Data Science School Information Management System - Project Development And Cost Benefit Analysis Essay.

Aims

“Data Science School” is one of the well-known Registered Training organizations of Australia. The owners of this organization have expressed their interests in developing information system for keeping the records of the students enrolled with them. The aims and objectives of the project are being provided in the section below:

The primary  aim of the project is to develop a student  information management system  that  would allow both  students and their  agents to utilize  the services  of  DSS.

1. To develop an automated information management  system for the students
2. To put an end to the manual record  maintenance  system prevalent  at Data Science School
3. To ensure a secured and  error –free  system of  record maintenance

 The term ‘System development methodology’ is  used  to refer to  the particular framework according to  which the entire process  of  designing and implementing an  information system is  structured,  planned, conducted  and  monitored.  Some of the most widely utilized system development methodologies include the waterfall model, the agile development methodology, and the spiral model and so on and so forth. Among the said models, the waterfall model would be utilized in this project.

  The waterfall model, also known as the linear-sequential life cycle model, is considered as one of the most traditional methods of software or information system development. The model divides all the project activities into the following phases:

1. System requirements identification phase: Identification of the specific requirements of the system being implemented
2. System Analysis: Development of the schemas, models and business rules to be implemented in the project
3. Design phase: Designing  the architecture of  the system to be  implemented
4. Coding phase: The practical implementation of the  system
5. Testing phase: Testing the functional operations of the system
6. Operations phase: Installing the system at  the client  side and providing the post implementation services

 The waterfall model would be utilized for the following reasons:

1. Allows the identification of specific requirements
2. Identification of resources (human resources, time, and schedule) required for project is possible in the initial phases
3. No ambiguity in project scope or requirement

 The functional and non-functional requirements of the project have been highlighted in the section below:

 The student information system being developed through the project should support the undermentioned   functionalities:

1. The system being developed should allow the students interested in enrolling themselves to “Data Science School” to create their own accounts on the online portal and update their names, addresses, emails and other details in the same. The students would also be able to upload the details of the VISA and other official documents they possess on the very same account.
2. The system being designed should allow the employees of “Data Science School” to maintain all the records of the school using automated methods.
3. The system being designed should allow the students and their agents to view the details of the courses conducted by the school and apply to the same.
4. The system should also provide the students with the detail of the progress they made on the courses they undertake.
5. The system must allow the students to pay their course fees through online payment gateways.
6. The system should include reporting facilities: however, this particular functionality would be available only to the employees of DSS.

 The non-functional requirements of the project are:

1. The system should be accessible through all well-known web browsers
2. The system should have very low response time
3. The system should include secured mechanisms for accessing the student details
4. The system should be reliable and easy to maintain

 Table 1: Cost Benefit Analysis

The calculations provided in the table above indicate that the total development cost of the project is $150,000, while the discount rate is 5 percent. Therefore, the net present value of the project after 5 years is the Net present value after 5 years is $175,500.00.

The calculations also indicate that the break-even period of the project is 2.74 years.

The following tasks are   associated with the project under consideration:

Table 2: Work Breakdown structure of the project 

Figure 1: Gantt chart of the project

It is evident from the WBS dictionary and Gantt chart of the project that WBS of the project is essentially utilized in developing the project schedule. In fact, associating an estimated time period to   each of the project activities leads to the development of project schedule.

The schedule estimation of the project has been based on the previous experiences of the project manager, as gained from working on similar projects Thus, the schedule   is reasonable.

 The stakeholders associated with the project are:

1. John Smith and his family members, as they are the owners of Data Science School
2. The Project Manager
3. All the resources working on the project
4. The students enrolled to Data Science School
5. The agents having business relationships with Data Science School

 The following techniques would be utilized in the project:

1. Interviewing: The owners of DSS would be interviewed in order to gain information regarding the functionalities that they want to be included the newly developed system. Interviewing the owners would help allow the project team to collect detailed knowledge regarding the specific requirements of the project.
2. Observation: The project team members would observe the day to day activities of the organization, so as to collect information regarding the manner in which the organization operates.
3. Survey: The employees of DSS would be requested to  participate  in  survey  aimed at  identifying the issue that they experience on a daily basis while managing  the  records of  DSS.

Reflections and Conclusions

I   was able to gain in-depth knowledge regarding project management systems through the research work that I conducted for documenting this assignment. I studied the various system development methodologies in details, besides gaining idea about the functional and non-functional requirements of any information system.

 I also learnt the techniques of conducting the Cost Benefit Analysis of the project, along with the development of project schedules. Thus, it can be said that I gained a hands-on experience of project management while working on this assignment.

References

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