Evaluation

There was a lot of research required before i was able to create my final database. I needed to find out what it was, why is it useful and i needed to know how to use it. I needed to learn how to make tables, forms, queries and reports which we mainly learnt in class. However, i had to learn how to make a login page and menu on my own and this was the longest part of the whole database as i had to find what all the variables etc. were. I believe i should get 6/6 for this as i spent a long time learning everything and i had everything required included. I had one design for each table relevant to the database and same for the forms. I had in total 6 designs. My designs were sort of complicated and i believe that they should receive either 5 or 6/6 as they are quite good. For my plan, i created a gannt chart and explained it. I had a month for the whole project and everything is laid out on my blog. My plan was very complex and detailed which is why i believe i should get a 6/6. Lastly, for my create, i worked on the project for a long time as i had to research everything about the games and consoles example their publisher, creator etc. Another reason is because i made around 20 queries which were a lot. I also made forms and reports. I made a welcome page with a record lock, thus not allowing anyone to edit my database, as when they click enter, a login screen shows up. This does not allow any unauthorized access as i programmed it that way. This code took me a long time to create as i did not have any understanding for the variables etc. so i had to research. For my create, i definitely think its a 6/6 as it is highly detailed and is not accessible without correct username and passwords. I showed my database to Karan and he evaluated my work. He said that I could improve by adding a welcome page which is why i added one, and so i helped him make the login page and the menu as he gave me a good idea to improve my database.

Designs

These are my final chosen forms for my database and I think these are the best due to the fact that they display all the information i need in one convenient form for each record and this is very useful to the company that hired me to create their database. I only made 1 design per table as there was no way to change the data that i needed to show, and these designs are in the design specification which is in Investigation.

Areas Of Interaction

My areas of interaction are Community and Service as i am providing a service to the company i created "Gamers Gate" by providing them with a complete database with the consoles, games, suppliers, etc. I also have some queries that could help the employees find some games quicker.

Plan

Resources: Windows 7, flash player 7 and Microsoft office 2010/2013.

Here is a Gannt chart of my plan spread out till the end of November:

As shown in the  Gannt chart, I have colored each individual day for the tasks to show how many days I would need to finish those parts. For example dark blue covers 2 days in the beginning , showing that the design will take up to 2 days. In order for me to meet my deadline and the teacher’s deadline, I must follow this chart exactly.

A step by step plan of what I want to achieve:

·         Firstly, I need to make my designs for the tables and forms which will take me around two days

·         Then I will work on my plan for 3 days (this sheet)

·         The next few steps are going to be the most time consuming as it will be the creation of the database

·         Firstly I will create the tables for the suppliers and games etc. for 4 days

·         Following the tables, I will create the relationships and queries which would take me 8 days.

·         After this, I will work on my forms for another 4 days.

·         The last part of my creation will be the reports and I will only work for 3 days on it as it is not too complicated.

·         Finally I will make an final evaluation which will be located on a blog and will be on all the individual criterions and groups starting from A: Investigation all the way to F: Attitudes in Technology.


    My plan was a little off as it took me a lot longer to finish the database than i had anticipated, thus i got delayed however, the due date change helped me as i was still not done, thus i had to use the extra time to get it done and hand it in on time. The login page and menu took me the longest as they were the most complicated.

Design

I have my table designs in my design specification which is in the Investigation post, and my form designs will be posted shortly as they are hand drawn

Investigation

Gamers Gate has asked me to provide them with a database as they had no database making it hard for them to track down their products. They said that if I finish this database before the start of December, I get a free copy of any PS3 game I want.

My customers for my database could also be other games selling shops like Sharaf DG etc. They would probably give me more products if I were to finish this database on time. My customers want a database that shows all the games and consoles available in the market, with all the suppliers and stock quantities.

I will use Microsoft access to create my tables for where all the games and consoles will be shown and also all their suppliers. The people in charge of calling suppliers and selling the products will be in charge of my database as they need to know when stock quantities are low for specific products.

My product will mainly be used when games or consoles are being sold at these stores. The database will be used to check the availability of products. I am going to provide a design solution by giving them my prints of my table and form in design view. I will also show them all my queries so that it will be easier for them to search for something.

My limits on this project are that I have till the end of November to finish this database. My computer systems are adequate for this project and it will be possible for me to create this database with the resources I have. My skills for creating databases are suitable for this project due to the fact that I know how the table works as well as the forms and the queries.

Design Scenario:

A database is a structured set of data held in a computer especially one that is accessible in many ways. I will use Microsoft Access to create a database because it is very user friendly and we have researched most of its capabilities in class. The design view for the tables and the forms will help me create a helpful and useful database. It can help my customers keep records by showing all the stock quantities of consoles and games, and it can show all the prices for these exclusive items. My customer will be able to determine whether or not they have stocks for games that are in high demand, and if there aren’t, he can always call the supplier which is why this will help by customer a lot. An example of keeping records is in Hotels where the receptionists need to check the vacancies of rooms available and the costs for these types of rooms. It will help the employees as they will have access to all the records for their store at any given time which will help sales increase as the service will be better and faster. The computer skills for the people using the database does not have to be very high as it is a very simple concept unless they want to use queries, which will use a higher level of computer thinking etc.

References:

"Database." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 June 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database>.

"Database." Webopedia. N.P., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/database.html>.

I believe that all the resources I have taken information from are effective as they are similar all over the net. I believe these facts are true due to the fact that Wikipedia is the biggest online encyclopedia and my other cite, verified the information taken from Wikipedia.

Area of Interaction:

My chosen area of interaction is Human Ingenuity due to the fact that it has an effect on the employees working in Gamers Gate or any other customer willing to buy my database. This will help the employees as it will be easier for them to check records of whether they have stocks for games and to check the quantities, which will help sales as there will be a lower possible chance of them running out of stock because they can call the suppliers when they are low on stock. This will increase the demand in these stores which will result in huge economic development which will cause rises in pay for the employees, thus improving their lives.

Design Specification:

Game	Text	Name of Game
Creator	Text	Name of Company that created it
Genre	Text	Type of game
Cost	Currency	How much it is worth
Publisher	Text	Company that released it
Stock/Available	Yes/No	Available or not
Console	Alpha Numerical	What is it played on
Supplier Code	Alpha Numerical	Which supplier was it bought from
Date Published	Date/Time	When it was released

Supplier Company	Text
Telephone Number	Number
Fax	Number
Supplier Code	Alpha Numerical

Console Name	Text	Name of Console
Creator	Alpha Numerical	Company that created it
Cost	Currency	How much it is worth
Available	Yes/No	Is it available in the store
Supplier Code	Alpha Numerical
Date Released	Date/Time

For this, I will create three tables, one for the games and about the game, one for the consoles and about them and lastly one about where the company buys the games from and the details of the company like the telephone number etc.

Questionnaire:

Hi sir, before I start with the database, I need you to answer a few questions.

What is the range of the publicity date?

Most of our books are new and have been up to date, however we still provide games from 2006+ as we buy and sell them cheaper which is why clients buy them a lot.

2.                  Which genre has the most demand in your company?

In our store, the games with either action or sport get sold the most, and our best sellers are Call of Duty and FIFA.

3.                  How much would you sell your games for?

Honestly, it depends on how much we buy it for from the suppliers because we need to make a bit of a profit in order to survive.

4.                  Which publishers do you buy most from?

We mainly buy from well-known publishers such as Gameloft or other companies that are reliable; however upcoming publishers are also helpful.

5.                  How many people have you employed?

Right Now, I have currently employed 3 people as my shop isn’t that big and I only need one cashier, and two people to help our customers.

6.                  What type of games do you sell?

We sell all types of games that we can get our hands on, and we make all sorts of deals with the publisher to give us as many different games as possible.

7.                  Do you make a lot of sales?

We do make a lot of sales, especially during the winter and summer breaks as that’s when most people are in town and the demand is the highest.

8.                  Do you put certain events to attract customers?

Yes, for example we have special winter deals and we also pout many of the old games together and sell them in pairs for cheaper prices.

9.                  Will you try to improve your store by making it look better?

Yes, because we need to be able to compete with other games selling companies which is why we keep our store clean and organized.

Introduction

We are creating databases for an Information Technology project; my topic will be the companies that sell games. I arrived at this conclusion due to the fact that out of my three options, which were; football tournament, sports shop, I felt that the games company would be more interesting as there are more products to be sold and I like games like FIFA. I will be using a program we learnt in class which is Microsoft Access