Background Macro Off-Center must dramatically improve its ability to track inventory in a timely, cost-effective, flexible and quality manner. Specific program goals include achievement of at least an order of magnitude productivity improvement. -
To develop and implement a web based database system to track computer inventory for Macro Off-Center. The project will include -
The gathering of data and the creation of a database, consisting of the required fields as requested by the stakeholders -
Making sure that the current system will be compatible with the deployed product Creation of a user friendly web interface. The smooth operation of the web interface and the database back end. The database and the web interface should be secure and only authorized personal should have access. The creation of reports that can be created based on the queries of the user. The outcome of this project is that administration will have an up-to-date record of inventory, with out the hassle of knowing complicated database programs to access the database. The ease of use, for all administration should reduce time in the decision making process. Assuming that current staff and management at the Macro Off-Center are completely behind this project and the legacy system is compatible. I would expect us to complete this project with out major setbacks. External deliverables that will be reported to the user namely the web interface should be user friendly and easy to comprehend. Queries generation should be simple and meet user requirements. Concept Definition The Enterprise Tracking System is a multi-purpose, web-based database which allows the user to keep intact, updated and accurate records i.e. content of their asset inventory. Enterprise Tracking System, Trackit enables the user to enter or update any necessary content for each piece of asset they own (i.e. location, stock number, ID number, etc) and then run a report which will allow them to see any content that was entered. For example, if a user wants to know which pieces of hardware are located in a particular room of a building, the user will be able to type in, for example, Room 311D and receive a report which lists all hardware in that room and give the user access to other information they may need for a particular piece in that room (i.e. warranty information, stock number, last update, etc.) They can also track down a particular piece of asset by searching for the stock number or ID number.
The three main searching and tracking methods will be the Serial Number, Tag Number and by Location. The user will also have the ability to record other important information as well such as warrantee information, last recorded update, clean up, etc. Trackit is both convenient and secure in that it has the option for two different user groups, administrators and general users. Only administrators can manage the content and users only have access to certain information that the administrators deem necessary for the user. As Trackit is web-based, it
provides the user with the ability to work from remote locations and not be confined to a particular computer that holds the database or waste valuable space. Audience / Users The users of the application would be Business and Organizations like Hospitals, Universities, schools, IT Companies etc. who intend to keep track of their IT assets. Risks | Risk Area | Assessment | Impact | Mitigation | | Leadership, Support and Buy-In | High | Project requires support by Macro Off-Center Department Heads for the database solution. | Dedicated change management effort. | | Staffing | Medium | Success of project depends on ability to staff with credible experience in the technical areas. | Use of 3rd party vendors to build internal expertise; staffing assessment at each project review. | | Cost | Low | Software is open source. Cost of hardware and infrastructure | Develop a total life cycle cost estimate during concept validation as part of the milestone decision. | | Schedule | Medium | Current industry practices indicate 6-12 months were required to institute a web based database. | Introduction of web based database into Macro Off-Center based on requirements of departments. | | Scope | Low | Successful completion of concept validation will result in a client-wide implementation. | - | | Quality | Unknown | This risk factor will depend on the results of concept validation. | Continue to understand Macro Off-center’s departmental requirements for repeatable processes and rigor. | Business Process Flow Any Company / Organization who are interested in tracking their assets need to contact Trackit customer support to add their company into the system. Once the information is validated by Trackit, a new company account is created and the user is notified with their Login Id and Password. Then on, the Administrator of the company can manage their company assets by logging into Trackit system. The Administrator is allowed to add Users, Locations of their company and Asset Inventory. He/She has the option of using Search screen to track at Inventory and update it. Design Trackit was designed with business concept in mind. Its design and development architecture allows delegation of task and sub-task to different developers, which made application integration easy. Front End Trackit Graphical User Interface allows easy Navigation and User personalization like changing color of application, addition of URLs, etc. Right section of page is used to URL, Search and space for ad Images.
Application Trackit Application detects login and determines user privileges. Depending upon privileges it allows the user to view or manage company information. For Example, Super user (Trackit Customer support) can add new company info, Search for all companies Inventory. Administrator of Company can add, update Locations, Users and Inventory of their individual companies. Whereas users are allowed to View Inventory using Search screen of only their company.
Technology Technologies used are XHTML, HTML, DTML, CSS, Plone, Python, Zope Platform, MySQL and JavaScript. Plone, Python, Zope and MySQL are open source products i.e. they are free Database The following schema structure the Enterprise Tracking System, Trackit - all the tables have insert, update and delete privileges. Most of the tables are linked together with Primary and Foreign keys, most privileges to restrict user access obtained by userid and inventory restriction to the specified user are restricted by userid and companyid. This schema is normalized and could handle the performance issues by creating indexes on most used column in the search criteria. Table Name: MAIN | Mainid | Not Null | Integer(10) | Primary Key,
Auto Generation | | Locationid | Not Null | Integer (10),
Foreign Key | | | Companyid | Not Null | Integer (10),
Foreign Key | | Userid | Not Null | Integer (10),
Foreign Key | | Modelnum | Null | Varchar(30) | | PurchaseDate | Null | Date | | SerialNum | Null | Varchar(30) | | TagNum | Null | Varchar(20) | | ComputerName | Null | Varchar(30) | | Table Name: COMPANY Companyid | Not Null | Integer(10) | PrimaryKey,
Auto Generation | CompanyName | Null | Varchar(30) | | Address | Null | Varchar(50) | | Table Name: LOCATION Locationid | Not Null | Integer(10) | Primary Key,
Auto Generation | Companyid | Not Null | Integer(10) | | Location | Not Null | Varchar(30) | | sublocation | Null | Varchar(25) | | Table Name: USERS Userid | Not Null | Integer(10) | Primary Key,
AutoGeneration | Username | Not Null | Varchar(30) | | Password | Not Null | Varchar(30) | | Lastname | Not Null | Varchar(30) | | Firstname | Not Null | Varchar(30) | | Emailaddress | Null | Varchar(50) | | Status | Not Null | Varchar(30) | | Companyid | Not Null | Integer(10) | | Customer | Null | Varchar(25) | | Description | Not Null | Varchar(100) | | Institution | Null | Varchar(30) | | Url | Null | Varchar(50) | | Phone | Null | Varchar(30) | | Table Name: CSSMAIN Cssmainid | Not Null | Integer(10) | Primary Key,
Auto Generation | Status | Not Null | Varchar(30) | | Text | Not Null | Varchar(30) | | Name | Not Null | Varchar(30) | | Table Name: LINKS Linkid | Not Null | Integer(10) | Primary Key,
Auto Generation | Companyname_url | Null | Varchar(50) | | Linkname | Not Null | Varchar(100) | | Sponsor: Application Design Engineer and Architect
|
