PROJECT

1. LAYER BIRDS APPLICATION
Project Proposal
Submitted by
CHENAI MAKOKO
{N0199598P}
Proposed Supervisor
Mrs. Chivasa
A PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO
The Department of Informatics at the National University of Science and
Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONS) INFORMATICS
Faculty of Applied Sciences
[05 October 2022]

2. Introduction
Layer Birds Management is the act of using layer farm management software with up-
to-date monitoring of the layer birds, their weight, egg production and performance
Dashboard and other day to day layer farm activities to input. To achieve this the user
must consistently enter collected data accurately. Farmers have an application at hand
that allows them to track progress, get warnings or recommendations. This app will
recommend and predict any issue that may arise and thus prevented by farmer at a
single glance. Layer birds’ management usually refers to the husbandry practices or
production techniques that help to maximize the efficiency of production. Sound
management practices are very essential to optimize production. Layer Management
System is exclusively for the commercial layer poultry farmer which helps in not only
record-keeping but also has a decision-making tool or recommender. This software
application covers certain aspects of Layer Farms, from the housing of Laying Birds.
A person with basic knowledge can easily use this software.
Problem Description
Hamara a company based in Bulawayo has been training poultry farmers for years on
end. Farmers get a crash course on layer farming and go out in the field. Farmers
come back to Hamara to consult and ask questions about their birds. This has given
the need to create a recommender application so farmers can track progress whilst
getting help on how to stay on track. This application will record and track the process
of layer bird management. This will be a means to track and compare farmer data to
normal trends based on a template or reference of what normal growth/weight of birds
looks like. It will then recommend if the farmer is on track and if not what they can do
to get back on track. This will be done through data collection which will then go
through a decision making took to make recommendations etc. The interested farmer
with user access will.
 Do Daily Recording
 Do Average Weight Analysis and record into the system
 Do Body Weight Analysis
 Mortality Analysis records
The system will produce a dashboard which shows current progress and if the farmer
is on the right track. The visualization of the data will assist the farmer to pick up any
problems fast
Aim
To design a system that monitors layer bird growth from day old chicks to point of lay
whilst recommending, guiding, and reminding the farmer of certain aspects of the
process, i.e., decision making tool.

3. OBJECTIVES
 To record layer birds’ daily activities such as body weight, monitor
vaccinations.
 To measure growth and compare to accepted averages.
 To visually show farmer their progress and if they are on track.
 To gather data which can be compared to other users.
 To come up with an automated decision tool.
 To create a database of farmers and collect data for future use in decision
making or recommendation.
 To create an automated dashboard, for easy reference.
Review of Related Work
Over the years, farming of layer birds has been on the rise in Zimbabwe. This has
especially proven the need to keep track of farming records and automate systems so
that decisions are made easily by a glance at the dashboard. The need also dictates
that recommendations be made to the farmer from the data they provide. This study
will focus on these aspects and how best they help the layer farmer effectively.
What is layer management
Poultry Layer production is raising chickens for the purpose of producing table eggs.
Table eggs go direct to the consumer therefore it is important to ensure that the right
eggs are produced by your flock. Consumers have got preferences for eggs in terms of
primarily colour and size, therefore it is important that attention is paid to the
production process.
Relevant to this study are several articles on ERP software to manage poultry systems.
What Benefits can you expect from layer bird management system?
You may take advantage of a wide range of incredible advantages, like vaccination
monitoring, Inventory Management (number of birds and mortality), quick
monitoring and reporting, and selection facilitation. With the proper herd management
software and an innovative system, you will be able to convert the vital data into
growth. It will provide you a variety of extra features that enable you to fully control
your birds.
There are a variety of available applications which focus on these aspects, and we will
review some as follows.
Poultry Farm Management App
Poultry Care for poultry farm management. Poultry Care’s easy-to-use technology
enables layers farmers, to manage every aspect of their farm. System provides remote,
real-time monitoring. features an intuitive dashboard display. The kinds of module
data are Layer and egg production. (Janagaran (jana@poultry.care), n.d.)
MY POULTRY MANAGER ON GOOGLE PLAY
This app/software makes poultry farm management more effortless. This poultry
farming app tracks feeds, egg production, flock, vaccinations, farm cash flow, etc.
(Anon, 2022).

4. Further to this application it will be a decision support system. A DSS is a tool that
brings data together from multiple sources and presents them in innovative visual
formats: graphs, spatial analyses, and maps; health sector reports; and other media.
(www.measureevaluation.org, n.d.). According to (SearchCIO, n.d.) A decision
support system (DSS) is a computer program application used to improve a company's
decision-making capabilities. It analyses large amounts of data and presents an
organization with the best possible options available.
Decision support systems bring together data and knowledge from different areas and
sources to provide users with information beyond the usual reports and summaries.
This is intended to help people make informed decisions.
This study will put together layer farming and recommending into one place. The
farming processes will be enhanced by a system that warns the farmer if things are not
in place. Vaccinations and vet consultations will be Advised.
Methodology
In this research AGILE methodology will be used - Agile software development
refers to a group of software development methodologies based on iterative
development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between
self-organizing cross-functional teams. Agile methods or Agile processes generally
promote a disciplined project management process that encourages frequent
inspection and adaptation, a leadership philosophy that encourages teamwork, self-
organization and accountability, a set of engineering best practices intended to allow
for rapid delivery of high-quality software, and a business approach that aligns
development with customer needs and company goals. (Trapani, 2018).
Other possible methodologies include
Scrum is an agile development methodology used in the development of Software
based on an iterative and incremental processes. Scrum is adaptable, fast, flexible,
and effective agile framework that is designed to deliver value to the customer
throughout the development of the project. The primary objective of Scrum is to
satisfy the customer’s need through an environment of transparency in
communication, collective responsibility, and continuous progress. The development
starts from a general idea of what needs to be built, elaborating a list of characteristics
ordered by priority (product backlog) that the owner of the product wants to obtain.
(Digite, 2019)
Justification of using the AGILE methodology
Improved project predictability
Reduced risks
Increased flexibility

5. Tools/Technology
Web App
server
* Xampp (local development and Testing) *
Hamara servers
justification: allows for offline work on the database
database engine MySql
database interaction server-side
scripting language
PHP
back-end/ structure HTML, CSS, AND BOOTSTRAP
front-end/ presentation CSS & JavaScript
Text editor PyCharm
Project Scope
In this research we will be focusing on tracking vaccinations, monitoring growth and
data visualization for easy decision making. We will not be focusing on other aspects
of the whole layer farming process that includes detecting diseases or egg production.
In the layer farming processing, there are several other aspects that will not be our
focus in this research. The above-mentioned aspects of the process will be our focus
so that we define how captured data will be used and how the system will use it to the
farmer’s advantage. The goals specific to this project will be defined.
Project scope is the part of project planning that involves determining and
documenting a list of specific project goals, deliverables, tasks, costs and deadlines.
The documentation of a project's scope is called a scope statement or terms of
reference. It explains the boundaries of the project, establishes responsibilities for
each team member and sets up procedures for how completed work will be verified
and approved. (Lutkevich, n.d.)
This project will focus on reminding the farmer of vaccine dates. The farmer will
receive a notification prior to the said date. The system will then remind the farmer
on the day and allow he farmer to mark as done. If the day passes more reminders will
be sent once every day until marked as done. Project will also come up with
dashboards which help the farmer to make quick decisions by looking at the visual
data. The application will also focus on giving the user hints on how to manage
growth in the case that the farmers graphs are not up to set standard. Data collected
will be also used for future reference in the database. The main aim is to use realistic
data sets with realistic conditions.

6. According to poultry care management system it focuses on It monitors and records
all the transactions and activities involved in a layer farm and addresses any unnatural
conditions that occurred. Layer Management System will provide you.
 Daily Production Cost
 Flock-wise Comparison
 Per Egg Production Cost
 Vaccine Notifications
 Balance Sheet
 Profit and Loss Statement With a data collection
 Medicine Cost
 Complete Stock Details
 Potential Risk Management
The accounting aspect of this study will not be our focus.
This project will not focus on any other aspect than the above mentioned as layer
birds farming is a broad focus and to maintain relevance to the study, we will focus on
decision support and data collection.
Feasibility Study
With the above defined scope, I will be able to meet my project schedule.
However,
I. risk involved might be getting inaccurate raw data which gives wrong output.
Inadequate time management.
II. Resource requirement
Laptop to make the application, database, and servers.
A stable internet connection.
Solution Application Areas
This project is of real value to layer farmers. The farming sector is the focus with
poultry as the subject of layer farming. The target domain may benefit from this
solution by being able to make decisions by a single glance of data. Furthermore, the
recommender system keeps the new farmer on track by making suggestions based on
previous data and success. Farmer will decide whether to take the advice or not.

7. Project Timeline
WEEK 8
WEEK 6
WEEK 4
WEEK 2
0 2 4 6 8 10
Attend initial Briefing with supervisor
Create workplan and gantt chart
Do research on similar apps
Create clear and concise project…
Document project scope
Create technical requirements list…
Application architecture
Proposed features and functionalities
Document current system in use and…
assess feedback from 2nd briefing
Document ammendments
Usability testing
Design site structure for web app
Design system strcture for android app
Algorithms
UX (user experience) specifications and…
UI (user interface) specifications and…
Days of the Month

8. References
Janardan (jana@poultry.care) (n.d.). Poultry Farm Management System. [online]
Poultry Care. Available at: https://www.poultry.care/blog/poultry-farm-management-
system [Accessed 23 Sep. 2022].
Anon, (2022). 5 Best Poultry Management Apps for Android & iOS | Free apps for
Android and iOS. [online] Available at: https://freeappsforme.com/poultry-
management-apps/#layer-farm-manager [Accessed 23 Sep. 2022].
Pro Feeds Poultry Management Guide. (2022). [online] Available at:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahU
KEwip3bTVnan6AhVuQkEAHZdEDXEQFnoECAcQAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fw
ww.profeeds.co.zw%2Fdownload%2F%2Fdata%2Fdownload%2F00000014%2FProf
eed-Poultry-Management-Guide-for-Website.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1Bld6Rrh-
EdCVefNNwPfYm [Accessed 23 Sep. 2022].
www.measureevaluation.org. (n.d.). Building a Web-Based Decision Support System
— MEASURE Evaluation. [online] Available at:
https://www.measureevaluation.org/resources/publications/wp-18-216.html [Accessed
23 Sep. 2022].
SearchCIO. (n.d.). What is a decision support system (DSS)? [online] Available at:
https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/decision-support-system.
Trapani, K. (2018). What is Agile/Scrum. [online] cPrime. Available at:
https://www.cprime.com/resources/what-is-agile-what-is-scrum/
digite (2019). What Is Scrum Methodology? & Scrum Project Management. [online]
Digite. Available at: https://www.digite.com/agile/scrum-methodology/
Lutkevich, B. (n.d.). What is project scope? [online] SearchCIO. Available at:
https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/project-scope.