Build Deliverables

Keeping ahead of the rest can be a difficult challenge when you're a leader in the field. Our customer "TrickToys Ltd" is such a leader, in the toy manufacturing market. With more than 25 lines of toys aimed at five to 12 year olds, TrickToys have built a successful brand around offering high-tensile plastic toys that are "virtually unbreakable." TrickToys has built its success on two key factors: 1. Market Research TrickToys place a high priority on Market Research. The company conducts ongoing research studies to identify the latest trends in customer buying patterns. In this way, the company is able to identify new toy products before its competitors do. 2. Performance Information TrickToys practices continual improvement of its business processes. The company regularly gathers performance information regarding its operating and manufacturing processes to identify areas where improvement is needed. By using top quality market research information, TrickToys is able to maximize its sales revenue. By using company performance information, it is able to minimize its manufacturing costs. Overall, this leads to a higher profit margin, enabling them to reinvest in future growth.

Case Study Profile

Project Name: Project Organization: Project Type: Project Client: Project Manager: Project Activity: TrickToys Infomation SuperSoftware Consulting Ltd Data Warehousing Project TrickToys Ltd Katherine Williams Build Deliverables

This Case Study describes how the deliverables were built for a Data Warehousing project. The project, people and organizations described are purely fictional.

As stated, the success of the company is dependent on the quality of the market research and performance information gathered. TrickToys has created an efficient process for gathering market research data by outsourcing it to a specialist market research firm; however, its process for collecting company performance information is relatively inefficient. To date, this information has been collected manually by producing a suite of performance reports from 15 different systems. The data from each report must then be collated to produce an overall view of the company performance. This reporting process comes at a high cost, as three staff members must work fulltime to produce, collate, validate and publish the reports every week. In order to cut costs and increase the accessibility of information, TrickToys has decided to create a computer solution that automatically extracts, collates and validates information from all 15 systems within minutes. Using a computer system to extract and collate performance data will not only reduce operational costs, but it will also allow management to view company performance on a daily rather than weekly basis. This will give the company an even greater competitive advantage, as it will be able to identify and resolve production issues even earlier than before. In June, TrickToys released a formal tender for the provision of a suitable computer

solution. Our company, SuperSoftware Consulting Ltd, won the tender and I was assigned as the Project Manager. After completing the steps required to initiate and plan this project, we gained approval from the Project Board to begin building the deliverables. I have described in this Case Study, the steps taken to build the deliverables by completing a detailed design, building the components of each deliverable, testing each component fully and implementing the deliverables on site at the TrickToys premise.

Building Deliverables TrickToys Infomation Project

It has been agreed that in order to meet TrickToys requirements, SuperSoftware will produce and implement a "data warehouse", which is a central database that connects to a variety of existing computer systems. By connecting to TrickToys' existing systems, our data warehouse will extract information nightly, filter the information based on a specific set of criteria, consolidate the information into a summarized data set and then present the information to TrickToys management using newly created graphical reporting software. The following diagram explains this solution further:

I completed the following activities to build the deliverables for this solution: Analysis. We conducted a detailed analysis of TrickToys' requirements to ensure that we had a complete understanding of the customer's needs, prior to starting development. Design. We created a detailed design of the final solution, to ensure that all of the solution components were well thought out. Develop. We built each of the components of the solution. Once tested and installed, these components would comprise the final deliverables for the customer. Test. We tested each component to ensure that it complied with the specified design and functioned according to the customer's requirements. Implement. When testing was complete, we installed all of the components at the customer site and ran a final test to ensure that the solution met the customer's full requirements.

Together, these activities formed the project's Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). I have described each activity in further detail below.

1 Analysis

My success in managing projects has always come from ensuring that the customer's requirements are fully documented before we begin the design and development of deliverables. Although the high level (general) requirements for this project had been defined in the Feasibility Study, a detailed set of requirements were needed to ensure that the final deliverables met the customer's expectations. Define the Business Requirements First, we set out to ensure that the detailed business requirements were fully documented. On this particular project, most business-related activities (such as re-organizing roles, redefining responsibilities, creating new business processes and communicating these changes to the wider TrickToys business) were to be handled by the customer. As such, the customer was responsible for defining these requirements and documenting a Business Requirements Specification. Our project then performed a detailed review of this document to ensure that all of the technology implications could be reasonably achieved. Define the Technology Requirements With a clear understanding of the business requirements, we then set out to define the detailed requirements for a suitable technology solution. We spent two weeks defining the customer's requirements for corporate data, IT hardware, application software and system interfaces. The resulting requirements were ten documented within a Technology Requirements Specification, which was presented to the Project Board for approval.

2 Design
With a comprehensive understanding of the customer's requirements, we could then begin designing the detailed technology solution to meet those requirements. Design the solution Creating a detailed design of the solution is critical to the completion of a successful project. To ensure that our solution met TrickToys' technology requirements, we created a detailed design of the: Data warehouse and its components System interfaces between the data warehouse and the existing TrickToys systems Routines that would automatically extract data from the existing systems, populate the new data warehouse and consolidate and validate the data within the data warehouse Client software that enables users to view the data through a graphical user interface and to produce ad-hoc reports that "drill-down" into the data as required

Pilot the design Although the solution design appeared to be robust, I wanted to make sure that it was practical to implement and was most likely to meet the customer's requirements. So I commissioned a "pilot" solution, which was a mini-implementation of the overall solution. We built a subset of the data warehouse, connected it to an existing TrickToys system, extracted data from that system into the data warehouse, consolidated the data and presented it to users in the form of an online report. By creating the pilot, we were able to gather feedback from TrickToys users regarding their experience in using the solution and update our design documentation accordingly.

3 Development
With the system requirements completed, the system design documented and the pilot solution ratified by users, we were ready to begin building the physical project deliverables. Build Database The first deliverable to be constructed was the database. This database was to act as the core data warehouse repository. Data was to be extracted from existing TrickToys systems and loaded into this database, as a platform for a central source of information for client reporting. We installed the new database within our "development environment" and then customized the database by adding new fields, tables and indexes as appropriate. Then we performed unit testing to ensure that the database would perform as required. Build Data Migration Routines While we were building the database, I tasked another team with the development of the data extraction software program. This program needed to extract data nightly from all 15 TrickToys systems and load it into the new database to populate the "data warehouse". This same application would also consolidate the information collected in the data warehouse and then check the consolidated data to ensure its accuracy. Build Client Software Application We also developed a software application that allowed us to take information from the database and present it to clients using a graphical user interface. The application displayed summarized performance information in the form of tables, graphs and charts. By adding color to the graphs and charts displayed, we were able to show the extent to which the defined company performance criteria had been achieved. For instance, if the results in the Production Department chart for the Number of Units Produced were "green" then the company was on track; "yellow" represented a 5% deviation; and "red," a 20% deviation from the expected results. Build Hardware The new database and software programs required new computer hardware on which to run. The database needed to reside on a high-specification computer server; the data migration routines were to reside on the same server platform; and the client software application needed to reside on the users' PC. New computer servers and PCs needed to be procured, built and configured within a relatively short period of time.

4 Testing
After completing the development and procurement stages, we needed to test each of the project deliverables against the requirements and design documentation. The following types of testing were undertaken: Systems and Integration Testing We tested the entire solution end-to-end, checking that each deliverable performed as required. For example: We tested the database to make sure that data could be obtained quickly and easily.

We tested the data migration routines to make sure that data could be extracted from existing TrickToys systems and loaded into the data warehouse database. We thoroughly tested the data consolidation function and completed detailed data validity checks to ensure that the information presented to the user was accurate and not misleading. We tested the client software application to ensure that users could navigate the data quickly and easily, using the charts and tables provided. We also checked to ensure that users could "drill-down" within the data to investigate any apparent performance issues. And finally, we tested the hardware to make sure that it was operating reliably and efficiently. During this testing process, we identified a number of small changes that needed to be made to perfect the system. We applied these changes and then initiated User Acceptance Testing. User Acceptance Testing For this testing activity, a group of representative TrickToys users were required to operate the system to determine whether their initial requirements had been fully realized. We issued them with a copy of the original Requirements Specification document and asked them to check each item on it, to confirm that the solution we delivered did in fact meet their requirements.

5 Implementation
After gaining confirmation from TrickToys users, we were ready to implement the final data warehouse solution within the TrickToys environment. In order to do so, we completed the following tasks: Schedule Implementation We scheduled the implementation of the solution, to ensure that it would be installed on a day and time which suited the TrickToys business. Sufficient time was allowed for training users, establishing support staff and procedures, reorganizing roles and communicating the steps needed to perform the implementation. It was decided that for the first three months, the business would run the "old system" (i.e. continue creating manual reports) in parallel to the "new system" (i.e. the data warehouse). That way, in the event that the new system failed, the business could immediately fall back on its old system. It also allowed TrickToys to check the data produced by the old and new systems each week to ensure that they were in sync. Rollout Hardware We then rolled out the computer hardware within the timeframes specified in the implementation schedule. The only remaining step required to implement the hardware was to connect it to the TrickToys computer network, finally allowing it to communicate with the other 15 systems on the network. Rollout Software With the hardware, database and data migration software running, the next step was to install the client interface software on the users' PCs. Although there were 20 users in the company, we had simplified the installation process by creating an installation CD from

which we could copy the software files directly onto the users' machines. The installation went smoothly. Perform Operational Testing The final step required to complete the implementation of this data warehousing solution was to perform a final, end-to-end test of the solution to ensure that it was "fully operational" and could be supported by the TrickToys IT Support Team. This test also went well. Only four months after the start of the execution phase, we had built and completed the final deliverables for the customer and the data warehouse went live. Three months after taking the data warehouse live, SuperSoftware's deliverables were providing TrickToys with the following business benefits: They were able to decrease operating costs, due to the reduction in effort required to produce the reports Data accuracy was improved, as the manual processes involved in comprising the report data were removed Management were able to gain a daily insight into the performance of the company, rather than weekly Performance problems could be immediately investigated by "drilling-down" through the data to identify the root cause.

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