design and implementation of scalable distributed hotels ...

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SCALABLE DISTRIBUTEDHOTELS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR

AN ONLINE TOURIST AGENCY

CASE STUDY:

DAY TO DAY CLASSIC HOTEL, KAMPALA, UGANDA

BY

MOHAMED MOHAMUD GEES

BIT/10061181/DF

A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TO SCHOOL OF COMPUTERSTUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE

BACHELORS DEGREE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OFKAMPALA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

JUNE, 2011

DECLARATION

I MOIIAMED MOHAMUD GEES do hereby declare to the best of knowledge that this project

is my original work and that is has never been submitted to any University or’ any other

Institution.

MOHAMED MOHAMUI) GEES

Signed: . ~

Date:.

APPROVAL

This Graduation project report titled “DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SCALABLE

DISTRIBUTED HOTELS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AN ONLINE TOURIST

AGENCY” has been submitted with the approval of the following supervisor.

Signature Date: 2~~4 IMr. Ochen Moses

Department of Information Technology

School of Computer Studies

DEDICATION

I dedicate this piece of work to my dear parents , Aisha Farah and Moharnud Mohamed , brothers

and sisters,Ismahan Said Gees, Ahmed, Fatima, Amina, Amal, Ramla and Abdikani without whom

my education would not have been a success .1 also thank Mr. Ochen Moses ( Supervisor) for his

struggle in spending his time to guide me. I can’t forget to extend my thanks to my best friend

Osman Ismail Osman (Horn) for his support and encouragement in my education and those not

mentioned, you have been very instrumental in my academic life, may the Almighty Allah bless you.

II

Table of Contents

DECLARATION

APPROVAL

DEDICATION

List of Tables

LIST FIGURES

LIST OF ABBREVIATON

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE 1

INTRODUCTION 1

1.0 Introduction 1

1.1 Background

1.2 Statement of the Problem 1

1.3 Objectives of the Study 2

1.3.1 Main objective 2

1.3.2 Specific Objectives 2

1.4 Scope of the Study 2

1.5 Justification of the Study 3

1.6 Limitations of the study 3

1.7 Conclusion 3

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Overview

2.lHotel 5

2.2 Database System

2.2.1 Approach to Database Systems s

iv

2.3 Database Management System (DBMS). 7

2.3.1 DBMS Features and capabilities 7

2.4 Information technology services in organization 8

2.5 Advantages of Hotel Management System 9

2.6 Microsoft Access

2.7 Visual Basic 10

2. 7.1 Visual Basic .NET 10

2.8 Analysis and Design Structure

2.8.1 Systenz Development Lif~ Cycle 11

CHAPTER THREE 13

METHODOLOGY 13

3.0 INTRODUCTION 13

3.1 Population of the area of study 13

3.2 Data collection Methods 13

3.2.1 Primaiy Methods 13

3.2.1 Secondajy Methods 15

3.3 Analysis of the current system 16

3.4.1 Strengths of the current system 16

3.4.2 Weakness ofthe current s3~stem 16

3.4 System specification 16

3.5 Design Tools 17

3.6 Development Tools for the system 17

3.6.1 Operating System 17

3.6.2 Programming Languages 18

3.6.3 Database Management System 18

3.7 Functional requirements 18

3.8 Feasibility study 19

3.8.1 Benefits of the Feasibility Study 19

3.8.2 Feasibility report 19

3.9 Conclusion 19

V

CHAPTERFOUR .20

SYSTEM DESIGN 20

4.0 INTRODUCTION 20

4.1 Entity Relationship Diagram of the new system 20

4.2 Class Diagram 24

4.3 DATA FLOW DIAGRAM 26

4.3 DATABASE DESIGN 29

4.3.1 Table Structures 29

4.3.2 Data Input Design 31

4.3.3 Data Output Design 31

4.4 Conclusion 31

CHAPTER FIVE 32

SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION 32

5.0 Introduction 32

5.1 Program Testing 32

5.2 User Training and Documentation 33

5.3 System implementation 34

5.4 User interface 36

5.5 User Training and Documentation 43

5.6 Operation System and Support 43

5.7 Adapting the system to new requirements 44

5.8 Maintenance 44

5.9 Conclusion 44

CHAPTER SIX 45

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 45

6.0 Introduction 45

6.1 Recommendations 45

6.2 Areas for Further Work 45

vi

6.3 Conclusion .46

BIBLIOGRAPHY 47

APPENDICES 48

APPENDIX A 48

APPENDIX B 52

APPENDIX C 53

APPENDIX D 54

APPENDIXE 55

VI

List of Tables

Table 4.1 Guest information 29

Table4.2 Staff Table 29

Table 4,3 Payment Table 30

Table4.4 ExpensesTable 30

Table 4,5 Room Table 30

Table4.6 OtherChargesTable 31

Table 7.1 Work plan 52

VII I

LIST FIGURES

Figure 2.1 System Development Life Cycle

Figure 4.1 Entity Relationship Diagram 23

Figure 4.2 Relationship among Entities 23

Figure 4.3 Class Diagram for the new System 25

Figure 4.4 Data flow diagram for check in new Guest 27

Figure 4.5 Data flow Diagram for check out a Guest 28

Figure 4.6 Data flow Diagram for Generating a Bill for the Guest 29

Figure 5.1 Structural Overview of the new System 36

Figure 5.2 Splash Form Loading 37

Figure 5.3 Login Form 38

Figure 5.4 Login Form Confirmation Message 38

Figure 5.5 Main Menu 40

Figure 5.6 Guest Details 41

Figure 5.7 Staff Details Form 42

Figure 5.8 Expenses Report 43

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LIST OF ABBREVIATON

HMS Hotel Management System

DDCH Day to Day Classic Hotel

DB Database

DBMS Database Management System

IT Information Technology

DML Data Manipulation Language

DDL Data Definition Language

VB Visual Basic

SDLC System Development Life Cycle

GUI Graphic User Interface

JAD Joint Application Development

RAD Rapid Application Development

PIM Personal Information Management

RAM Random Access Memory

CPU Central Processing Unit

GB GigaByte

MB Mega Byte

GHz Giga Hertz

x

ABSTRACT

Hotel Management System (HMS) has great impact on the day to day activities in most hotels

they among others they provide improved data accessibility, data integrity, security of

information and so on.

Today, the trend in most Hotels has shifted from the traditional and manual way of booking and

managing the hotels to a modern and organized way. Because of the, Day to Day Classic Hotel

(DDCH) could not be left behind and it fully shares the advantages of the computerized systems.

This system has enabled DDCH to keep track of Guest’s records, permits fast access to the

guest’s information, easy backup of data, simplifying the booking and alt of space has been

saved. It has further improved on the security of the system’ to access the system one must be

authenticated by use of user name and password.

xi

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

In today’s advanced technology environment, where running a hospitality business is tough,

guests are choosy; agents are demanding more, markets are extremely volatile and time lines are

short, no hotelier can ignore the explosive growth of electronic bookings powered by hotel

reservation software systems, the trend of using a new cost-effective system that will enable the

capturing of important data or information for hotel management.

Hotels need to maintain the record of guests and reserve rooms beforehand.

Customers should be able to know the availability of the rooms on a particular date. They should

be able to reserve the available rooms according to their need in advance. To make their stay

comfortable, they are provided with food and other services. The record of the food taken by

each customer and the services availed by the customer should be kept. These records help in

generating bill.

1.1 Background

Day to day classic hotel was started in the year 2008 in Kampala City; the capital city of

Republic of Uganda. Since that year the hotel has expanded tremendously recording very high

number of customers and guests, with this development the management started to extend the

hotel buildings by adding various building including well organized meeting halls, Car parking

for the guest cars, internet cafés and so on.

Due to the high demand and the expansions, the hotel has been experiencing some reservation

and operational problems and to overcome these problems the management concluded on having

a computerized system that will effectively solve the reservation problems hence these system

was initiated.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

According to the management of Day to day classic hotel, the hotel still uses the traditional way

of hotel reservation. Which poses a number of problems since it’s a paper based system. There is

a high risk of losing data or information and exposing hotel information to unauthorized users.

1

This information on the paper can be altered with and may cause a serious loss to the hotel.

Since hotel reservations and bookings are manually made there is a high chance of double

booking which may cause customer dissatisfaction. The manual handling of record is time

consuming and highly prone to elTor, retrieving information of the guests who spent in the hotel

previously for auditing purposes is also difficult. It is also difficult for the reservation staffs to

know the rooms in detail when the hotel has maity rooms and may lead to staffs giving wrong

information to customers. Customers are opting for other competitors who are having a better

reservation and booking systems.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

1.3.1 Main objective

The main aim of the study is to automate the process of day to day activities of the Hotel like

Room activities, Admission of a New Customer, Assign a room according to customer’s

demand, checkout of a computer, releasing the room and finally compute the bill etc.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

Specifically the study involves;

o Automating the reservation process of the hotel.

o To offer the hotel management staff complete control over the hotel’s reservation by

empowering them with timely and relevant information.

o The system should be able to keep the records of the guests and the room allotted to

them.

• The record of food and services availed by the customer should be kept.

o The system should be able to generate the bill for a customer.

1.4 Scope of the Study

The study involves designing and implementing hotel Management System for Day to day

classic hotel. It automates activities like room details, guest details, services offered; service

received by the guest and later generates report for the bill and other vital information needed by

the hotel management.

2

1.5 Justification of the Study

Due to the inconsistence in the current systent used by the hotel such as double bookings,

difficulty in updating and retrieving data and loss of information the designed system will have

the following features which will enable the hotel to meet the modern way of hotel reservation:

No Paper Work Required

• Time efficiency

• Cost Efficient

• Automatic data validation

• User friendly environment

• No data duplication

• Data security and reliability

• Fast data insertion & retrieval

• Easy performance check

1.6 Limitations of the study

i. Time constraints: the time frame given within which the new system was to be developed

was too short and this results the system to be error prone during the development period.

ii. Budget constraints: extensive development on the system and addition of more

functionality was hindered by lack of funds.

iii. Power shortage: during the documentation process power problem was experienced

which made the process difficult

iv. Computer illiteracy: since the hotel staffs were computer illiterate and were using the

paper based system it was much difficult to make them understand the functionalities of

the computer systems and it took longer time than planned to make them comfortable

with the system and its usage.

v. The research was carried along side with studying other course units and also preparing

for examination, this has given me less time to concentrate on developing the project.

1.7 Conclusion

Since this is a crucial stage in system development lifecycle the current system was studied in

details, the problems were studied clearly; some of the user requirements are highlighted and

3

solutions were identified. The next chapter will cover what other researchers have written about

the subject of the study.

4

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Overview

The aim of this chapter was to study how the Hotels Management System were to be put in

place. Related information was mainly extracted from published database system books, System

Analysis books, internet and previously published journals and dissertations.

2.1 Hotel

An anonymous author in a website article, Anonymous (2010) defines a hotel as an

establishment that provides paid lodging, usually on a short-term basis. Hotels oflen provide a

number of additional guest services such as a restaurant, a swimming pool, or childcare. Some

hotels have conference services and meeting rooms and encourage groups to hold conventioi~s

and meetings at these facilities.

The same author goes on to add that, hotels differ from motels in that most motels have drive-up,

exterior entrances to the rooms, while hotels tend to have interior entrances to the rooms, which

may increase guests’ safety and present a more up market image.

2.2 Database System

Database Systems refer to the storage, retrieval, and manipulation of data. Many existing

information systems were designed using traditional approaches to data management but the

trend has shifted to the use of database approach to develop new information systems. According

to Long, (1989) a database is the resource for all computer based information systems. By

definition, a database is a collection of files that are in some way logically related so that data

redundancy is minimized.

2.2.1 Approach to Database Systems

According to Long (2002), there are three fundamental approaches to design database system

namely; Hierarchical approach, Network DBMS approach and the relational DBMS approach.

5

Hierarchical DBMS approach

Although network and relational DBMS technologies are considered superior to the hierarchical

DBMS technology, the hierarchical approach remains the most commonly used.

This is more as a result of momen~Jm than choice. Information management system a

hierarchical product was by 1968 the game on shelves and this made it become more popular. It

can be run on today’s hardware.

It does not have the scope of features of more sophisticated network and relational DBMS’.

Never the less, all new developments in the area of database management system use network or

relational technologies.

Hierarchical DBMS is based on three data structures, actually an uprooted tree turned upside

down. They are easy to understand and conceptualize.

~ Network or CODA5YL DBMS

This approach to data management carries the hierarchical approach to the next level of

sophistication by permitting children to have more than one parent. This approach minimizes

redundancy and therefore allows for more queries to be made.

Relatioiial DBMS

The relational approach to database management systems has been gaining momentum through

the l980’s. In contrast, to the network DBMS, here data are accessed by content rather than by

address. This approach uses the computer to search the database for the desired data rather than

accessing data through a series of indices and physical addresses, as with both hierarchical and

network DBMS.

Here the data structures are defined in logical rather than physical attempts .Until recently;

relational DBMS have been slow to be effective in the real world, especially in transaction

oriented environments

However, for applications where the transaction value is low and the need for flexibility is high,

relational DBMS outperform network DBMS.

6

2.3 Database Management System (DBMS)

When a DBMS is used, information systems can be changed much more easily as the

organization’s information requirements change. New categories of data can be added to the

database without disruption to the existing system (Codd, 1970). A DBMS is a complex set of

software programs that controls the organization, storage, management, and retrieval of data in a

database. The DBMS accepts requests for data from the application program and instructs the

operating system to transfer the appropriate data.

2.3.1 DBMS Features and capabilities

Features commonly offered by database management systems include:

Query ability: A database query language and report writer allows users to interactively

interrogate the database, analyze its data and update it according to the users privileges on data.

Security: Often it is desirable to limit who can see or change which attributes or groups of

attributes. This may be managed directly by individual, or by the assignment of individuals and

privileges to groups, or (in the most elaborate models) through the assignment of individuals and

groups to roles which are then granted entitlements.

computation: There are common computations requested on attributes such as counting,

summing, averaging, sorting, grouping, cross~-referencing, etc. Rather than have each computer

application implement these from scratch, they can reiy on the DBMS to supply such

calculations.

Change and access logging: Often one wants to know who accessed what attributes, what was

changed, and when it was changed. Logging services allow this by keeping a record of access

occurrences and changes (BEGG, 2002).

Connolly et al (2002) presents the following database advantages;

1. Controlled data redundancy

2. Improved data integrity

7

3. Improved consistency

4. Improved data security

5. And easy data sharing among others.

According to Connolly and Begg (2002), the terms used in databases are explained as below;

Database schema is simply the overall description of the database.

Data sublanguage is a programming language that does not include constructs for all computing

needs. While a data definition language (DDL), is a language that allows the DBA term

catalogue in a special file to describe the name of the entities, attributes and required

applications. The result of the compilation of the DDL statements is stored in a special file called

system catalogue or data dictionary.

Data manipulation language (DML) is a language that supports a set of operation to support

basic data manipulation on the data held on the database, it is used to read and update database.

There are two basics types of DML:

Procedural DML It is a language that allows the user to tell the system what data is and also

requires the user to tell the system what data are needed and how to get those data processed.

Declaration (non-procedural) is a language that requires a user to specify what data is needed

without specifying how to get those data

A Query language is a database language used to retrieve data from the database on the basis of

the particular criteria and format indicated. It is also called data manipulation language

An entity is a basic real element e.g. a student, personnel and an entity is identifiable each entity

has a set of attributes.

2.4 Information technology services in organization

Information systems deal with the development, use and management of an organizations IT

infrastructure.

8

In the post-industrial information age, the focus of companies has shifted from being product-

oriented to knowledge-oriented in the sense that market operators today compete in process and

innovation rather than in products: the emphasis has shifted from the quality and quantity of

production to the production process itself--and the services that accompany the production

process (Langefors, 1973).

The biggest asset of companies today is their information--represented by people, experience,

know-how, innovations and for a market operator to be able to compete, he or she must have a

strong information infrastructure, at the heart of which lies the information technology

infrastructure. Thus the study of information systems focuses on why and how technology can be

put into best use to serve the information flow within an organization (Davies, 2002).

IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing

complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals

perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database

and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems (Beynon

Davies, 2002).

2.5 Advantages of Hotel Management System

The main reason for success of hotel management System is their user-

friendliness with interesting and uncomplicated Graphic User Interface (GUI). As

such, all are based on a ‘point and click’ technology where the user just has to

select his options and let the software do everything else. This makes booking and

reservation of room very easy and it can be done without any constraints of space

and time.

Hotel software is a great storehouse for all kinds of data which includes details of

past and present customers, invoices, bills, transactions and information about

employees. This helps in smooth and efficient running of the hotel as data and

information is just a click away. It also helps in avoiding goof-ups and mistakes

that usually creeps up in the system owing to human intervention.

It helps the hotel administrators to accommodate special requests, bookings,

checkouts, etc. They keep sending reminders and highlight the important dates for

9

the benefit of the customers. It also gives the hotel administration leverage in

terms of making immediate adjustments as and when something unexpected turn

ups.

The biggest advantage, though, of hotel management systems is that it reduces

errors and mistakes. The whole system becomes transparent and open which in

effect adds to the credibility and reliability of the system.

2.6 Microsoft Access

Microsoft Access is a computer application used to create and manage computer-based databases

on desktop computers and/or on connected computers (a network). Microsoft Access can be used

for personal information management (PIM), in a small business to organize and manage data, or

in an enterprise to communicate with servers. (Functionx.com, June 2010)

2.7 Visual Basic

Ifs a computer programming system developed and owned by Microsoft. Visual Basic was

originally created to make it easier to write programs for the Windows computer operating

system. The basis of Visual Basic is an earlier programming language called BASIC that was

invented by Dartmouth College professors John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz. Visual Basic is

often referred to using just the initials; VB. Visual Basic is easily the most widely used computer

programming system in the history of software.

(about.com, June 2010)

2.7.1 Visual Basic .NET

Absolutely yes! All of .NET is truly revolutionary and gives programmers a much more capable,

efficient and flexible way to write computer software. Visual Basic .NET is a key part of this

revolution. (about.corn, June 2010)

At the same time, Visual Basic .NET is clearly more difficult to learn and use. The vastly

improved capability does come at a fairly high cost of technical complexity. Microsoft helps to

make up for this increased technical difficulty by providing even more software tools in .NET to

help programmers. Most programmers agree that VB.NET is such a huge leap

10

2.8 Analysis and Design Structure

At this point the researcher considered the methods which he used to analysed collected data

hence justifying the need of developing a new system. It is at this stage where the design

techniques applied in this research are considered.

2.8.1 System Development Life Cycle

The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a conceptual model used in project

management that describes the stages involved in an information system development project

from an initial feasibility study through maintenance of the completed application. Various

SDLC methodologies have been developed to guide the processes involved including the

waterfall model (the original SDLC method), rapid application development (RAD), joint

application development (JAD), the fountain model and the spiral model. Mostly, several models

are combined into some sort of hybrid methodology. Documentation is crucial regardless of the

type of model chosen or devised for any application, and is usually done in parallel with the

development process. Some methods work better for specific types of projects, but in the final

analysis, the most important factor for the success of a project may be how closely particular

plan was followed. The image below is the classic Waterfall model methodology, which is the

first SDLC method and it describes the various phases involved in development.

Feasibility: The feasibility study is used to determine if the project should get the go-ahead. If

the project is to proceed, the feasibility study will produce a project plan and budget estimates

for the future stages of development.

Figure 2.1 System Development Life Cycle

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Requirement Analysis and Design: Analysis gathers the requirements for the system. This

stage includes a detailed study of the business needs of the organization. Options for changing

the business process may be considered. Design focuses on high level design like, what programs

are needed and how are they going to interact, low-level design (how the individual programs are

going to work), interface design (what are the interfaces going to look like) and data design

(what data will be required). During these phases, the softwar&s overall structure is defined.

Analysis and Design are very crucial in the whole development cycle. Any glitch in the design

phase could be very expensive to solve in the later stage of the software development. Much care

is taken during this phase. The logical system of the product is developed in this phase.

Implementation: In this phase the designs are translated into code. Computer programs are

written using a conventional programming language or an application generator. Programming

tools like Compilers, Interpreters, and Debuggers are used to generate the code. Different high

level programming languages like C, C++, and Java are used for coding. With respect to the type

of application, the right programming language is chosen.

Testing: In this phase the system is tested. Normally programs are written as a series of

individual modules, this subject to separate and detailed test. The system is then tested as a

whole. The separate modules are brought together and tested as a complete system. The system

is tested to ensure that interfaces between modules work (integration testing), the system works

on the intended platform and with the expected volume of data (volume testing) and that the

system does what the user requires (acceptance/beta testing).

Maintenance: Inevitably the system will need maintenance. Software will definitely undergo

change once it is delivered to the customer. There are many reasons for the change. Change

could happen because of some unexpected input values into the system. In addition, the changes

in the system could directly affect the software operations. The software should be developed to

accommodate changes that could happen during the post implementation period. (Start VB dot

net, June 2010.

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CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 INTRODUCTION

This chapter is aimed at suggesting the methodology that will be used in building the system. It

covers the following areas of project development organization unit that was studied, study

population, sample size, research instruments, data collection and presentation, data analysis and

analysis of user requirements, development of the system, design techniques and tools for the

system, development tools for the system, information systems plan, and limitations of the study

and contingency measures that can be used. The suggested methodology with an extra

knowledge of creativity will yield the suggested system.

3.1 Population of the area of studyIn this project report, during the fact finding process the study were targeted staffs of the hotel

specifically the owner and those who were in charge of lodging wing and also the customers or

guests who were present since they were familiar with the current system and thesc. helped in

knowing the requirements of the new system.

3.2 Data collection MethodsThese are the methods that the researcher used to gather the facts that are used to draw conclusions about the

user requirements, infonnation needs and processes to be used to achieve the objectives of the study. They

havc been categorized into two gmups that is; primary and secondaiy methods.

3.2.1 Primary Methods

These are the methods that are used to find primary information. Primary information is the information

which is gathered directly from the source that is to say from respondents. In this case, primary data will be

collected from receptionists, Manager of the hotel and the Customers/Guests. Three techniques will be used

as explained below.

Interview

Interviews are a fact — finding technique where by the systems analysts collect information from

individuals through face to face interaction. Jeffrey L. Whitten and others comment that “No

other fact-finding technique places as much emphasis on people as interviews, but people have

13

different values, priorities, opinions, motivations and personalities. Therefore, to use the

interviewing technique, you must possess good human relations skills for dealing effectively

with different types of people. In this technique, the interviewer has a specific set of questions

that will allow respondents to give diverse views and opinions. The interviewer will also direct

additional questions to obtain clarification or amplification. Those to be interviewed will include

sample unit representing the staff body, the management and customers. Interviewing has its

advantages and disadvantages, which should be weighed against those of other fact finding

techniques.’

Merits of interviews:

Interviews give the analyst an opportunity to motivate the interview to respond freely and

openly to questions.

By establishing report, the systems analyst is able to give the interviewee a feeling of

actively contributing to the systems project.

Interviews allow the systems analyst to probe for more feedback from the interviewee.

Interviews permit the systems analyst to adopt or reword questions for each individual.

Interviews give the analyst an opportunity to observe the interviews non verbal

communication.

Demerits ofInterviews:

Interviewing is a very time-consuming and there costly, fact-finding approach.

Success of interviews is highly dependent on the systems analysts human relation

skills.

Interviewing may be imnpractical due to the location of interviewees.

QuestionnairesThese are used to elicit information from Staff of the hotel. This method has been suggested to be used on

Staff because one of the advantages of questionnaires is that they are good when the population is large and

considering our suggested population, students are more. Not only that, we do not intend to waste staffs’

time and our time by engaging the selected students in an interview which requires more time compared to

interviews.

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Our decision to use questionnaires can be supported by the following advantages of questionnaires;

Less time consuming and expensive to administer than other methods

Can be administered to large groups of individuals

Effective for assessing system function satisfaction

However, it should not be taken for granted that questionnaires are perfect. They too have some

disadvantages as given below;

Data entry and analysis can be time consuming

May be difficult to receive completed surveys from stakeholders.

A range of incentives can be offered on realm of completed surveys to boost the likelihood of

response.

Observation

The Observation method of is basically developed for observing people in their natural setting. It

focuses more on their everyday normal life. It is very useful especially where the required

information is not easy to obtain due to restrictions imposed on obtaining information which is

considered critical to the organization. Observation involved visiting the offices where the

information was kept and taking note of what was going on and then come up with a conclusion.

3.2.1 Secondaty Methods

Document Reviews

Document reviews are used to analyze existing program records and other documents not

gathered or developed specifically for the evaluation. Examples include Guest attendance

records, budget, staff records, and annual reports. They are particularly useful for documenting

implementation.

Advantages

o Records are tailored to programs

o Save on evaluation time and costs

o May elicit a high degree of accuracy from staff if they are also used for accountability

purposes

However, it has got thefollowing disadvantages;

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• May not be available or applicable for some indicators.

• May be incomplete due to staff time constraints.

3.3 Analysis of the current system

3.4.1 Strengths of the current system.

Despite the system being paper-based, the following was achieved.

V Rooms basic details were available

V Storage of the data received.

~‘ Security was maintained even though at a low standard.

V Data is shared by the different units.

“ Data is frequently updated whenever necessary.

V Cost — compared to other systems, the operation of the file-based system culTently in use is

considerably cheaper.

3.4.2 Weakness of the current system

~ A lot of paper work involved which can result to enors and inconsistent results.

Inaccurate data capture and recording resulting from the collecting of incomplete

manifests and other relevant data hence unreliable data which may result in

processing of wrong information.

Since hotel reservations and bookings are manually made there is a high chance of

double booking.

It was also difficult for the reservation staffs to ki~ow the rooms in detail when the

hotel has many rooms and this led to staffs giving wrong information to customers.

Retrieval of information is tedious and time wasting. It is therefore necessary to automate the

system so as to overcome the various shortcomings associated with the cunent system.

3.4 System specificationThis specifies the functionality of the system and the constraints in its operation. System specifications

are intended to establish what services are required from the system and the constraints on the system’s

16

operation and development. This stage is very delicate because errors at this point inevitably lead to later

problems in the system design and implementation.

In this research study, the researchers will observe the following on system specification:

• An estimate of whether the identified user needs may be satisfied using the current software and

hardware technologies and whether the proposed system is cost effective.

• Deriving system requirements through observing the existing system, discussing with potential

users and procurers.

• Defining a set of requirements and recording it to produce a requirements document.

• Checking the requirements for realism, consistency and completeness. Errors in the requirements

document are inevitably discovered thus correcting them. The systems requirements document,

also known as the functional specification, should be precise. It may serve as a contract between

the system buyer and software developer.

3.5 Design ToolsThe system is designed using Data follow diagram, Class Diagram and Entity Relationship Diagram.

3.6 Development Tools for the systemThis system is developed using open source software and tools. Ii will be based on client /server

architecture. It will require database management system, programming language and operating system.

3.6.1 Operating System

The application will run on the operating system such as windows xp, windows vista and

windows 7. This has been chosen due to:

i. GUI - Short for Graphical User Interface,

ii. Multi-user - A multi-user Operating System allows for multiple users to use the

same computer.

iii. Multiprocessing - An Operating System capable of supporting and utilizing

more than one computer processor.

iv. Multitasking - An Operating system that is capable of allowing multiple

software processes to run at the same time.

17

3.6.2 Programming LanguagesMicrosoft’s Visual Studio 2005 in conjunction with Developer Express v2010 is exclusively used on

large basis to provide interfaces in this project. Crystal reports, .Net Framework will be used in

conjunction to ensure the success of the project. This shall be reviewed from time to time to check for

upgradeability.

3.6.3 Database Management SystemThis project’s databases will be based on Microsoft Access platform. Access offers this system and thus

efficient in its perfonriance;

Microsoft access will be the researchers’ choices of database design tool. This is because they offer merits

such as:

~ Reduced data redundancy: fields hold data is unrepeated i.e. copies of the data don’t exist in the

database

• Improved data integrity: data is consistent and accurate because updating is managed

• High user productivity: easy to train and use.

• High security: impermeable from unauthorized users.

3.7 Functional requirementsThese are the statements of services the system should provide, how the system should react to particularinputs and how the system should behave in particular situations. They explain what the system should doand what it entails:

Produce reports of all guests.

Produce reports for bills and amount paid

Produce a list for the availability of rooms

Store and produce a list of all guest and their details that have stayed in the hotel

Query the data in the database.

Update, delete, refresh, exit and add are some of the functionalities that the system will have.

There is need for sufficient hard disk space to manage the system, at least 40GB.

~ Enough memory (RAM) is needed to ensure quicker and better responsiveness, at least

512MB.

18

3.8 Feasibility studyDeveloping a new system is expensive, to avoid wasting time and money on impossible dreams, once the

problem is defined the analyst the often conducts a feasibility study to determine if it can it be solved a

reasonable cost. The objective of feasibility study is to demonstrate that creating is technically,

economically and operationally feasible.

3.8.1 Benefits of the Feasibility StiulyThe study will assist the researcher with coming up with a tentative problem statement and

objective.

After successfully completing the feasibility study will have no doubts that all that should be

gathered would be enough to declare the new system worth developing.

3.8.2 Feasibility reportThe organization could afford the hardware, software and technical resources and were easily affordable

in the local market.

The benefits that would be accrued from the new system outweighed the cost of developing, running and

maintaining it. The costs to be incurred include:

~ Equipment cost

Configuration and installation of hardware and software.

~ Personnel costs i.e. training users

3.9 ConclusionThis chapter mainly dealt with the fact finding methods and the scope at which the research was

concentrated on. The user, system, functional and non-flinctional requirements were as well identified.

The next chapter will mainly cover the design of the proposed system.

19

CHAPTER FOUR

SYSTEM DESIGN

4.0 INTRODUCTIONThis chapter encompasses the conceptual, logical and physical design of the proposed system. It deals

with the preliminary design then the detailed design. It as well includes diagrams which will facilitate the

users’ understanding of the new system. Entity relationship diagram, class Diagram and activity diagram

were put into consideration. The diagrams will serve to facilitate the users understanding of the new

system. The purpose of this chapter is to develop a design of the intended system.

4.1. Entity Relationship Diagram of the new system.An entity relationship model is part of system development methodology that provides an understanding

of the logical data requirement of a system independently of the systems’ organization and process. It also

reflects a static view of the relationship between different entities

The key elements of the Entity Relationship Model (E-R Model) are entities, attributes, identifiers and

relationships.

Entity

In reference to Kroenke, D (2000), an entity is something that can be identified in the users’ work

environment, something that the users want to track. In this case the following are the entities.

+ Guest

• Staff

• Other Charges

• Login

• Room

• Payment

• Expenses

Attributes

20

Entities have attributes, also called properties that describe the entity’s characteristics. Examples of

attributes are GuestlD, First name, Gender and so on. They are printed on both capital and small letters.

Identifiers

Entity instances have identifiers which are attributes that name or identify entity instances. Examples,

customer instances could be identified by Guest ID or Guest name. The identifier of an entity consists of

one or more of the entity’s attributes. An identifier may either be unique or non-unique whereby the value

of a unique identifier will identify one and only one entity instance while that of a non-unique identifier

will identify a set of instances. Identifiers that consist of two or more attributes are called composite

identifiers.

Relationships

A relationship is an association between entities according to Kroenke, D (2000). An E-R Model consists

of both relationship classes and relationship instances. Relationship classes are associations among entity

classes and relationship instances are associations among entity instances.

A relationship can include a number of entities; the number of entities in a relationship is the degree of

the relationship.

Types ofrelationships

V One-to-one relationship: - A single entity instance of one type is related to a single entity instance of

another type.

V One-to-many relationshzj~: - A single instance of one type is related to or relates to many instances of

another type.

V Many-to-many relationshz~ (N: M): - Many instances of one type relate to many instances of the

other type.

21

Figure 4.1 E-R

22

sq. ~ Relstlonshlpiools hatddb:Databare(AccezZlO2-a)O3fi!eforni4-h6cyosaftkc~ — es x

DutabaseT Design

)(aeaiL~ut *. ~~FhdeTabl

~T R onshipRepoit I~J !~o~ct .e •oni p5Edit Show Close

Relationships Table BAlI RelationshipsTools Ralatio

Access Objects v < ‘~ Relobonships

T * A

~ Expenses P I~jGuestlnto Gu~1nfo - - ~ ReciptNoon

E Login v Gsest~ A Room NumberFirst Name Guest ID

~ Othee Charges Second Name Othee charges Departure Date

Th Payment Gender 9 ID Days StayedonNo of Childre Guest ID Other Charges

Rooms Nationality a Discription Total

~ Statt Passport Num. I Date ot USe Amount PaidTelephone Amount BalanceArrival Date

Aeaduble Room Typeon.

Double Room NumberjVehicleT e on ROOmS5 p 5

Dtherch .• . Room NumberRoom type

~ Single -. . . . •. Room Charge

DescriptionStatus

Espmss logaV ExpID Staff V Username

Date Staff ID Passwordon

Amount First Name Stuff ID

Reason Other Names User levelStaff ID Post

AddressTelephonePicture

V

Rea~.__________ tori Lore

~C — 11:20PM

5/24/2011

Figure 4.2 Relationshzp among Entities

23

4.2 Class Diagramclass diagram in the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a type of static structure diagram thatdescribes the structure of a system by showing the system’s classes, their attributes,operations(or)methods and the relationships between the classes.

Association

An Association represents a family of links. Binary associations (with two ends) are normallyrepresented as a line, with each end connected to a class box. Higher order associations can bedrawn with more than two ends. In such cases, the ends are connected to a central diamond.

An association can be named, and the ends of an association can be adorned with role names,ownership indicators, multiplicity, visibility, and other properties. There are five different typesof association. Bi-directional and uni-directional associations are the most common ones. Forinstance, a flight class is associated with a plane class bi-directionally. Associations can only beshown on class diagrams. Association represents the static relationship shared among the objectsof two classes. Example: “department offers courses”, is an association relation.

MuItiplicity

The association relationship indicates that (at least) one of the two related classes makesreference to the other, In contrast with the generalization relationship, this is most easilyunderstood through the phrase ‘A has a B’ (a mother cat has kittens, kittens have a mother cat).

The UML representation of an association is a line with an optional arrowhead indicating therole of the object(s) in the relationship, and an optional notation at each end indicating themultiplicity of instances of that entity (the number of objects that participate in the association).

0.. 1 No instances, or one instance (optional, may)

1 Exactly one instance

Q* Zero or more instances

1..~ One or more instances (at least one)

A relationship is a general term covering the specific types of logical connections found on class andobject diagrams.

The Fig 4.3 bellow illustrates the relationship between the classes of the new system

24

I Staff-StafflD-First Name-Other names-Post-Address-Telephone-Picture+Login() _______________________I

1..* -End

-End5 -End6

-Endl3

1..~ -Endl4 * -Endl2

Payment-Receipt No-Room No.-GuesttD-Depature Date-Days Stayed-Other Charges-Total-Amount Paid-Balance

-Endi-End2

Login-User name-PasswordStafflD

fverifieso

-End4

Guest Info

-End9

-EndlO

Room-Room NO-Room Type-Room charge-Description-Status+accu,nadates() _______________________

-GuesID-First name-Second name-Gender-No, of Children-Nationality-Passport NO.-Arival Date-Room Type-Room No.-Vehicle Type-Plate No.•StafflDfbooks()fbuys()

1 -Ed7

O..~ -EndB

Other Charges-ID-GuestlD-Discription-Date of use-Amount

0.. *

-Endli

Expenses

ExpenselDDateAmountReasonStaffID

Figure 4.3 Class Diagram for the new System

25

4~3 DATA FLOW DIAGRAM

A data flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical representation of the !flowfl of data through aninformation system. DFDs can also be used for the visualization of data processing (structureddesign).

On a DFD, data items flow from an external data source or an internal data store to an internaldata store or an external data sink, via an internal process.

FILE

UpdateTable

GuestDetails

Figure 4.4 Data how Diagram/br checking new Guest

26

Figure 4.5 Data flow Diagram For checkout a Guest

F~ le

UpdateTable

Guest Details

Process

27

ALE

Scan Room

Number

Processing

Figure 4.6 Data/low Diagram for Generating a bill For the Guest

Cash

28

le d ame ata e ata Size escri tions

lel ame ata e ata SizeRoom Number TextRoom Type TextRoom Charge Currency StandardDescription TextStatus TextTable 4.5 Room Table

77

Descri tionsExpenses DDate of issueAmount of many used

I Reason Used the many~ Staff ID number

Room NumberReceipt NumberRoom numberGuest IDDeparture DateDays Stayed

Auto Number Long IntegerText

Guest ID TextDeparture Date . Date/Time Medium DateDays Stayed Number Long IntegerOther Charges Currency StandardTotal Currency StandardAmount Paid The amount that the guest paid _________

Balance Currency StandardCurrency Standard

Payment TableTable 4.3

id ame

The total of the Charges

The balance to the guest

ata e ata SizeExpID Number LongintegerDate Date/Time Medium DateAmount Currency StandardReason Text

TextStafflDTable 4.4 Expenses Table

escri tionsRoom NumberRoom TypeRoom ChargeRoom Description

30

ie ame

Table4.6 Other Charges Table

4.3.2 Data Input DesignDatalcomrnand is inputted using the mouse and keyboard. There is a provision for the user to

type on a provided space to search for something in the database. The user will interact with the

system using a simple and user friendly graphical user interface.

4.3.3 Data Output Design

The system produced reports which were viewed via the computer screen or printed for use in

analysis and decision making by the relevant people. The reports had pie charts, bar graphs and

line graphs which help in visualizing the results for faster decision making. Charts and graphs

were the best methods to present summaries.

4.4 ConclusionThe chapter basically has covered the physical, logical, conceptual design of the system with

all the diagrams that support each design level. The next chapter will look into the

implementation of the new system.

ID (pk)aa ata iz es ri tions

Charge IDAutoNumber Long IntegerGuest ID Text Guest IdentificationDescription TextDate of Use Date/Time Medium DateAmount Currency Standard

DescriptionDate of usedAmount used

31

CHAPTER FIVE

SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

5.0 Introduction

This chapter deals with how the new system will be implemented. It includes how the system

operates and supports the users. The program is tested, if it delivers the solution to the Hotel, it

can be fully used to replace the shortcomings of the old system. The chapter also covers the

different ways in which the old system is converted to embrace changes brought by the new

system developed.

5.1 Program Testing

This was intended to ensure that the system is consistent and conforms to its specification and

that the system meets the expectations of the users. Large systems, as the new system, are built

out of sub-systems which were built out of modules composed of procedures and functions. The

testing process was proceeded in stages where testing was carried out incrementally with system

implementation. The following were the stages to be followed:

Unit testing: Individual components were tested to ensure that they operate correctly. Each

component was tested independently without other system components. The database units were

also tested in this stage.

Module testing: A module encapsulates related components, thus tested without other system

modules. Each module was tested independently to check for bugs and efficiency.

Sub-system testing: - A collection of modules were integrated into sub-systems and then tested.

This was concentrate on the detection of module interface errors by rigorous exercising these

interfaces.

System testing: - The sub-systems were integrated to make up the system. This process was

concerned with finding errors that result from manipulated interactions between sub-systems and

sub-system interface problems. In addition, it was concerned with validating that the system

meets its functional and non-functional requirements and testing the emergent system properties.

32

Acceptance testing: - This was the final stage in the testing process before the system was

accepted for operational use. The system was tested with data supplied by the system customer

rather than simulated test data. Acceptance test was to reveal errors and omissions in the system

requirements definition because the real data exercise the system in different ways from the test

data. It was also to reveal requirements problems where the system facilitates do not really meet

the users~ needs or the system performance is unacceptable.

Optimization: element of testing where we modify e.g. areas that are most critical or which will

deliver most of the benefits. Optimization of the system can include:

• Improve the hardware in order to improve performance.

• Consider the use of third generation languages.

• Consider use of low level languages.

• Improve inputs/outputs methods.

5.2 User Training and Documentation

The implementation of the new system involves training individuals who will use the final

system and developing a documentation to aid the system users. It includes an audit to gauge the

success of the completed project.

The deliverable of the system implementation and project implementation is the operational

system that will enter the operation and support stage.

Users, who are the most important element of the new system, were trained on how to feed in

data, delete and update records. Various functions of the system were also explained to the

concerned users. The users were trained on how to generate and print reports when need arises.

Technical terms were explained and a documentation of the system was provided to guide the

users. The documentation describes the new system and how to operate it. It includes the system

requirements and instructions. Included also are the terms and conditions and license agreement

of the new system.

33

5.3 System implementation

In this stage, the new system was installed and data loaded to the new database. Conversion to

the new system is a significant milestone. After conversion, the ownership of the system

officially transfers from the researcher to the end-users. The researcher completes this task by

carefully carrying out the conversion plan. The task involved the system owners, users aiid

researcher. The researcher who oversaw the conversion process facilitated it. The system owners

provided feedback regarding the new system that has been placed into operation. The system

users provided valuable feedback pertaining actual use of the new system. They were the source

of the majority of the feedback used to measure the system’s acceptance.

34

x

Wer, ame

a s’,’ord

OK L~1Figure 5.3 Login Form

If the user enters the wrong password, a message box appears informing the user that the

password is invalid as shown below.

Login Confirmation

Login Form

Br name

~ sword

Figure 5.4 Login form confirmation Message

N.B The system is case — sensitive to the password.

37

L~1

You have entered invalid user name or password

Retry [~ca

MAIN MENU

When the user enters a correct user name and password, the main menu form appears (as shown in

Figure5.5 below). This form provides access to all the forms and reports. The form has also CLOSE

which when clicked closes the System.

NB. The system uses user level access whereby some buttons (Adding or deleting a user, Adding a

new room and so on) are prohibited by the Standard users and allowed only the administrator users

to h ye full privileges,

Private Sub Maininenu_Load(Byval sender As System.Object, ByVal e As

System. EventArgs) Handles MyBase . Load

If~ Admin Then

pgadmin.Visible = True

the above code makes the admin button bu visibale if and only if

the user

is administrator

Else

pgadmin.Visible = False

if the user is not administrator the administrator page should

be hidden

End I

End Su

38

Main Menu

~ i1a.nmenuAb~utO~~t Syst~n t AãiflstraXa

Staff Roc~ Add~R~rcveUs~ ~bcut

...~ a...a Us~ ~

i~j ..

LOl P115/29/2011

Figure5. 5 Main menu of the system

The main form buttons include:

Guest DetaiLs: This form is used to capture guest information, and also to assign for hirnlher an

available room by clicking available room’s button to see the available rooms.

39

Guest Information

a

1.

Mc~day • ~4J~ O1,~i1 I~

—~

—I

~•1 L 1L~• I I5PML ‘~ •~ 529 11

Figure 5.6 Guest Details Form

This section code checks in a news customer to the selected room and changes the room status

Private Sub cmdsave_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e AsSystem. EventArgs) Handles cmdsave. Click

txtStatus.Text = ‘Occupied The room status has been changed tooccupied

Me. Validate ()Me. Guest_InfoBindingSource . EndEdit ()Me. Guest_InfoTableAdapter . Update (HotelData5et . Guest_Info)Me. Other_ChargesBinding5ource. EndEdit ()Me. Other_ChargesTableAdapter. Update (HotelUataSet. Other_Charges)Me. RoomsBindingSource . EndEdit ()Me. RoomsTableAdapter . Update (HotelDataSet . Rooms)

End Sub

~tID

I 4I4I~11~4/5/2O11 6000

A~*R~.L 1L~~1L ~

40

Payment Form is used to clear the guest when he she is leaving from the hotel, it allows the

receptionist to enter the room number and see all the charges of that guest whether it is Room

charges or other charges.

Staff Details This form captures The employee Basic Details

LZ1D~LctfI Detciils

sL02StiffI

First Name:

Other Names: [eT~

Past: Internet caffe, Man

Kriseriyi kdflqJctld

‘a.

Addr~s:

I elephane: 0899789889

[~ ireviewj ~ r~xt ~ [~ up~ate~] [~~ddnewsta~] [ ueiete__] L ‘~at 1

Figure5. 7 StaffDetails Form

41

Expense Report Displays Expenses of the hotel i.e. Electricity, internet and water.

S~9~ I

I~Rep~tI

OIYTO CAL IC8V’8)ts8s~

Pñnted on 512912011

~pj~ Date Staff ID Reason Amou

1 21112011 120913PM stOl Electincity $200,000.00

2 sf02 Internet Charges for last $400000.00Month

3 51112011 12:09:13PM slOl Watel Charges $500,000.00

4 512112011 1209 l3Pk sf01 interent $4000000

Total: $1,140,000.00

u~rent Pa eNo~ I total Pa. e No~1 Zoom Factoc•1~%

5.8 Hotel Expenses Report

42

5.5 User Training and Documentation

The implementation of the new system involves training individuals who will use the final

system and developing a documentation to aid the system users. It includes an audit to gauge the

success of the completed project.

The deliverable of the system implementation and project implementation is the operational

system that will enter the operation and support stage.

Users, who are the most important element of the new system, were trained on how to feed in

data, delete and update records. Various functions of the system were also explained to the

concerned users. The users were trained on how to generate and print reports when need arises.

Technical terms were explained and a documentation of the system was provided to guide the

users. The documentation describes the new system and how to operate it. It includes the system

requirements and instructions. Included also are the terms and conditions and license agreement

of the new system.

5.6 Operation System and Support

The operation and support stage comes in once the system is operating. System support is the

ongoing technical support for users as well as the maintenance required to fix any errors,

omissions or new requirements that may arise.

System support consists of the following ongoing activities.

+ Assisting the users: Regardless of how well the users have been trained and how good

the end user documentation is users will eventually require additional assistance because

unanticipated problems may arise or new users added in the organization

• Fixing software defects (bugs): Software defects are errors that slipped through the

software testing.

• Recovering the system: A system failure may result in a program “crash” or loss of data.

Human error or hardware or software failure may have caused this. Researchers may then

be called to recover the system. That is, to restore the system’s files and databases and to

restart the system.

43

5.7 Adapting the system to new requirements

New requirements may include business problems; new user requirements; new technical

problems or new technology requirements which will need to be adapted into the new system.

5.8 Maintenance

Plans are developed for discarding system and making the transition to a new system. After

implementing the system the institution should continuously monitor performance of the system

to ensure that it is consistent with pre-established user and security requirements, and that needed

system modifications are incorporated. Configuration management and control activities should

be conducted to document any proposed or actual changes in the security plan of the system.

Information systems are in a constant state of evolution with upgrades to hardware, software,

firmware, and possible modifications in the surrounding environment. Documenting information

system changes and assessing the potential impact of these changes on the security of a system

are essential activities to assure continuous monitoring, and prevent lapses in the system security

accreditation.

5.9 Conclusion

When the system is implemented it must be maintained whereby files are updated and

unnecessary information is deleted. It should show the workings of the new system and how the

user should navigate through the system from login to the generation of reports

44

CHAPTER SIX

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

6.0 Introduction

The researcher carried out a detailed study of the case study with an aim of learning how the

current system runs, identify weaknesses and strengths. Data gathered was analyzed, and a

design document was developed which a customized application suiting the case study was

developed to tackle most if not all the problems mentioned.

From the research conducted, the researcher came up with the following conclusions and

recommendations based on the research objectives for this study, which are restated below.

6.1 Recommendations

Since the system is under operation for it to be implemented with fewer problems, it is

recommended for it to be run on windows XP operating system, Windows Vista or 7, hard disk

size of at least 40GB and RAM size of at least 5 12MB

Functionality such as those that allow multiple access of the system can be implemented at a

later stage to further enhance usability

The researchers recommend that before the application is put into full use, it should be tested in a

sample field to estimate any bugs that may not have been identified at the time of development.

Password levels may be increased to higher levels depending on the confidentiality of the stored

data. The current system password level is basically low-level.

Since the system is in use, it should be run alongside manual files in order to prevent unexpected

embarrassments, that is, parallel conversion should be adopted for the system

6.2 Areas for Further Work

Since the system is under operation, the researchers will be involved in system support which

includes the following activities:

45

Program maintenance

System recovery

Technical support

System enhancement

If opportunity allows, the researchers hope that the features that have not been implemented in

this application but were originally desired features will be taken into consideration in order to

improve on the efficiency, reliability and user friendliness of this system.

6~3 Conclusion

Hotel Management System is designed to respond to the needs of Day to Day Classic hotels

reservation department and provide adequate information and reports to monitor and manage the

hotel

The system has been developed with scalability in mind and can be re-developed or updated to

new requirements. This system can be updated to include other requirements that may come up

as the system requirements expand.

This system has not been pre-tested sufficiently to remove all the bugs that may not have been

recognized at the time of developing this application. Exhaustive testing needs to be carried out

to isolate these bugs and to make the system more robust.

46

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Thomas Connolly, Carolyn Begg, Anne Strachan (1997). Database Systems.

Gerald V. Post (2002). Database Management Systems — Designing and Building Business Application

Second Edition, Irwin~- McGraw Hill.

C, J, DATE. 2000. An introduction to database systems.

~1319

Timothy J O’Leary (Arizona State University) and Linda I O’Leary (2000). Microsofi Access 2000

Brief Edition, Irwin McGraw Hill.

Kenneth C, Laudon. Jane P, Laudon. 2002. Essentials of management information systems. Organizations

and technology in the networked enterprise.

Brian K, Williams. Using information tecirnology. A practical introduction to computers and

communication.

Jeffrey L, Whitten. Lonnie D. and Kevin C. Systems analysis and Design Methods

C, J, DATE. 2000. An introduction to database systems.

Samuel M. 2002. Introduction to system analysis.

Silberschatz, Korth, Sudarshan. 2002. Database system concepts. 4th edition.

Paul. S. Licker. Fundamentals of systems analysis with application design.

Effy Oz. 2002. Management Information Systems. 3td edition.

47

APPENDICES

APPENDIX AG~ossary

Aggregation Is a unique type of association in which one object is “part of” anotherobject. For example, object A contains object B and object B is part ofobjectA.

Association Is the relationship between entities.

Attribute Properties that describe the entity’s characteristics. Examples ofattributes are Customer Name, Order_Id.

Column A logical group of bytes in a row of relation.

Composite key A key with more than one attributes.

Candidate key An attribute or group of attributes that identifies a unique row in arelation.

Consistency Two or more concurrent transactions are consistent if the result oftheir processing is the same as it would have been if they had beenprocessed in the same serial order.

Constraint A rule concerning the allowed values of attributes whose truth can beevaluated.

Cardinality Maximum number of entities that can occur on one side of therelationship.

Database A collection of data stored in a standardized format designed to beshared by multiple users.

Data Definition A language that supports the definition or declaration of databaseLanguage objects.

Data Dictionary A self-description of the database structure. Also known as datadirectory or metadata.

Data Integrity The state of a database in which all constraints are fulfilled; usuallyrefers to inter-table constraints in which the value of a foreign key isrequired to be present in the table having that foreign key as its

48

primary key.

Database Is a collection of programs that enable users to define, create andManagement maintain a database and provides controlled access to this database.System

Data A language which supports the manipulation or processing of databaseManipulation objects.Language

Distributed A database record on two or more computers. Distributed data can beDatabase partitioned or not partitioned, replicated or not replicated.

Hotel Hotel management refers to professional management techniquesManagement used in the hospitality sector. These can include hotel administration,System accounts, marketing, housekeeping, front office or front of house, food

and beverage management, catering and maintenance..

Entity An entity is something that can be identified in the users’ workenvironment, something that the users want to track.

Entity Is a relational model whose key elements are entities, attributes,Relationship identifiers and relationships.Model

Feasibility A measure of how beneficial the development of an informationsystem would be to an organization.

Feasibility The process by which feasibility is measured and assessed.analysis

Field A logical group of bytes in a record used with file processing. Asynonym for attribute.

First Normal A table is said to be in the 1NF if any repeating groups have beenForm(1NF) removed so there is a single value at the intersection of each row and

column of the table.

Form A display on a computer screen used to present, enter and modifydata. Also called data entry or panel.

Generalization Consists of super-objects and sub-objects. The super-object is generalin that it contains the common attributes and behavior of thehierarchy. The sub-objects are specialized in that they contain

49

attributes and behavior unique to that object but they inherit thesuper-object’s attributes and behavior. Generalization relationshipsallow us to take advantage of inheritance which facilitates the re-use ofobjects and programming code.

Multiplicity Defines how many instances of one object/class can be associated withone instance of another object/class.

Normal form A rule or a set of rules governing the allowed structure of relations. Therules apply to attributes, functional dependencies, multi-valuedependencies, domains and constraints.

Normalization The process of evaluating a relation to determine whether it is in aspecified normal form and if necessary, converting it into relations inthat specified normal form.

Operational Is a measure of how well the solution will work in the organization. It isfeasibility also a measure of how people feel about the system/project.

Primary key A candidate key selected to uniquely identify a given record/row.

Ram Random-access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, ittakes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to beaccessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time.

Record A group f fields pertaining to the same entity created as a result of

execution of a statement or a stored procedure.

Relation A table containing rows and columns.

Relationship A relationship is an association between entities.

Row A group of columns in a table. All the columns in a row pertain t thesame entity. The same as a tuple and record.

Sub-schema A subset of a database that is processed by one or more application. Asub-schema may also be called an application view.

Schedule Is a measure of how reasonable the project timetable is.feasibility

Schema A complete logical view of the database.

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SQL Structured Query Language.

Technical Is a measure of the practicality of a specific technical solution and thefeasibility availability of technical resources and expertise.

Transaction A record of an event in the business world.

Tuple Same as record/row.

User view A particular user’s view of a database.

View A structured list of data items from entities or semantic objects definedin the data model.

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APPENDIX CBudget table

ITE QUANTITY COST PER UNIT TOTAL

• Transportation 5,000.00 30,000.00

Printing 300 50.00 15,000.00

Flash Disk (1 GB) 20,000.00 20,000.00

CDs 500.00 10,000.00

Internet 1000.00 20,000.00

TOTAL COST 95,000.00

Table 7.2 Budget Table

APPENDIX D

Interview Guide

i. Introduce yourselves

ii. Get name of respondent

iii. Inquire about the background of the hotel.

iv. Find out the activities that take place in the hotel

v. Obtain information regarding the hierarchy of the hotel.

vi. Make inquiries on how the hotel captures and stores information.

vii. Thank you for the valuable information. We assure you that it shall only be used for the

purpose mentioned and no other.

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APPENDIX E

Questionnaire

Dear respondent

I am a student of Kampala International University, carrying out a research concerning a hotel

management of Day to Day classic hotel. We kindly request you to fill the questionnaire below to

facilitate this research study to the success and of help to the society. Your information will be treated

with confidentiality and will be highly appreciated.

Much regards,

Mohamed Mohamud Gees

1. When and by whom was the hotel founded’?

2. What is the hierarchy of this hotel?

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LI Yes No (Tick where appropriate)

9. If yes, state the kind of information you back up.

10. How often do you have your records updated?

Afteranyear Aftersixmonths

(Tick where appropriate)

After one month Regularly

11. Do you have specialized record keeping staff?

LI Yes LI No

12. If yes what are some of the activities they perform and how do you ensure that every record is

where it is supposed to be?

13. Other than dealing with reservations, are there any other activities that take place in this hotel?

Your response is highly appreciated. Thank you.

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