Implementing an Attendance System in 3AAA

Implementing an Attendance System in 3AAAHenry BrownCarry by a forms investigating on implementing an attention system in 3AAABriefPyus Pyxidis shed taken on a jut to investigate the possible attendance systems to be employ by 3AAA academy staff. The investigation should eitherow myself as an employee of PP, to research possible benefit providers, programs and ways of implementing a new attendance system for 3AAA.What is currently used? Before starting my research into different crossways and assists I needed to first find prohibited what current media/service is used by 3AAA to conduct their attendance checks for pupils in their colleges across the country.The use of a hard copy may alike limit the speed of passing the development along to the next represendative in the comp any which you may not get with an online based system.When researching the new alternative I shall keep in assessment the simplicity factor as well as the effective layout used.End User Investiga tionThe first stage to my investigation was to interrogate Andrew Maddison, the Leading appendage in I.T. at 3AAA. I approached the interview in an organised way by using a question sheet which was prepared earlier. I highlighted authorised questions to ask Andrew so that I could incur the most of my metre with him.Fig.1. shows an image of the first scallywag of the completed question theme. Below is a manuscript of the interview paper.Q What would be your most valued feature in your current of documenting attendances?ANeeds to be simple and piano to understand. withstand the current format.Q How much time is required to input your entropy into the document?A Around 20 minutes. However, data has to sit around for up to 4 days before it is sent away to head office. Due to this no immediate action tramp be taken if there is a problem. Q Does the time taken need to be addressed and or shortened?A This could be dealt with by bringing in an online system. Possibly cloud based. This could be used with many different administrative secures to exit the right people to view the data. This could be achieved by using an independent online service.ConclusionThere was a lot of useful information self-collected from the interview. Some of the main points drawn suggested that a cloud based service may be the best way to go with the shed. This would also aid product function and efficiency in communication as well as speed and ease of implementation across the whole of 3AAA.Investigation of ServicesThis portion of the investigation focuses on the service that would best suit the regurgitate. I pass on take into consideration price, ease of use and reliability of the service.In this section I looked at 5 of the top cloud based services which all had their positives and negatives. I worked the 5 down into the two best services to further compare which leave aid in choosing the best option. The two options which I narrowed down where Microsofts Azure service and Amazons AWS.Microsoft AzurePositivesNegatives-Control MA allows you to confine access and combat-ready Directory on the service. This allows more freedom and control. The service also allows for multiple administrative users who can all create amendments and have an input into the system.-The long-term trajectory is not very clear. There are possibilities of Microsoft not fully committing to the service down the road.-Platforms Rival platforms and operating systems are supported on this system.-Microsoft are not innovators in the industry for this service.-Lifespan Annual upgrades are in effect and will allow the service to work and run for a prolonged amount of time. The system should be supported for the next 10 years if not longer.-Open source applications do not have the alike amount of support as Microsoft applications which can make it difficult in fault finding.PricingMicrosoft Azure has been the cheapest option with both quoted prices being lower than AWS. The drop in prices everywhere a two-year tip shows how Microsoft are finding more efficient and cost effect ways to run their service.Amazon AWSPositives Negatives -Features The service offers very similar things to Microsoft Azure.-Outages This service has a account statement of outages and can be unreliable.-Scalable The service will allow for expansion very easily as it is like paying for water or gas. The Service can expand with the businesss needs. Speed The download speeds from the service can sometimes be slow unless extra amounts are paid.-Costs Can eliminate large IT overheads and be more cost effective by using this service. Transactions These can become expensive and the user may even need to pay for activity as well as additional storage.PricingConclusionAfter an in-depth comparison of the two services I have decided to choose Microsoft Azure as my service provider for this investigation. I have based my choice on both features of Azure, the cost and the prospect of prolonged support. Azure offers a more competitive pricing package as well as offering better support for the identify. The uptime and SLA packages are far superior to AWS making MS AZURE the right choice for the Register platform.MoSCoW MethodThe MoSCoW method is a prioritisation technique used in business, project, web, analysis and a much larger tramp of management. The Method is very effective at doing the project leaders/managers in prioritising the most important factors. The work of prioritising the most important sections will help in the success of the project. For example if the priority of a project is to create a simple and effective programme of a website that chooses function over aesthetic, whence this can be easily highlighted in the MoSCoW method to make it easier to follow. So the project would show Must have A well-functioning engine on the website to insure that the system functions to a high standard. Should have A budget of 200,000 or less. Could have Offline featu res. Wont have An instant messaging service. E.g.This method is good for working with time constraints as it allows the project manage to pick the most important aspects which MUST be completed. This then allows for other(a) important but not as pivotal factors to be added to the other sections such as SHOULD and COULD. Many projects will say that they would like to have at least 60% essay put into the project as a minimum. (Even if time and resources are short the effort cannot drop below 60%) As the scale moves down to lesser priorities then 100% effort would be needed to achieve the lower options.Fig.7 (2017). 4.bp.b logspot.com. Retrieved 17 January 2017(M) Must hold inThese will be the fundamental requirements needed to check over that the project can be a success. These areas have been highlighted by the client as important and integral functions.PriorityRequirementsSpecification1Simple and easy to useKeep design simple yet s bank stylish as well as keep the tools/buttons as clear as possible.2Permissions for different staff This is to prevent unauthorised access to certain files, settings and other areas which can be effected.3Encryption and SecuritySSL level encryption will be used to protect the students data and the system will be locked down to prevent an unauthorised access or hacking.4Home pageboy and DashboardThis will be used to make it easier to navigate the website and improve the function(S) Should HaveThese requirements are not as important or as critical as the ones previous. They are still an important part of the project however they are not critical. Due to tight time frames Should specifications can be held back till another time or fit in after the Must have been completed.PriorityRequirementsSpecification1The budget of the project should be 200,000Keep costs down where possible and meet deadlines to check off no further costs are added due to delays. (Client specified to keep below 200,000 if possible)2The project will have a 6 m onth timeline The client needs the system to be up and running by the end of August 2017.3The system will use both off the shelf products and custom made servicesThe blend of custom and off the shelf will ensure that the system will suit the specific needs of the client as well as help to keep the cost down at the same time.4Colour secret writing system will be used for impart, Absent and Late etc. This will show an easy to understand visual representation as well as written e.g. P,A and L will be used to represent the different options as well as the colours.(C) Could HaveRequirements in this section are to be done if the right resources are available and if the client decides for more options. These are not as important as the other two sections above and are only to be attempted once the two previous sections have been completed.PriorityRequirementsSpecification1 spirited colour strategyColour scheme will make it easier to navigate and add a more aesthetic feel to the site.2C olour coding Colour coding within the register itself will make it easier to read and understand.3Dropdown menusThis would make it easier to navigate the site and r individually the different areas faster.4 oarlock inactive users The administrator can be informed of inactivity of users.(W) Wont HaveThis requirement is something that is not necessarily needed for this project and will at long last be decided by the client stakeholders in the future to see if it is needed in an extension of the same project.PriorityRequirementsSpecification1nictitation messaging service This is an expensive and time consuming service to create and set up. 3AAA already have ways of communicating so this wont be needed.Life daily roundI have elect to use the Agile Lifecycle model for this investigation as it has many useful features which would insure a successful implementation of the service to 3AAA. This project would need a tailored plan to correctly implement successfully, the iteration feature in this lifecycle model would allow for safe checks and assorted award releases to be tested before the system in launched. Fig.6. shows a detailed diagram of the Agile Lifecycle Model with the relevant sections and detailed iterations.The Agile development cycle would work extremely well to meet the needs of the project. The multiple iterations of the cycle will allow the development serve well to be as effective as possible. The cycle will be very effective for the projects timescale of 6 months as it allows the developers plenty of time and iterations to get the system working as effectively as possible. The agile cycle allows the project managers to break the project down itself into smaller and more manageable areas. This works hand in hand with the MoSCoW project and will make the project more scalable to the team creating it. The different sections of the MoSCoW theory will work very well with the cycles iterations to ensure each stage Must, Should, Could etc. are completed in the correct order and to a level which will meet the clients expectations.Design FunctionI have designed the website to run on an array of Internet Browsers however I have used screenshots from Google Chrome as the service works best on the specific browser.Below are a series of screenshots from the Beta copy of the proposed Attendance System.Login PromptThis would be the primary interface for the users to gain access to the service. The 3AAA genus Phallus of staff would simply need to search for https//www.3aaa.co.uk/login/attendance-register in their browser to reach this page.The member of staff would use a unique login name such as J_Smith for example to login. The password would be customisable by the user to best insure security for that users online profile. (The password change feature can be found in the settings tab on the drop down menu at the top of the page.)Particular members of staff would have Admin rights to the service to allow for editing, new menus and featu res to be added. This performer that the webpage can be maintained correctly and work as it should. Staff with Administrative rights will have a slightly different colour scheme to indicate the users rights on the page so that it would be easily to identify the different users. For example, an Administrative user would have a red band at the top of the page just above the drop down menu.OverviewOnce the user has successfully gained access to the service they would usually navigate from the home page to the Register area via the drop down menu. Once in the Register area the page will default to the Overview section.The Overview section shows a detailed overview of the students in the staff members selected class. The data provided is the students ID number, Name, Days present as well as a chart to the far right showing how many days absent, present and if they were present in the Am and or PM sessions.RegisterThis section allows the staff member to input the data to the online syste m. It is easy to follow and use as the user can simply place a Y to present a tick and an N to show a cross in the wanted box.This service allows a real time update to 3AAAs records which will be stored on Microsoft Azure protected hosts. The live update allows 3AAA staff members to receive updates from all of the colleges across the UK at the same time to keep their records up to date. ReportThe Report section shows a detailed report of a specifically chosen learner from the academy/college. A full term for the learner can be viewed and displayed with further options to edit from certain staff members.This section shows a column with how many days have been missed by the pupil as well as days present.Different students can be selected easily and various information can be seen about the learner such as guardians, student ID numbers and DOB.Student ListThis section shows the current pupils of the staff member. ofttimes like the report section, details and information about stude nts are displayed.Information about students can be altered in the Edit tab as well as new students can be added through this feature.Other sections are available such as Download, Comments and Edit, however they are relevant to this investigation and a normal feature which is seen on many different sites.ConclusionThe Beta is still a work in progress however I believe I have achieved the desired design, functional and usability features requested by 3AAA. I have followed a 3AAA colour scheme to fit in with other websites and products promoted by the company.The prototype/demo of the online system can be seen above. Below is a further update to the online system after the Agile cycle was followed again. The project was cycled another three times to refine the sites functionality and aesthetics. The site has maintained many of the positive aspects of the beta and prototype however the site has been created to appear more user friendly and more professional. See shots of the site belo w.Mobile AccessThe site can also be accessed via mobile devices. This is to make the function and use as simple as possible for the users and students. The teachers can use this feature too however it is primarily created so that the students can access it whilst in break out rooms or when they are first entering the college so that the register times are as accurate as physically possible. This will allow for reports to be sent back to head office as soon as possible so that there are no delays. The mobile site uses a very similar layout to the browser version however it is slightly adapted to best fit the mobile browsers and thus make the function and design more accessible to the users and students. Below is screenshots from a mobile device showing the site loaded into a browser.ImplementationIn this section I will look at the ways I can implement this service across the company. I must investigate the ways 3AAA currently distribute data and follow a similar path. Due to fact I h ave based the attendance system on a cloud based service there will be no need for software packs to distributed around which many attendance systems are based on. This process can be fairly expensive and the problem of 3AAAs hardware in their sites could cause a problem. The auditing process would also be very lengthy.This confirms that the cloud based platform may be the best way to go for the system. The service is well looked after by Microsoft as it is part of package. Another added perk in the service is that more server space can be purchased easily if the site ever needed expanding.ConclusionThis concludes this investigation into a new attendance system for 3AAA. I have covered the customers requirements, researched a service provider, developed a function able webpage to use as an attendance system and described the implementation procedure I plan to follow. The system has been designed to make the day to day function of signing in/marking the register easier for both the teachers and students. The website can be reached by both computer and mobile devices to make it as simple as possible for the students to access the site to sign in and use it.The register will be implemented gradually by using both Medias at the same time to ensure that it is working correctly before finishing with the paper and pen copies. This will ensure that accurate registers are still sent to head office and the users and students can be integrated into the system effectively.3aaa have over 50+ academy sites around the UK with thousands of learners who attend on a frequent basis. This means that the system must be as full proof as possible to ensure an effective transition in the academies.The ease of use of having the system on the students mobile devices will ensure that the sign in process is as accurate as possible due to the speed in which the students can access the site through a mobile web page and log on. This process will allow for an accurate time stamp as the lea rners arrive to site as opposed to waiting until they were behind their desks to log on to the desktop site which would not be until after college had started at around 915 and would give a false reading.The system would also have all the information needed for students to contact the academy and individuals inside the academy. The students can use options on the site to report illness or and habitual absences. This can also be done through their mobile devices as well as a desktop browser. This will allow for staff at the college to know if a learner will be attending or not as soon as possible and will avoid any delays for 3aaa.Reference ScreenshotsReferenceshttp//www.businessnewsdaily.com/6730-best-time-and-attendance-systems.htmlhttps//azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/services/sql-database/https//www.syntaxismyui.com/taking-attendance-with-xamarin-beacons-and-microsoft-azure/https//xamarin.com/http//www.slideshare.net/kcsq8/kuwait-computer-servicesibatimeattendancebrochureenhttps//xam arin.com/downloadhttp//npifinancial.com/blog/pros-and-cons-digging-into-amazon-web-services/http//geekswithblogs.net/hroggero/archive/2015/08/12/sample-pricing-comparison-2-amazon-aws-and-microsoft-azure.aspxWww.Google.comwww.3aaa.co.uk