Project Proposal

TO: ITAC
FROM: Edithzor
DATE: 10/03/08
SUBJECT: Project Proposal – A mapping/directions system based on job tracking for a work day.

SUPERVISOR: Supervisor

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Statement of Project Goal

My main goal is to implement a system based on job tracking that incorporates mapping to enhance the usability and ease of finding client/job locations. Not only will the user be able to map out one client/job location, they will also be able to combine a list of jobs for the day and get back a map with the most efficient route to take which will cut down travel time.


Background
Many businesses have job tracking; this could be repairs, deliveries or picking people up. What these systems are missing is mapping that not only shows all of the locations and directions to get to a job, but a system that also combines the days jobs and decides on the most efficient routes to take based on priority, distance and time.

Because many businesses use tracking technology the application made will be generic enough to meet the needs of different tracking types. This application would be beneficial to a business by reducing travel time, planning out the best routes to take and easy locating of clients.

Below is a list of the main functionality the application will perform. The application will have a front end webpage, with the business layer being implemented as a web service, and a relational database as the backend.

• Mapping – Routing based on a days worth of jobs that the user will select.
• Generic - Won’t be based on any specific type of job.
• 3 tier web application using Object Oriented design, the business layer being implemented as a web service.
• An address book with client/job locations.
• A list of jobs that can be assigned to certain staff.

Key Project Areas

Research to be done will include: mapping web services available and the advantages/disadvantages of these, the implementation of the final application into a business environment and future expansion of an application with web services. The mapping service chosen will need to be researched more thoroughly so that the full extent of the offered functionality may be used.

The design phase of this will include the full application design (database, UML diagrams, and interface). The architecture will be based upon OO design and will be as generic as possible. The interface and business layer will be completely separated using web services technology. I will be programming the application in a language that is completely new to me, C#.


Skills Required

I will need problem solving skills, research skills, long term project management skills and all of my knowledge that I have gathered on the Microsoft products and technologies. I will be using (Visual Studio 2005, ASP.NET, IIS), current knowledge on web services, relational databases and Object Oriented programming concepts.


Anticipated Outcomes

• To complete the application outlined in “1 The Statement of Project Goal” and “2 Background”.
• Complete all necessary research.
• Further develop my problem solving skills, project management and time management skills.
• Increase my knowledge on web services, the Microsoft software and technology I will be using, OO programming and relational databases.
• Have more confidence in certain areas where I can see weaknesses in myself, specifically programming and long term time management.
• Have an overall understanding of the development of an application from research to design and implementation.
• Learn new languages I’ve never used before: C# and JavaScript.

Project Environments

The work machine and software needed to develop my project will be provided by NMIT.
Anticipated issues in meeting Outcomes

• The mapping web service chosen may not be able to do exactly what I think it can from the research undertaken.
• Because all of my milestones are estimated and I haven’t done any long term project management, I may not meet the goals that I set out for myself, or I might complete the goals sooner than expected.
• The project set out could be easier than expected. The main reason being that I have not done any long term self based learning, and it is hard to estimate what may be hard or too easy based on my current knowledge of the technologies I will be using.
• Technical difficulties such as normal coding problems, lack of knowledge to fix these easily, hardware failure, all of which could set me back.Some draw backs with using c# as some coding may be more difficult or different to the languages I am used to.

Ethical Considerations

There are no ethical issues to consider in this project as far as I can tell.


Project Ownership

All of the source code and any other work completed by Edithzor on this project are the copy righted property of Edithzor.

Timeframe - Total Hours
455 hours

Please note, this is not my entire proposal, it is just for better understanding on what i am trying to achieve. It is missing my entire timeframe, and my milestones are on a seperate page. Also all real names have been replaced as i like my privacy on the internet :)