Criterion B: Developing Ideas

CRITERION B: DEVELOPING IDEAS

Design Specification

            A design specification is an essential part of a project, especially when the product has to be made to meet some unique requirements or provide solutions to some specific problems. My design specification needs to specify how my software will address the requirements of the HyperSweet Labs. Specifically, the company requires a software application that will help them search through their database of workers and machines and help them locate each of them along with their details in the manufacturing process.

            My database will have two tables to store details about workers and about robotic machines, which would be connected using linked data relating to their location in the factories. The software will have features that will enable the Human Resources manager to add, delete, edit, save the inputs and outputs generated. The outputs can be generated using the queries and reports features. The software will be easily searchable, user-friendly, menu-driven, and should be able to address all the issues being currently faced by HyperSweet Labs.

Feature	Description
Tables	Stores the data.
Linked Fields	Shows the computer that fields in separate tables are actually the same field.
Key Fields	Gives each record a unique field from which they can be located easily.
Validation Rules	Stops invalid or incorrect information from being entered.
Validation Texts	Gives an error message when validation rule isn’t followed
Input Masks	Turns all entered data in a certain field into a similar format regardless of the actual input.
Forms	Displays the information in a more organized way.
Buttons	Allows users to do commands with one click.
Navigation Buttons	Allows user to control which records they can see.
Combo Boxes	Allows user to choose from options to assign value to a certain field.
Queries	Finds certain records which the user has entered
Reports	Creates an organized, printable version of a query.
Utilities	Opens other applications such as Excel or Calculator.
Login Screen	Forces user to enter a username and password before gaining access to the database.

Table for the Employees

Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Example
Employee Number	Number	Integer	9405
First Name	Short Text	25	Addison
Last Name	Short Text	25	Brun
Email Address	Short Text	70	addison.brun@hyp ersweetlabs.ae
Nationality	Short Text	40	Bulgaria
Gender	Short Text	1	M
Age	Number	Integer	24
Date of Birth	Date/Time	Short Date	22/12/1991
Years of Experience	Number	Integer	4
Factory	Number	Integer	1
Section	Short Text	1	A
Occupation	Short Text	40	Import/Export
Job Description	Short Text	-	Driving the trucks to import ingredients and exports products.
Salary/Month	Currency	-	1400 AED

Field Name	Validation Rule	Validation Text	Input Mask
Employee Number	Is Not Null & >=0	Please enter a valid employee number.	9990
First Name	Is Not Null	First Name is a required field.	>L<????????????????????????
Last Name	Is Not Null	Last Name is a required field.	>L<????????????????????????
Email	Like “[A-Z]*@hyper sweetlabs.ae	Please enter a valid email address. **Must be @hypersweetlabs.ae	-
Gender	=”M” Or “F”	Enter either M or F.	>L
Section	=”A” Or “B” Or “C” Or “D” Or “E”	Enter a valid factory section.	>L
Occupation	-	-	>L<???????????????????????????????????????

Table for the Machinery

Field Name	Data Type	Field Size	Example
Model Number	Number	Integer	9688713
Model	Short Text	30	FH 380
Manufacturer	Short Text	30	Volvo
Cost	Currency	-	75,000 AED
Purchase Date	Date/Time	Short Date	27/6/2011
Warranty	Date/Time	Short Date	12/7/2019
In Use	Yes/No	-	Yes
Factory	Number	Integer	1
Section	Short Text	1	A
Job Performed	Short Text	40	Transportation
Job Description	Short Text	-	Delivery of goods.

Field Name	Validation Rule	Validation Text	Input Mask
Model Number	Is Not Null & >=0	Enter a valid	99999990
Manufacturer	-	-	>L<?????????????????????????????
Section	-	-	>L
Job Performed	-	-	>L<???????????????????????????????????????

Validation Rules
Operator	Function	Example
NOT	Tests for converse values.	NOT > 10
IN	Tests for values equal to existing members in a list.	IN (“Tokyo”, “Paris”, “Moscow”)
BETWEEN	Tests for a range of values.	BETWEEN 100 AND 1000
LIKE	Matches pattern strings in Text and Memo fields.	LIKE “Geo*”
IS NOT NULL	Forces users to enter value in the field.	IS NOT NULL
AND	The data must fall within limits that you specify.	> = #01/01/2007# AND < = #03/06/2008#
OR	One or more pieces of data can be true.	January OR February
<	Less than	<10
<=	Less than or equal to	<=10
>	Greater than	>10
>=	Greater than or equal to	>=10
=	Equal to	=10
<>	Not equal to	<>0

Input Masks
Character	Explanation
0	User must enter a digit (0 - 9).
9	User can enter a digit (0 - 9).
#	User can enter a digit, space, plus, or minus sign.
L	User must enter a letter.
?	User can enter a letter.
A	User must enter a letter or a digit.
a	User can enter a letter or a digit.
&	User must enter a character or space.
C	User can enter a character or space.
.,:;-/	Decimals and thousands place holders, date and time separators.
>	Converts all following characters to uppercase.
<	Converts all following characters to lowercase.
!	Causes the input mask to fill from left to right.
\	Characters immediately following will be displayed literally.
“"	Characters enclosed in double quotation marks will be displayed literally.

Gantt Chart

Main Menu 

Employees Form

Machinery Form

Factories Form