MITS5501 Software Engineering Methodology

Objective

This assessment is designed to improve student collaborative skills in a team environment and to give students experience in constructing a range of documents as deliverables form different stages of the Software Engineering Process using a simulated industry case study.

In this assignment students will work in small groups to develop components of the Software Specification and Design Documents discussed in lectures.

Case Study

Carefully read the associated case  study for this assignmen

City Glaziers

City Glaziers is a medium business operating in and around the Melbourne metropolitan area. The company supplies glass for windows and doors, and other structures within the Melbourne area. Glass can be ordered in bulk as part of a construction project, or in smaller quantities as replacement for broken windows, doors containing glass, bus shelters, and larger areas such as internal feature walls etc. The company began by operating in the Melbourne CBD originally, but has since expanded its operations to include most of the surrounding metropolitan area.

The company has built a reputation for providing high quality glass, as well as excellent service to it customers.

Background

The owner of the company, Robert Johnston, began the company in 2001, operating a single glaziers truck from a warehouse in North Melbourne. Robert operated successfully in the Melbourne CBD, providing a high quality service to his clients. The business has steadily increased over the last 14 years, and Robert now operates a fleet of 11 glazier trucks and has expanded the operating territory to cover the entire Melbourne Metropolitan area.

The Business expansion has included a move to a large warehouse and glass preparation area, with the head office located next door in a modern office block. The business seems to be expanding and Robert is now beginning to consider opening franchises in outer Melbourne areas, to be serviced from the central warehouse operation. Robert also has arranged to deal exclusively with a large glass manufacturing plant, Melbourne Glass Plant, located in an outer Melbourne suburb. By becoming a large customer of Melbourne Glass Plant, Robert gets lucrative discounts which he can pass on to customers, helping him compete in this competitive environment.

The size of the business has now reached a stage where Robert can see major issues arising. As the business has grown, the operations have become more complex, and this will only become more so if franchises are added to the current operations.

Robert has decided to employ your team to investigate the business needs and to conduct an initial feasibility study into the possible options for computerizing part or all of the operations.

Issues

A number of issues have arisen that have prompted City Glaziers to contract you to look into the system. 

• It is difficult to keep track of the Work Orders and Job Sheets to re-order stock before it falls below threshold levels.
• When Glaziers need to raise work-orders at a client site because they don’t have the material, it is not till the end of the day when Glaziers return to the warehouse that these can be collated to begin preparation for the next day, resulting in some delays.
• Sometimes paperwork has gone missing for large scale projects and needs to be tracked careful to avoid delays and loss of awarded contracts
• The fleet of Glazier trucks needs to be managed better as sometimes with the paperwork double booking can occur and result in frustration and delays
• Additionally, we need to keep better track if kilometres travelled so trucks can be services in a timely manner.
• Delays in sending paperwork to our suppliers can cause delays in order processing and result in longer delivery times of stock.
• The level of paperwork is increasing and the accounts department is having trouble keeping up with the timely production of monthly statements, processing of payments and general financial reporting.
• With customers beginning to ask for different methods of payment such as email, PayPal etc, we need to look at incorporating this into our business processes somehow