support@essaywritingexpert.org© Shelly Cashman Series Systems Analysis and Design text, in which Appliance Warehouse is a fictitious company and is
the focus of a case study.
BCIS 3389 – Case Study Assignment #5
The next step in the systems development process is the data design for the new SIM system at
Appliance Warehouse© (AW). The database administrator has indicated that he will have time next
week to start building the database. In that case, you should focus on the Entity Relationship Diagram
(ERD) and the database design this week.
When you start the ERD, be sure to focus on the entities previously employed when creating the Data
Flow Diagram (DFD), Use Case Diagram, and Class Diagram. Think about all the major activities
between each of these entities and determine the type of relationship between the entities. The purpose
of the SIM system is to keep track of service calls. In addition to the data stored for the previously
identified entities, service call data should also be stored. When a service call appointment is scheduled,
the service call appointment needs a unique identifier, it needs to be assigned a technician ID, the date of
the call and the date of the service need to be recorded, the customer ID needs to be entered, the serial
number of the appliance replaced needs to be entered, the part ID should be recorded, the service charge
needs to be entered, and any discounts recorded. Remember, the best entity relationships are 1:1 (one-to-
one) or 1:M (one-to-many). Do NOT include any M:N (many-to-many) relationships. Any M:N
relationships should be converted into 1:M relationships using an associative entity. It is NOT necessary
to include the attributes in the ERD. A purpose
Once you have created the ERD, you will be designing the tables for the database in 3NF (3rd normal
form). Each table should list all the necessary fields. You should have done some of this work when you
created the user interface screens a few weeks ago. Highlight which field(s) is/are the primary key(s)
and foreign key(s) in each table. Indicate the relationships between each table. This will take the form of
a physical ERD of each table (created from each entity) with its associated keys (primary/secondary)
and fields (derived from the attributes in the Class Diagram).
After the tables are created, be sure to put in at least 3 records of “dummy” data in each of the tables.
This way, we can better see the size and data types for each of the fields. You can use some of the data
in the Service Records Sample document and the organizational chart.
Some very exciting news has been announced! The owner, Mae Roth, is planning to open up two more
AW stores in the next 2 years. In light of this news, it’s important to start thinking about how AW might
best accommodate growth through our computerized systems. We will be increasing our workforce,
inventory, and revenues with this expansion. We might need to implement an enterprise resource
planning (ERP) system to better coordinate all of our various departments and stores. In fact, it might
make sense to implement this system prior to the second store opening. Please start researching the
various ERP systems on the market and make a recommendation which system we should consider?
Make sure to compare at least three systems before making a recommendation.
As we design our new SIM system, in light of the news of the two new future stores, we need to start
thinking about scalability. How scalable do we need our new system to be? What system requirements
should we add with regards to scalability issues? Furthermore, how do you think we should set up our
computer network? Is there a topology that you think would be most appropriate for AW? Do you think
we need online processing or do you think batch processing would be adequate?
The programmers and database admin have also asked about the security requirements for this system.
At this point, these requirements have not been discussed. Think through the classes of users
(Appointment setters, Technicians, Part Department, Management, Customers) and what type of access
© Shelly Cashman Series Systems Analysis and Design text, in which Appliance Warehouse is a fictitious company and is
the focus of a case study.
they require. Also, how do you think we need to protect the technician’s machines and the server?
Security is such an important issue now. There have been so many security breaches recently with our
competitors.
Deliverables:
Module 9 (Chapter 9 – Data Design)
Create a logical Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) based upon the Data Flow Diagram
(DFD), Use Case Diagram, and Class Diagram created previously. Refer to section 9.5 Entity-
Relationship Diagrams on pages 280-284 in Chapter 9 of the textbook. Recall the entities
previously identified: Technicians, Customers, Appointment Setters, and Parts (i.e., Parts
Department). The purpose of the SIM system is to keep track of service calls. As such, consider
the data that needs to be stored for each service call. You may use the software of your choice to
create the ERD (Visio, Word, etc.), using the relationship notation shown in FIGURE 9-13 on
page 280 and FIGURE 9-14 on page 281 and the example provided in FIGURE 9-16 on page
282 or using Crow’s foot relationship notation as shown in FIGURE 9-17 and FIGURE 9-18 on
page 283 and the example provided in FIGURE 9-19 on page 284. It is NOT necessary to
include keys or attributes in the ERD at this point.
Create a physical Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD) based upon the logical ERD in 3NF (3rd
normal form. Refer to section 9.6 Normalization on pages 284-296 in Chapter 9 of the
textbook. This will take the form of a physical ERD including each table (created from each
entity) with its associated keys (primary/secondary) and fields (derived from the attributes in the
Class Diagram). You may use the software of your choice to create the physical ERD (Visio,
Word, etc.), however, Crow’s foot relationship notation as shown in FIGURE 9-17 and
FIGURE 9-18 on page 283 and the example provided in FIGURE 9-19 on page 284 MUST be
used.
Create a word processing table representing each of the database tables and place at lest 3
records of “dummy” (sample) data in each of the tables. Refer to FIGURE 9-23 on page 290 for
an example of 3NF tables with “dummy” data. Refer to the Service Records Sample document
attached to the assignment link and the Organization Chart previously created. The three
instance examples from Case Study Assignment #3 can also be used.
Module 10 (Chapter 10 – System Architecture)
[Writing Intensive (WI) Component]: Research ERP systems on the market and make a
recommendation for which system AW should consider. As noted above, make sure to compare
at least three systems before making a recommendation. Refer to section 10.1.2 Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) on page 317 of Chapter 10 of the textbook. As a WI component of
the course, please adhere to the following (these refer specifically to the WI component):
o Minimum of 2 pages and maximum of 3 pages in length, not including references,
tables, figures, etc. Appropriate paragraph breaks. No extra spacing or headings. In other
words, no creative formatting to meet page length minimum.
o See Case Study Assignment Guidelines for formatting (font, spacing, etc.)
o No bulleted lists, copying and pasting from sources, or direct quotations. Paraphrase
using your own words in written form.
Discuss issues related to Scalability as identified in the narrative above. A minimum paragraph
of three to five complete sentences. Refer to section 10.1.4 Scalability on page 319 of Chapter
10 of the textbook.
© Shelly Cashman Series Systems Analysis and Design text, in which Appliance Warehouse is a fictitious company and is
the focus of a case study.
Discuss issues related to Online versus Batch Processing and provide your justification for
one over the other. A minimum paragraph of three to five complete sentences. Refer to section
10.6 Processing Methods on pages 332-334 of Chapter 10 of the textbook.
Discuss issues related to Networking and make a recommendation for the most appropriate
topology. A minimum paragraph of three to five complete sentences. Refer to section 10.7.2
Network Topology on pages 335-337 of Chapter 10 of the textbook.
Discuss issues related to Security requirements for the system, classes of users, access, and
protection as described in the narrative above. A minimum paragraph of three to five complete
sentences.