CASE STUDY THE STUDENT BOOK EXCHANGE (SBE) SYSTEM A student organization, the Club for Over-Achievers (CFOA), has an opp

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CASE STUDY
THE STUDENT BOOK EXCHANGE (SBE) SYSTEM
A student organization, the Club for
Over-Achievers (CFOA), has an opportunity to start a student book
exchange at Indiana State University (ISU) in USA. Up to this
point, there have been a few informal discussions between other
members of CFOA, university administration, and the bookstore. From
those discussions, the following requirements have been put
together.
Note that this textual specification
mixes together both functional and nonfunctional requirements.
Moreover, it does not explicitly distinguish between those tasks
and functionalities that are within the information (i.e.
computerized) system boundary and those that fall outside this
boundary. In other words, the SBE system description includes both
functionalities that can be computerized (by introducing a
software-based information system) and functionalities that will
always be performed by humans. You may decide to produce a
specification for the whole business model (i.e. for both the
computerized AND the non-computerized functionalities of the SBE
system). In this case, you will denote the computerized system as a
subsystem of the whole SBE system. Such subsystem will have to be
explicitly contained within suitable boundaries in the UML use case
diagram of the whole SBE system boundary. Alternatively, you may
decide to produce a specification for the sole computerized (i.e.
software based) functionalities of the SBE system. In this case,
all the non-automated functionalities described below will have to
be left out of your use case specification. In both cases, you must
explicitly state whether you are describing the whole SBE system or
just its software-based part.
General
Requirements
The following general requirements are
at the core of the CFOA operations. All books will be sold on a
consignment basis. This means that CFOA will not actually buy used
books from students to resell; it will simply act as an agent to
bring buyers and sellers together. CFOA will charge a consignment
fee based on a percentage of the sales price.
CFOA will take possession of books to
be sold. It is expected that most students will choose to place
their books on consignment at the end of the semester, and CFOA
will hold the books until the following semester, when most
students buy their books. No one is sure how many students will
choose to use the bookstore, but the book exchange should be able
to handle several thousand books each semester.
General description of the
“turn-in” and sales process
The following processes are used to
obtain books for consignment:
Minimum information
To allow for adequate business
decision-making, controls, and accountability, the following
information must be available at a minimum:
Book Exchanges
The consignment process will consist
of two main stations. Station A will be manned with two to
three personnel (Clerk A). Station B
will be manned by one to two personnel (Clerk B).
A supervisor will oversee the
operations of the Exchange. The supervisor will also be
available
at the front of the process to inform
students of the Exchange’s purpose and general procedures.
This will allow clerks A and B to
concentrate on their specific duties in an effort to consign books
as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Clerk A completes the following
steps:
number,
course).
sign a contract and
proceed to Clerk B.
Clerk B completes the following
steps:
More specific
details
Clerk A: A
student will bring one or multiple book(s) to be consigned. Clerk A
will look up each of the student’s books (by author) to determine
if it is listed in the valid book list. Clerk A will fill out the
book information (one contract per book) for the number of valid
books that the student has and will also help the student determine
a reasonable selling price.
Clerk A will also make sure that the
student understands exactly what dollar amount he/she will receive
for his/her book if it is sold. This amount will be calculated as
90% of the selling price (the 10% is the Exchange’s commission) and
will be written in the “Your Profit” blank.
Clerk A will then instruct the student
to proceed to another table to fill out his/her mailing address
information as well as read the terms of the contract.
Important Time Saver: If the
student has multiple contracts, the student only need fill out
his/her name, address, city, state, and zip on one contract. On the
others, he/she need only write in his/her last and first name. This
will reduce the student’s time of filling out forms.
Clerk B:
Clerk B will make sure that the student has signed each contract
and correctly filled in
the mailing address section. Clerk B
will then sign and separate the contract into its three parts.
1. The bottom copy (pink) will be
given to the student.
2. The top (white) copy will be taped
to the inside cover of the book.
3. The middle copy (yellow) will be
filed for later batch data entry into the computer database.
As indicated above, if the student has
multiple books, the student need only fill out the top information
box in its entirety once. On the rest of the contracts, the student
need only fill out his/her last and first name. Clerk B will staple
all the yellow copies together (with the one that has the complete
information on the top) and place these in the file for later data
entry into the computer database.
Before the student leaves with the
completed contract for each consigned book, Clerk B will give the
student an information sheet that indicates the selling times and
where & when checks and unsold books can be picked up.
After the student leaves, Clerk B will
write the contract number and selling price on small stickers
(contract number on one, and selling price on another) and place
these stickers on the
bottom of the book’s binding. Contract
number should be placed above selling price.
Sales
Process
There will be two main functions in
the sales process. Clerk A will retrieve books and clerk B will
record the sale and collect payment.
A student will hand his/her class list
to clerk A. The clerk will then look at an inventory listing of
books to determine if it is in inventory. The inventory list will
be printed out at the close of the consignment process and will be
updated by batches after each day of the selling process. Although
the inventory list will become outdated very quickly during the
selling process, its primary purpose is to give the clerk an
ability to check a list at the counter without going to check the
physical inventory for books that the Exchange absolutely does not
have. During heavy selling times, the inventory list will be
updated periodically throughout the day. During light selling
times, the inventory list will only be updated nightly. Clerk A
will then retrieve the books that the student needs from the
physical inventory stacks.
Books will be sold on a Low Cost First
Out (LCFO) basis. Books with the same price will be sold based on
lowest contract number, that is, the book that was consigned first.
The clerk will quickly scan the price stickers on the books binding
and grab the appropriate book. The clerk will show the student and
say “this is the book with the lowest price, will this be ok?”
After retrieving all the books for the student and pending student
approval of each book on his/her class list, the clerk will then
instruct the student to proceed to the cash register.
Clerk B, who will operate the cash
register, will remove the white copy of the contract from the
inside of the book(s), stamp the books with a special “Book
Exchange” stamp with blanks for selling price and sold date, and
enter in the selling price and sold date. The clerk will total the
sale, adding a 5% state of Idaho tax on the total sales amount, and
collect the money from the student. The register will print a sales
receipt for the student and a copy for the Exchange. The white copy
of the contracts will be placed in a file for later batch data
entry.
Engagement of a System
Analyst/Consultant
Considering the many problems that
users have been encountering with the current information system
being used for the Students Book Exchange operations, the Club for
Over-Achievers (CFOA) has appointed you as a System
Analyst/Consultant to lead a team of IT professionals to upgrade
the system. With recommendations from Indiana State University
Board of Directors, sufficient funding has been received from the
Alumni Association of Indiana State University (AAISU) to support
this project.
QUESTION
1. Identify five data files that will
be used in the Student Book Exchange (SBE) System; and construct a
comprehensive Data Dictionary for each of the five data files you
have identified.