams will be produced during this stage for the registration system.

Development Phase:

This is considered as the lengthiest phase. Sprints will be used during this phase. Sprint is a set period of time during which specific work has to be completed and made ready for review. The sprints involve the development of certain functionalities of the system. When the delay of the sprints is over, units will then be tested to see if has met the requirements. This stage is considered as being incremental and iterative since the system continues to get polish until it meets customer satisfaction (Rutul Dave,2011).

This phase is also known as the "Acceptance Phase", a demo will be given to the end users and they will have to give back feedback from the end users will be taken into consideration in this stage.

During the development of the registration system, when a module is completed that particular module will be sent for testing before other modules are being developed.

Testing:

The final product will be tested by the quality assurance staffs and its end-users again. For the testing phase, the student registration system will be tested by students of APU and also by the staffs that are involved during the registration process. The quality will be assured mainly the supervisor of the project since she is the one to ensure the quality of the system.

Product Release:

After all the requirements have been met, the product will be officially released. This is most commonly known as the official closure of the project.

2.2.4.4 Justification

As seen above, the waterfall methodology will be used for the Requirements, planning and Design stage which detect the risk of possible failures and avoid any costly and time-consuming repairs. The waterfall methodology gives clear requirements from the start of the project. For a project to be successful, the requirements must be understood clearly first. Additionally, the waterfall methodology put much emphasis on the documentation at every stage which results in a more disciplined approach as compared to Scrum Agile. Wietse Venema stated "Lack of documentation is becoming a problem for acceptance". High level designs will be modelled using both the waterfall and agile scrum approach. On the other hand, for the development phase, testing and release phases the scrum agile methodology will be the best option since there will be the iterative reviews of the system and the involvement of stakeholders during the development process which adds more flexibility. There will also be testing in the development phase since parts of the system during sprints will be tested before and get fixed if any bug is found as compared to waterfall where the system will be tested as a whole when it is completed which may result in tons of codes to be debugged at the end. The involvement of stakeholders when developing the product makes it a great plus for choosing the scrum agile methodology for the developing process since it gathers user’s feedback throughout the development process and make any changes as required by the customer which makes it more inclined towards better customer satisfaction.

2.2 Academic Research

2.2.1 Client Server Architecture

The APU online registration system will be the using the client-server architecture to provide information to its end-users. The client computers basically provide an interface that will allow computer users to request services of the server and then display the result that the server returns.

Diagram of client-server transaction in internet browsing.

Figure 7: Client Server Architecture

(Source: http://contentdeliverance.com/2011/client-server-architecture/)

The Internet Browser will act as the client application i.e. students and staffs application which will be sending requests to the webserver to get the required webpage. The server then processes the request that has been requested from the browser. After processing with the request, the server side will gather the necessary information and sends a response back to the client Browser as illustrated in the diagram above (Samir, 2011).

The client server architecture has been chosen over the peer to peer model because of security reasons. Since the APU registration consists of Login Modules which consist of usernames and passwords to authenticate and authorize users to have access to information on the web server; the client server architecture will be the best since a single server will be hosting all the user credentials stored within the central database and simultaneously managing the access levels of individual users (Muller-Birn, 2011).

The client server Architecture is also chosen because of its high scalability nature to be able to accommodate large amount of data from both the side of the students and the admin. This is because additional resources can be added to the server without any issue (Peter Lancett, 2011).

2.2.1.1 Model View Controller

The model-view controller (MVC) is an architectural pattern that divides the aspect of the application into: the model, view and the controller. The MVC alongside asp.net provide a lightweight, highly testable presentation framework. The MVC pattern helps to create different aspect of the application. The figure below illustrates the components in the MVC pattern (Asp.Net, 2009).

Invoking a controller action that expects a parameter value

Figure 8: Model View Controller

(Source: http://www.asp.net/mvc/tutorials/older-versions/overview/asp-net-mvc-overview)

Models:

Models are the component of the application whereby the logic of the application resides. Often, model state is being retrieved and stored in a database. The model is also known as the input logic.

View:

Views are mostly concentrated with the user interface of the application which means the display of the components.

Controllers:

The controllers are the components that handle the user interaction with the model and hence selecting a view to display the user interface.

2.2.1.2 Justification

The Model View controller pattern has been chosen because since for the APU Online Registration System, the database will be on a cloud therefore MVC has a much higher degree of compatibility with SQL Azure as compared to asp.net web forms. MVC also provides a better code organization structure along with features like extensibility, scalability and code reusability. Testing phases in MVC is also very easy since the code and the int