Unit 9 – IT Project Management ASSIGNMENT 2 (Learning Aim B&C)

Unit 9 – IT Project Management (Learning Aim B&C) Learning Aim B – Carry out a project initiation for an IT project Unit Introduction: In this assignment, I will be initiating the project by researching a problem by using my creative skills to generate a range of solutions. I will investigate two solutions to my web development problem. I will also undertake a feasibility study to select an appropriate solution and outline the requirements of the project. Furthermore, I will be planning and executing to undertake a major project as part of my BTEC course. Finally, I will be carrying out the plans that I have made by using an appropriate methodology to explain and analyse the useful contents and by investigating the benefits and drawbacks of this methodology. Initiating the Project: Scenario/User Requirements: Performance Indicators for measuring the success of Hot Beans Web New Innovative website: • A profile of the company itself - - - - A subpage stating all of the company’s awards received A short paragraph stating the company’s history A short paragraph stating what are the company’s key values An insight into what the development process would look like for a potential customer • Profiles of existing trainee web developers - - Personal Statement from each trainee web developers Comments from CEO on each trainee web developer • Job Specification and all required qualifications - - - - Paragraph containing the expected work ethic of a new potential web developer for Hot Beans Fact File which easily shows at a glance the overall job description The required qualifications or substitutes (where applicable) Advertise the courses offered by Hot Beans and what qualification would be awarded • An online application form - Hyperlinks which opens a Google Forms Application Form for the user to fill in and automatically be sent off for processing by recruitment officer • Links to web development courses - - Links to Google Forms for each online course Hot Beans offer and the application form should all the user to select the relevant course they wish to partake in Clear instructions for payment method and the terms and conditions for how payment should be completed The Scenario to Initiate the Project will include: o Each subpage will have their own navigation button at the top of the main menu o The main menu will contain the buttons for each subpage and also a button navigating the user back the ‘home’ page o Google Forms will be created and hyperlinked into the website allowing users to apply for these courses from the comfort of their own home o The staff profiles being added into the website is the make the audience feel more included and like they have the ability to get to know the staff they may be working with as employees or as customers if they wish to avail of Hot Beans services of web development in the future. Scope of the Project: The scope of this project will cover the requirements which are stated above, allowing the user to navigate easily around the website, being able to read about the history of the company, while also being able to register a place at one of Hot Beans prestigious courses. There will be hyperlinks allowing the user to open the Google Forms which allows them to complete the booking, however payment will be taken over the phone once Hot Beans staff call the applicant to confirm their booking of the relevant course Input of the Project: The input of this project will be the individuals applying for course, the form will collect their Title, Full Name, Date of Birth, Current Occupation and also and Telephone Number and Email Address – this will allow the admin staff at Hot Beans to prioritise users on a ‘first come first serve basis’ meaning that if you want to book a place at Hot Beans, you have to get your place booked quickly, other users records are stored on the responses of the form because if someone who has secured a place, and pulls out of the course, the next person in line can then be contacted to offer them a place on the course Process of the Project: The process of this project includes; the input information is collected and then stored in the response section of the Google Form created for the course. This allows the Hot Beans Admin staff to view who submitted their form first to fulfil their ‘first come first serve’ system and allow them to contact customers accordingly. Output of the Project: The output of this project would be the retrieval of the information provided via the Google Form response section and then the admin staff then email or telephone the relevant people to confirm their booking – the list shows the order that the people have applied in order to keep the ‘first come first serve’ policy Storage of the Project: Google Forms are stored on a cloud-based storage system through your Google Account, in the event of the forms becoming deleted they are stored in your ‘bin’ for 30days, giving the company plenty of time to restore the forms should this occur. The website however should be stored on a centrally based server, which has regular backups taken should the main server become damaged, the backup (stored offsite) will have the website stored with a relatively recent version (if not the latest version) meaning little to no data will be lost User Interface of the Project: The interface that I have chosen for this website is Graphical User Interface (GUI) as this type of interface is visually instinctive/intuitive to use and suitable for this type of project. This type of interface allows users to utilise the facilities available with ease using icons and buttons and also not having to already acquired training on using other text-based interfaces such as Command Line Interfaces (CLI) which provides a simple text based layout. This kind of interface would need user to manually enter the commands and names of folders etc. they wish to open, meaning they would need to be very IT savvy to navigate the website. Also, it is very plain and simple and has no ability to be modified to look appealing, leaving the company no ability to make the business shine in a good light through use of colourful images or banners, making GUI the most suitable interface for this project. Project completion duration When creating my project, there will be a Gantt chart created showing a more detailed version of the timeline planned for the duration of the development of Hot Beans new website and associated online application forms, should any of the stages go on longer than expected, this will be documented as part of an attached diary log. Project Lifecycle: Phases Input Output Initiation User Requirements User Constraints Feasibility Report Legislation Implications Phase review and next steps Planning Feasibility Report Legislation Implications Project and test plans Constraint’s list Next Steps Phase review Execution Project and test plans Constrains list Deliverable product Test results Phase review Evaluation Deliverable product Test results Release of deliverable product User documentation Final evaluation report In the first assignment I studied methodologies in detail and I learned that it is important to choose a methodology based on the requirements of my project. As Hot Beans has asked me to set up a website as part of my training I am going to use the Waterfall methodology. I am working on this project on my own with input from other departments in Hot Beans. I am constrained with time as I have a tight hand in date, I will have a discussion with the client at the start of the project but I don’t want to be going back for continuous direction. I intend to get my ideas documented early on and then be free to implement the prototyping and design stages. I will test my website near the end of the project. My research also showed me that waterfall methodology is recommended for software development and website development. Introduction to Proposal 1: Microsoft Expression Web The first proposal I am going to be considering becoming part of my final solution is to use Microsoft Expression Web to be the main design programme for Hot Beans Web new website. Using a programme such as this allows for the raw code to be edited in order to add additional features such as scrolling images or accessibility features such as the ability to increase or decrease the font to suit the user. Also from a design perspective, it allows the developer to have free reign with how they want the new website to work (buttons, hyperlinks etc.), and how the pages will look. In addition to this, any bugs can be identified and fixed, just by looking at the code Introduction to Proposal 2: Google Sites The second proposal I’ll be considering using Google Sites. This software comes free with a Google Account – meaning anyone with a Google Account can access Sites to develop and alter their own website, this package comes with a range of different templates meaning