5/4 Template Design pt. 5

_________________________________________________________
Start 11.00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________

So i didnt do anything yesterday >< which is a good thing. I needed a day off lol. So today gonna do the form designs. I'm also at work, so have a few interuptions which is good, means i'm doing my job!!!!











_________________________________________________________
Finish ??
_________________________________________________________

3/4 Blergh

_________________________________________________________
Start 9.00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________

This morning i am going to complete everything i need to do before this afternoon thats on my to do list. for thurs. I then have lunch, project meeting, then more homework before class, then class. So the next stage of design work wont be until after tea when i get home.

_________________________________________________________
Finish 11.00 a.m. 2 hours
_________________________________________________________

2/4 Template Design pt. 4

Cont. from 1/4 Template Design pt. 1
Cont. from 1/4 Template Design pt. 2
Cont. from 1/4 Template Design pt. 3
_________________________________________________________
Start 9.30 a.m.
_________________________________________________________

This morning i am going to work on project management stuff that is due tomorow. Later on during the day i will carry on with the design of the template.

_________________________________________________________
11.00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________

Pretty much finished that, just need break before i do the last question as it requires thinking and i am working slow today. Will move onto fun design stuff for a bit.

Below i am going to upload a list of random full page designs, including button ideas. The main links are not exactly what i am going to use at this stage, just something to work from.






************************************************************************
Break 12.00 p.m.
************************************************************************
_________________________________________________________
6.00 p.m.
_________________________________________________________

Carry on with designs.

_________________________________________________________
Finish 10.00 p.m. - 4 hours
_________________________________________________________

Given up all pretence that more work has been done. I also need to make a decision for now which template i am going to use so i can move onto the more important design of the forms :) Will do this tomorow.

1/4 Template Design pt. 3

Cont. from 1/4 Template Design pt. 1
Cont. from 1/4 Template Design pt. 2
Cont. 2/4 Template Design pt. 4
_________________________________________________________
9.00 p.m.
_________________________________________________________

Headings and Fonts

Update. Ive been just in general trying to come up with ideas, so i started with fonts and backgrounds for the main heading. Below is what ive come up with so far.

OK, so below i am going to add lots of random ideas.... and discuss what i like about them, now dont hassle me because i'm trying to make pretty stuff and my brain isnt working atm, most likely some will be really wierd.


Idea One

This is just a mix of a few of the designs above. Its pretty etc, but maybe not professional enough? Will see what else i come up with.

Ideas Two

More random stuff, i am just randomly doing anything now... lol. I really like the squiggly line for some reason, maybe because its sort of like a road.

Ideas Three

Thought i'd add more lines to the top. Not sure if i like it or not, too late to think now lol.

Ideas Four

Wow, i'm still going. Ummm i have no idea, just some more random fonts and colours.

_________________________________________________________
Finish 11.00 p.m. - 8 hours
_________________________________________________________

Hmm ive had enough, brain not functioning. Tomorow i will hopefully carry on with the random designs and settle on something that i want to work further from, this way i can start designing it with the whole page and get more of an idea of what it could look like.

GOOD NIGHT!

1/4 Template Design pt. 2

Cont. from 1/4 Template Design pt. 1
Cont. 1/4 Template Design pt. 3
Cont. 2/4 Template Design pt. 4

Other post was getting big. Here are a few layouts that i will consider, will be easier to know the exact layout before i start doing the proper design of template.

Layout One
This is a good layout, the only problem is that by having the main menu as well as a task bar next to eachother could leave very little room fo the the main content area. Mainly because the standard is to have your page around 800 pixels wide, vs having is very wide to add all of this in.




Layout Two
This one is my favourite, its logical and works well. However i'm not sure how users would react to having the tasks on the right hand side? This also brought up the issue of, when the user is selecting which jobs they want done, it doesnt seem to me, to make sense putting this on the right. Maybe i'm wierd... But my solution for that inparticular was to have a seperate form to let the user select the jobs.




Layout Three
Same as above except tasks are on the left.




Layout Four
Not sure about this one. The same as layout two, the only problem has to do with when theres a long list of jobs etc that you need to show. So for this one, it wouldnt be a good idea to make the tasks area a scroll down for jobs, so again it would have to be done in a seperate form. But if there are only small and simple tasks, this may not be too much of a bad idea, if the content wasnt pushed too far down the page.



OK, i am going to go with layout three. I feel more comfortable with the tasks being on the left side, and the main menu being on top, as this takes up the least amount of room.

_________________________________________________________
Class for project management - 4.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m.
_________________________________________________________
************************************************************************
Tea 6.00 p.m. - 6.30 p.m.
************************************************************************

K, so tonight i need to do some project management... that assignment for thursday, and also figure out the stuff we did in class. Then i really want to get ahead with the template design. If i cant think of anything, i'll carry on with the layout of the forms and figure out everything i need for that.

1/4 Template Design pt. 1

Cont. 1/4 Template Design pt. 2
Cont. 1/4 Template Design pt. 3
Cont. 2/4 Template Design pt. 4

_________________________________________________________
Start 9.00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________

Today now i know the basic tasks a user needs to perform, i will carry on with the template design. Spent time reading project management book and taking bus... stupid travel time.

_________________________________________________________
10.30 a.m.
_________________________________________________________

OK finally get on with proper work. Did a bit of design... then thought hmmm should start on that assignment due on thursday that i havent looked at :\

************************************************************************
Lunch 12.00 p.m. - 1.00 p.m.
************************************************************************

I has moved back onto design, and went and scanned (painfully slowly) some of whats in my note book thingy.

Below is a drawing i did right at the start of the research stage, just to get a bigger picture of what i was going to do. Basically its showing that the user needs a list of jobs and these will be mapped out. The layout of this gives you an idea of what i want to do.

Just a messy version of brainstorming tasks needed to do. Also a small diagram, me starting the database already haha, but it shows the data that i think will be needed at this stage.

This is the basic template layout. Just the main title at the top of the page which never changes. The main menu down the side which never changes. Next to the main menu is another menu that has options for the particular part of the application the user has navigated to. In the middle is where the main content will go. I think i will have to design more than one layout though, keeping in mind the size limits of users screens.

While i was getting an idea of the tasks the users need to perform, i thought it would be good to create what they might look like. This way i can see easily what the users may do. This particular one is for jobs. In the side menu for jobs is the option to sort the jobs, and an option to add.

This is a better re-done version of above.

This is basically the same as the first picture, except messier... haha. This one has the directions at the bottom of the page, and the option to print as well as choose the starting position as home. I will have to think about how the user will input another starting location... this most likely will change from being a tick box, to a more complex menu.

Design Questions/Answers

This post if for the design stage and all the questions i will come up with during this. I will hopefully eventualy come up with all the answers, but who knows.


Q: What if the job is done, or not finished, how will we determine this? And how will the user define what they want to sort the jobs by?
A: Have a boolean to tick the job if its done. We can then let the user decide if they want to view tasks/jobs by ALL, my jobs, completed jobs, uncompleted jobs, un-assigned jobs, and by jobs that are the responsiblity of another user.

Q: Should i geocode all client locations?
A: Yes? This would make it easier to throw in the coordinates vs geocoding the address each time.

Q: How would i go about geocoding the locations? Do i automatically do it, then let the user pres a button when they want to re-geodode if the address is changed?
A: Hrrmmm. At this stage i will say the user will enter an address, and when they save this the geocode will be determined. This way it only happens when the user makes changes to the address, and initially when the record is created.

Q: How many waypoints should i allow the user to add?
A: 10 at this stage.

Q: If i add prioritys, do i also add estimated job times, and based on an average work day figure out whether the planed out route is possible within this time limit based on travelling time and distance?
A: For now i am going to say this is a good idea, and just base a work day say around 8 hours.

Q: Should i let each user specify their own work hours?
A: Maybe... i'll get back to this one.

Q: When the user is wanting to select jobs to map out, should this be a part of the side menu, or a pop up that you can choose jobs from. How is the path going to be edited if needed?
A: I would say it would be more tidy if jobs were selected from a seperate form, and also when the user wishes to re-calculate the route, they can do this from that same form.

Q: What should i do for user management, let them add in users, or use what microsoft provides?

Q: Should i use a number or characters for the Job ID's and Client ID's?
A: Job will be a number and client characters at this point.

Q: Do i make the title job mapping, job tracking, or something better?
A: Job Mapping for now.

Q: Do i call the users of the system users of staff?
A: Users

Q: Let the user add in country?
A: Guess that makes sense in case a client location is in another country, but i might have to do some validation to make sure someone isnt trying to get the directions from london to brisbane haha.

Q: How will the user determine the priority of tasks?
A: Setting them as urgent for now.

31/3 Design

_________________________________________________________
Start 9.00 a.m.
_________________________________________________________

OK, so my main objective today is to figure out what tasks i need to do for the design, and how long these might take. Also this morning i put together a time table so i can improve my time management, or at least try to. :D

Below is what i specified in my milestones.

18th April - Design Goals

• Interface design (Template for website, Form for mapping and jobs, Print out design, Other appropriate form designs)
• UML diagram (Basic)
• Database (Conceptual design, Logical design, Physical design)

Break down of tasks
I am going to do the design stage the best way that is easy for me. This is why i am going to sort of mix up the interface design with the database design, and based on this i will come up with the classes i need for the UML diagrams and work from there. This is mainly because i think in database sort of terms, with entities, attributes and relationships, as this makes it easier for me to see the whole picture.

Interface (7 days)

• Come up with a list of tasks the users will need to acomplish by using this system. This way i can get a better idea of what the user needs to do, and what data they need to input/use.
• Make a list of data needed (most likely start the database design cause i'm naughty!).
• Design the template layout. I will need to come up with some pretty but practical look for the site.
• Figure out, based on the data etc needed, what forms i will need for input and output.
• Make the designs on the computer, so i have a more procise design to upload/show people.

Database (2 days)

• Create entities, attributes, relationships, primary keys (PK) and foreign keys (FK).
• Produce a logical entity relationship diagram (ERD).
• Produce a data dictionary.
• Produce a physical diagram with all of the data types.
• Have these diagrams in visio.

UML (Unified Modelling Language) (6 days)

• Create a basic starting design with entities, attributes and relationships.
• Based on what i came up with in the design of the forms, make a list of functionality that the program will need to perform.
• Make a list of all the functionality and prioritise all of these. This way if i get behind i will only implement the most important functionality.
• Once i have an idea of the whole program, i will produce the final UML diagram.

************************************************************************
Break 11.30 a.m. - 12.00 p.m.
************************************************************************

My plan for the rest of the day is to start the list of tasks needed to perform in the system. If i get this done i will move onto the template design.

Tasks - so far

Users

• Add
• Edit
• Delete
• View - list of jobs
• Assign jobs
• Assign permissions

Clients

• Add - one or more locations
• Edit
• Delete
• View
• View location on map

Jobs

• Add
• Edit
• Delete
• Assign job to user
• View
• Sort view
• Assign the job as completed

Maps

• Choose which jobs will be mapped out, add prioritys if needed.
• Get directions once jobs are selected/prioritised.
• View directions.
• Print directions. (Select what to print).

Data needed

Below is the basic un-normalised data that i need. Information about the staff or users of the system, the jobs that need to be done and the clients information.

Staff ID of some type
User name, first & last
Password?
Job #
Job description
Job completed
Client #
Client name
Client phone number
Location Address
Location geocode

************************************************************************
Break 3.30 p.m. - 5.30 p.m.
************************************************************************

Carry on with design on paper.

_________________________________________________________
Finish 8.00 p.m. - 8 hours.
_________________________________________________________

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

__________________________________

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 :)

Time Table

OK so heres my timetable. (Click for bigger view.) Ive planned it so that saturdays while i'm supposed to be "working" i can do project management homework, or catch up on hours i missed during the week. The rest of the black space i will probly end up doing homework in... i'm not a person to stick to schedules.

_______________________
KEY
_______________________
Walk
Project
Lunch
Project Management
Work
_______________________