Final Project IS 215

Case study 2
MUSEUM INFORMATION SYSTEM

Created by:

Uche Akahome
Dinos Denekos

Table of Contents
1) System Requirements 3
Introduction. 3
Statement of Problem.. 3
Findings... 3
Recommendation. 3
Project Objectives 4
Time and Cost Estimates. 4
Expected Benefits 4
2) Process Description... 5
Management Summary... 5
System Components Details... 5
Implementation Requirements... 6
Time and Cost Estimates.... 6
ER Diagram.... 7
Context Diagram. 7
CRUD Analysis... 8
Partial Data Dictionary.... 8
3) Architecture Overview..... 8
Hardware Requirements... 8
Hardware Requirements... 8
4) Project Implementation
Plan.9
Gantt chart. 9
Budget Proposal. 9
Preliminary Investigation Report... 9-10

System Requirements Document

Introduction
We would be designing a modern information system to improve the visitor experience at
the museum. The system would be a 'walk up and use' system for visitors who have no
training whatsoever in computer system use. The system will be able to manage a floor
plan of the museum and the location of items on that floor plan. Information about
specific items should be accessible by indicating their location. The system will manage
multi-media information - sound, images and video. It will also be possible for museum
staff to change the information in the system and to add information about new exhibits.

Statement of Problem
The museum has been lacking a functioning information system for quite sometime now.
The visitors do not have a way of getting information about the items and artifacts in the
museum. Along with getting information about the artifacts, locating the artifacts from
the visitors location is another problem that is plaguing the museum. The lack of an
information system in the Museum has led to the overworking of the docents which may
be responsible for the decline in the number of visitors recently.

Findings
The new system would require training for the staff so they can update and change
information in the system about exhibits but the users would need no computer training
of any kind.
Implementing this system may require some of the docents to be relived of their duties
since the system would be performing a majority of their duties.
The system would need to be accessible in all parts of the museum so a lot of
construction may be required
As technology advances, the technology of the system may become obsolete so all the
individual pieces would have to be upgraded sometime in the future

Recommendation

We would recommend a system that contains five large tablets placed around the Harwell
Dekatron exhibit (the worlds oldest and largest digital computer). The tablets would
have the full information on the Harwell Dekatron as they would also serve as an
information portal for the visitors to gain information about the locations of different
items/exhibits at the museum. In addition to showing the visitor where the item is located,
it should also display some information about the item in question.
We would also recommend about 75 mini tablets for the most visited artifacts in the
museum. These mini tablets must have a touchscreen interface for the user to interact
with and also a pair of over-ear headphones to provide audio output when necessary. The
tablets should provide complete information on the artifact/item that they are placed in
front of. The tablets should also have video capabilities to play short videos about the
item if needed/applicable.
All of the interfaces should have a floor plan of the museum which should be able to
indicate where each interface is located along with markers of where the other artifacts in
the museum are located along with short lines of information on the other items.
Project Objectives
- Create a more user friendly experience for the visitors.
- Provide an up to date and accurate representation of the museum
- Simplify the navigational issues that visitors have been experiencing
- Provide information in various mediums (Videos, sound-bites, etc.)
- Cut back on employee work-loads

Time and Cost Estimates

We estimate that the entire implementation of the system and the equipment required to
run it would take about 6 weeks and $36,000. We would first need about 2 weeks to plan
which exhibits require a tablet in front of them and what the best way to go about that is.
The construction portion of the project is expected to take 14 days, the construction
includes the placement of the tablets in their stands, as well as making sure that all of the
tablets have an available power source at all times. After the tablets are all installed, the
second portion of the project, the setup, will take another 7 days. After the tablet system
is set up and operational, there will be another 7 days set aside to train the employees on
the operation and some minor troubleshooting of the tablets.

Expected Benefits
The system will create a more user friendly visitor experience, which will not only bring
in more people to visit, but also provide them with better information about the exhibits
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they are interested in. This system is the best way to address all of the things that the
museum is currently in need of. Not only can the visitors learn much more about the
exhibits, it also frees up many of the docents to take care of more important tasks than
helping out the visitors all day. The tablets provide almost a third dimension when it
comes to learning about the exhibits, because they have the ability to not only have
images, but also play videos and sound clips, which leave a much bigger impression on
the visitors. This high-tech renewal of the museum will also attract many new visitors
because the experience is now much more streamlined and unique. Alongside the new
visitors, many old visitors can revisit because now it is much easier to move exhibits
around and introduce brand new ones. No longer does our labor force have to relocate
huge placards and information boards, now they can simply move the exhibit and load
the information onto the tablet in front of it.

Process Description
Introduction

1. Management Summary
We would be building an information system to help visitors gain information as well as
locate various exhibits in the museum. The current system in which the visitors go around
and ask docents for information is becoming inefficient and is seeming to be a tedious
task for both parties. We recommend building a system consisting of five large
interactive tablets and 75 smaller tablets which would be used for navigation as well as
for information on the exhibits and artifacts.
The objective of building this system is to create a more user-centered experience
for the visitors while providing valuable and diverse outlets of information about the
exhibits at this acclaimed museum. By implementing this information system, we would
also be cutting down on the somewhat excessive responsibilities of the docents.
Implementing the system would take about 6 weeks and approximately $36,000
but with its implementation, the system will create a more user friendly visitor
experience, which will not only bring in more people to visit, but also provide them with
better information about the exhibits they are interested in.
2. System Components Details
Our system is made up of 75 small tablets, and 5 large ones that are connected to
our web-page in order to provide the visitors with accurate information about the exhibits
they are looking at. The tablets would be locked to the web browser, meaning the visitors
cannot use them for non-authorized purposes, and they would be set up to only display
information about the exhibit they are located in front of. Along with that, they would
have a map which displays their current location relative to the other exhibits available at
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the museum. The tablets would not require any special apps or additions, simply an
Internet connection (which is already there due to their WiFi capabilities). Another good
reason for this is because oftentimes the exhibits are physically moved around, but now
we can simply change the view on the tablet, meaning the tablets can stay where they are.

Organizational Chart
3. Implementation Requirements
In order to properly utilize this system in the current museum infrastructure, we
would need to put the current employees through a training session of about 1 week,
in which they learn how to properly operate and care for the new tablets. Along with
that we would need to supply the necessary data which has to be added to our website
regarding the exhibits which would require us to provide a complete floor plan of the
museum to the Web designers and developers.
4. Time and Cost Estimates
We estimate that the entire implementation of the system and the equipment required to
run it would take about 6 weeks and $36,000. We would first need about 2 weeks to plan
which exhibits require a tablet in front of them and what the best way to go about that is.
The construction portion of the project is expected to take 14 days, the construction
includes the placement of the tablets in their stands, as well as making sure that all of the
tablets have an available power source at all times. After the tablets are all installed, the
second portion of the project, the setup, will take another 7 days. After the tablet system
is set up and operational, there will be another 7 days set aside to train the employees on
the operation and some minor troubleshooting of the tablets.

Decision Table for Process Description

Visitor requested
information from docent

Visitor used either one of

the tablets

Visitor did not use any of

the tablets

Visitor knows the

locations of the other
exhibits in the museum

Visitor gains information

about the exhibit

Docent has work to do

ER Diagram

Context Diagram

Design Phase
CRUD Analysis
When it comes to the different permissions in our system, its really quite easy to
determine the level of access that the different entities will receive. Obviously, visitors
would only get the rights to read the different exhibit information, while our employees
and docents will get both read and update permissions. The people who get all 4
permissions (create, read, update, delete) would be our web developers because they are
the only ones that have the appropriate knowledge to properly implement a new page.
This also covers us from any disgruntled docents who may be maliciously deleting pages
in hopes that they gain more hours for work.
Partial Data Dictionary
Our system is basically set up to be as simple as possible, allowing for the tablets to
simply have to communicate with our website. This also cuts down costs when it comes
to hosting our own databases and having to pay for that equipment and maintenance.

Architecture Overview
Hardware Requirements
In order to achieve a friendlier user experience for our visitors, we would need to equip
every exhibit with an electronic tablet that can display not only information about the
current exhibit, but also be able to point the user in the correct direction when asked for
the location of another exhibit. The tablets should have a touchscreen interface, which is
how the visitors will interact with them, but they also require a network connection, in
order to be able to communicate with their handling software. The tablets would ideally
be integrated into a board or panel with some sort of anti-theft measures set up.
Software Requirements
The tablets we use would be locked to a web browser (and more specifically, our
website) and would be displaying the information of the exhibit they are currently placed
at. Next to all of the information would be a small map which shows the current exhibit
as compared to the rest of its surroundings. This would not only help users navigate, but
also keep costs low as we would not need to develop our own third party software for the
handling of the tablets. This also provides us with a lot of flexibility when it comes to
adding and deleting data from the archives.

Project Implementation Plan

Gantt Chart

Budget Proposal
75 individual tablets at $200 apiece = $15,000
75 tablet stands at $100 apiece = $7,500
5 large panel tablets at $2000 apiece = $10,000
Component total cost = $32,500
Labor cost (estimate) = $3,000-$3,500
Total Estimated Cost= $35,500-$36,000

Preliminary Investigation Report

Our museum has long been at the forefront of displaying and exhibiting the
history of computing. Now, however we have come to a crucial moment in our history,
where we must adapt in order to survive. Our current system for dispensing information
is broken, our curators and guides have been overworked, and our visitors frustrated at
how little guidance they receive when looking at our exhibits. Now is the time to reinvent
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ourselves and our systems, in order to not only attract new visitors, but also have the
ability to cut back on our costs in the future.
Our plan is to place tablets in front of all of our exhibits in order to provide users
with a more unique and deep experience when they are trying to find out information
about our exhibit. Tablets allow users to gain information from many different mediums,
including text, sound and videos. The tablets would be locked to our website, to ensure
that visitors dont use them for anything thats unauthorized. This web based system also
allows us to simply put money into our website, and just have the tablets pointing to their
respective web pages. This also allows visitors to follow up on their visit if they find
something that interests them.
We expect our whole renovation to take around 6 weeks to complete. We would
first need about 2 weeks to plan which exhibits require a tablet in front of them and what
the best way to go about that is. The construction portion of the project is expected to
take 14 days, the construction includes the placement of the tablets in their stands, as well
as making sure that all of the tablets have an available power source at all times. After the
tablets are all installed, the second portion of the project, the setup, will take another 7
days. After the tablet system is set up and operational, there will be another 7 days set
aside to train the employees on the operation and some minor troubleshooting of the
tablets.
Below we have included the expected costs for the different stages of the project;
75 individual tablets at $200 apiece = $15,000
75 tablet stands at $100 apiece = $7,500
5 large panel tablets at $2000 apiece = $10,000
Component total cost = $32,500
Labor cost (estimate) = $3,000-$3,500
Total Estimated Cost= $35,500-$36,000
We hope that you agree that these additions will not only be integral in our future, but
will also re-establish us as a leader in the field of technology museums.

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