2. 2
Table of contents
Planning
Opening Statement 3
Systems Request 4
Business Case 5-8
Current Gantt Chart 9
Use Case Model 10
Class Diagram 11
Sequence Diagram 12-13
State Machine Diagram 14-15
Windows Diagram 16
a. Prototype Screens 17-20
b. Mock Website 21
Usability Testing Summary 22
Executive Summary 23
3. 3
This project is still an ongoing project that has followed the UML model in a strict fashion.
Since the systems request, we at Initech have found that the core key requirements must not be
overlooked and that the intended system will include the essential requirements of streamlining
the transaction process of buy, pawn, and sell, help with record keeping, provide easier report
forming for financial and legal institutions, and help with online marketing. Throughout the stages
of this project, we will identify more aspects of the system and documents detailing the desired
functionality. We will then enter into the actual designing and construction phases were user and
stake holder support is a necessity for the project to succeed.
So far, the scope of the project has been small with pertaining to only one small business. This
is good in terms of risk and feasibility however this does not mean this project and its phases are
not important. We will continue to go along with the path pertaining to our Gantt Chart so that
the requirements of this system are met and for the business to prosper after the system is
complete.
We at Initech will continue our support of this development project and hope to provide value
to your business.
Nicholas Jones
4. 4
System Request
Project Name: Pete's Pawn Shop
Project Sponsor: Peter "Pete" Forthright, owner and chief operating officer
Business Need: Pete's Pawn Shop has been in the pawning business for 30+ years. The business specializes in jewelry,
electronics, furniture and antiques, but other items may be accepted on occasion. Though Pete has
been using a computer for simple tasks such as word processing, and managing inventory in simple
spreadsheets, he has a difficult time keeping up with the record keeping and the legal requirements,
and many accounting errors have resulted in substantial losses. Pete believes that his business
operations could be made more efficient and effective with the proper information systems support.
Functionality: The expected functionality includes transaction support for sales, purchases, and pawning, as well as
managing inventory and repeat-customers, provide financial and legal reporting [stolen property,
etc.], and marketing.
Expected Value: Reduce losses due to book keeping errors, reduce cost for clerical support, better decision-making in
offering loans and appraising items, and improve relationships with customers (new and repeat).
Special Issues or
Constraints: Limited funds for equipment upgrades and software development; limited information systems
expertise; many one-time customers; reporting requirements to identify stolen goods; need for
outside appraisers for some items; two workstations with Internet access; one external mass storage
device; no website, Facebook or other social media identity.
Case Scenario- This is a new information systems idea for a small pawn shop owned by Pete Forthright.
These are the following assumptions.
1. 4 % discount interest rate
2. 16 transactions per business day on average
3. Currently $400,000 turnover per annum
4. Annual appraiser cost: $20,000
5. Current management & staff salaries:
a. assistant shop manager $65,000
b. two part-time sales clerks/bookkeepers $25,000 each
6. Current facility lease is $2,000 per month
7. Training to use and manage/maintain the system (make an estimate as to hours and cost)
8. New IT Equipment resources (make your own estimate)
5. 5
Business Case - Pete’s Pawn Shop
Team Initech
Sep/10/2014
Scope of the Project:
This project seeks to develop an information system for Pete’s Pawn Shop. The system will include a customer
database, inventory management, loan tracking, POS capabilities, financial accounting, legal reporting and
online presence.
Goals and Objectives: This system is expected to streamline the staff and customer experience, reduce losses
due to clerical errors, reduce staffing costs, improve decision-making and price-setting in making loans and
appraising items, streamline transactions, and improve customer satisfaction and experience.
Technical Feasibility
User familiarity: Medium Risk
The system will be a big change to the current business, thus users will require training to learn how to use and
manage the new system as well as the new technology that utilizes the system.
Project size: Low Risk
We are working with a small pawnshop thus installing, training users, and managing the system should be
straightforward given the level of support and training planned.
New hardware: Low Risk
Scanners, printers, and other pawnshop technology will be installed on site to accommodate the system.
Upgrades: Low Risk
Current hardware such as the already set up workstations will need to be either upgraded or replaced to
accommodate with new system.
Analyst’s experience: Medium Risk
The project managers are not experts on accounting or pawn shops and know of them, however since this is a
small business the risk are lower.
Legal requirements: Low Risk
System must work with the legal requirements of pawn shops for the state. System must be able to work with
police in sending reports and be able to safely store correct information of customers and accounting data.
Integrating old accounting system to new system: Low Risk
System must be able to integrate and store previous accounting and product data. Pre-built software that
streamlines the process of entering previous data can be chosen to meet this requirement but inputting old data
can be tedious.
6. 6
Economic Feasibility: Low Risk
Assumptions:
● Revenue increases by 0.89%1
○ New information system and increased web presence facilitates an average of one additional
customer per week.
● Appraisal costs reduced by 25%
● Clerk salary costs reduced by 25%
● Discount Rate of 4%
● Off-the-shelf software package. An in-house development project would be much more expensive.
Tangible Benefits:
● ROI over 5 years: 2.10
● NPV over 5 years: $44,059.85
● Break-even occurs after: 1.04 years
Intangible Benefits:
● Increased customer satisfaction. More accurate appraisals mean better loans.
● Increased brand recognition through a web-facing storefront.
● Increased compliance with the local authorities through an electronic inventory system.
Developmental Costs:
● Consulting Fees - $5,527.30
2
○ $999.99 annual service contract
● Hardware Costs (Upfront): $1,575.65
○ Maintenance - 12% of original cost (incurred annually): $189.08
● Software Costs: $1,188.00 annually
Operational Costs
3
:
● Manager Training: $2,500.00
● Clerk Training: $1,923.08
Organizational Feasibility
Strategic Alignment: Low Risk
This project is strongly aligned with the business strategy of Pete’s Pawn Shop as it will increase sales, reduce
losses due to bookkeeping, streamline accounting and tax reporting, and bring in new customers through online
presence, all of which will increase overall revenue.
Stakeholder Analysis: Low to Medium Risk
1
It should be noted that even if revenue does not increase at all, the new system would still be a financially
sound investment because of reductions in appraisal and salary costs as well as increased inventory turnover.
2
Consulting fees reflect a flat 200% on hardware and software costs.
3
Operational costs assume 2 weeks lost productivity/training time for employees.
7. 7
Accepting the new system: Low Risk
● The owner of the company, also the champion of the project, has a very strong interest in the
project in order to improve his business.
● Change management plan: The users of the in-store system include the owner, assistant
manager, and two part-time clerks/bookkeepers. The owner and staff will be consulted as to
what functionality would improve their sales and workload. The system that will be designed or
purchased will be user friendly and streamline the sales, loans and bookkeeping. Shop staff will
receive training to use the system and will benefit from the ease of POS capability, tracking of
inventory, loan and sales records, and customer records.
● Customer users will benefit from the ability to check the status of their loans online if desired,
and from a streamlined in-store transaction.
Adapting to the new system: Medium Risk
● Staff possibly has little experience in POS/inventory management software.
● Training will be provided to shop staff. System will improve ease of transactions.
Transferring inventory to the new system: Low Risk
● Current records will need to be transferred.
● This will take some time but the new system’s time saving features will make up for this time.
Legal and Contractual: low risk
The software fees are on a month-to-month basis and there is no ongoing contract involved.
Additional Comments:
Conclusion:
Given the functional, organizational, technical and economic requirements of the project, it is our
recommendation that we install an existing pawn management software package and related hardware at Pete’s
Pawn Shop.
9. 9
Updated Gantt Chart
12/4/14
This Snapshot of the updated Gantt Chart includes what has been done highlighted in green
and what needs to be done expanded and highlighted in yellow. As of now we are entering in the
inception phase within execute project. If you wish to see the full Gantt Chart in Microsoft project
format, check your email as I will be sending it to you along with this Systems Proposal.
12. 12
Sequence Diagram
November/7/2014
:Customer Manager:Manager
Request
Pawn Display
Pawn Transaction
Screen
Draw Screen
Enter item description, category,
redemption period, and estimated value
Calculate Item
Loan Amount
Estimated
value
less interest
to be chargedLoan
Amount
Request Pawn Creation
Update
Pawn
Item
Inventory
UpdateFinancial Records
UpdateSuccessful
UpdateSuccesful
Display
Transaction
Confirmation
Accepts
Pawn Offer
Return
Pawn Offer
CreatePawnItem( itemCategory,
itemDescription,
estimatedValue,
itemRedeemPeriod )
:PrintReceipt
Bot
Print Receipt
Call New Pawn Entry Routine
Get Info
Return Info
Pawn
Inventory
:Database
:PawnItem
Financial
Records
:Database
MainMenu
:UI
PawnScreen
:UI
:CalcLoan
:EnterNew
Pawn
Get Info
Return Info
13. 13
Object Descriptions
Object name Object
Type
Description
:Customer Actor A Customer initiates a pawn transaction through the Manager.
:Manager Actor A Manager interacts with the system using the Main Menu and the
Pawn Screen. A Manager determines the estimated value of the
item, and interacts with the Main Menu and Pawn Screen to process
the customers pawn, record the transaction, and print the receipt.
MainMenu:UI Boundary
Class
The Main Menu User Interface displays the transaction options buy,
sell, and pawn. It communicates with Pawn Screen in this
sequence.
PawnScreen:UI Boundary
Class
The Pawn Screen User Interface allows the Manager to create,
calculate and enter new pawn offers. It calls Pawn Item, Calculate
Loan, Enter New Pawn. It displays confirmations from Calculate
Loan, Pawn Inventory Database and Financial Records Database.
:CalculateLoan Control Class Calculate Loan is called by Pawn Screen when the Manager enters
pawn item description (estimated value, length of redemption
period, and interest rate) into Pawn Screen. It communicates with
Pawn Item to process the pawn item information to calculate loan
amount.
:PawnItem Entity A Pawn Item is created when the manager enters the item
description, estimated value, and length of redemption period. It is
called by Enter New Pawn in New Pawn Entry Routine.
:EnterNewPawn Control Class Enter New Pawn is called by Pawn Screen to enter the new pawn
into the system after the Pawn Item has been created and Customer
has agreed to pawn offer. It calls the Pawn Inventory Database to
create a new DB entry for the new pawn to the database. It also
calls the Financial Records Database create a new DB entry of the
financial details of the new pawn.
PawnInventory:Database Entity Pawn Inventory Database stores pawn instances. It is called by
Enter New Pawn to create a new database entry when a new pawn
is created. It confirms update to Pawn Screen.
FinancialRecords:Database Entity Financial Records Database stores financial information related to
each pawn. It confirms update to Pawn Screen.
:PrintReceiptBot Boundary
Class
Print Receipt Bot is called by the Pawn Screen to print receipt at
completion of transaction.
15. 15
State Descriptions
State Description
Pending Pawn Item is temporarily stored in the system awaiting customer acceptance.
Open Pawn Item loan has been issued but not yet redeemed or defaulted, that is, it
carries a balance and the redeem date has not yet passed.
Redeemed Pawn Item is moved to this state when balance is zero. Item is then archived.
Defaulted Pawn Item is moved to this state when the balance is greater than zero and the
redeem date has passed. Item is then moved to sellable inventory.
16. 16
Windows Navigation Diagram
November/24/2014
Make Pawn WND
<<Report>>
Print Receipt and
Contract
<<window>>
Main Menu
<<Button>>
New Pawn
<<Button>>
Receive Payment
<<Button>>
Closeout Pawn
Click New
Pawn Button
<<Button>>
Sign In
<<Button>>
Cancel
<<form>>
Login Form
<<form>>
Lookup Customer
<<Button>>
Search
<<Button>>
Confirm
<<Button>>
Cancel
<<form>>
New Pawn Form
<<Button>>
Add Customer
<<Button>>
Lookup Customer
<<Button>>
Print
<<Button>>
Edit Info
<<Button>>
Cancel
<<Button>>
Confirm
<<Button>>
Upload Picture
Click Sign
In Button
Click Lookup
Customer Button
Click Print
Button
Click Cancel
Button
Click Cancel
Button
Click Confirm
Button
22. 22
Usability Testing Summary
Team Initech conducted a usability test on a prototype version of the user interface for Pete’s Pawn
Shop. There were two participants with average computing skills. The participants were asked to
navigate the system screens using a scenario for creating a pawn. They rated the system’s usability
with the following questions.
1. What are your overall impressions of the system?
2. On a scale of 1 to 10, how well do you as the user understand the information contained on the
system forms and the information the fields are asking for?
3. On a scale of 1 to 10, how well does the interface draw your attention to the correct areas?
4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how easy is it for you to use this system?
5. What are some parts of our system that you think are consistent? Inconsistent?
6. On a scale of 1 to 10, how quickly would you be able to navigate through this site?
7. Name three words or characteristics that you feel describes this system.
8. What are the three things you like best about the systems structure?
9. What are the three things you like least about the systems structure?
10. If you could make one significant change to this system, what change would you make?
Both participants’ overall first impressions were very positive. They commented positively on the ease
and readability of the design, and were very impressed with the auto fill feature. When asked to rate
how much they understood the information contained in the system forms, they both gave full marks.
One subject commented that she was able to do this even though she was unfamiliar on the inner
workings of a pawnshop. Their ratings on how well the interface drew their attention to the correct
areas of the screen were mixed. One subject liked how the buttons were grouped by category and gave
a 10/10, while the other subject felt the interface was a bit plain.
In the areas of ease of use and consistency of the interface, both agreed that it deserved full marks, and
one participant commented that she barely had to think while using it. The other subject went even
further to say that if she worked at a pawnshop she would demand this software. When asked to name
three words that would sum up their experience while navigating the interface the two subjects
responded, “consistent, easy, and friendly” and “fast, fun and friendly” respectively. When asked to
explain why they selected those words, they both agreed that ease of use was the primary factor, adding
that it was intuitive, and they didn’t have to click too many buttons to navigate to the target areas.
In all, the testing session went very well. Both participants loved the functionality of the interface, and
its simple and consistent construction. The only negative comment they had was that the color and look
of the interface were a bit drab and dull. From this feedback we added a colored background, and a
border to contain each category.
23. 23
Up to this point, there has been a lot of effort put in to making this information system. What
started out as a systems request has now been brought from the planning phase to the end of the
elaboration phase of this project thus we at Initech are proud to be working with Pete’s Pawn Shop
and will continue to operate and bring this project to its closure. Before we can do this however there
is still some cases we need to go over.
Before we can go any farther, your approval is necessary for what has been done and what
needs to be done for this project. Thus far, one of the deliverables we have gone over from the
original systems request was the Business Case that included the project feasibility analysis including
a cost benefit spreadsheet. We developed a Gantt chart to map out the entire project all the while
updating the chart after each milestone. A Use Case and Class Diagram was developed to map out
scenarios and to help later on with implementing and possible programming. Sequence and State
Machine Diagrams were created to further detail the Use Cases and Classes respectively. Finally we
made a Usability Prototype and tested randomly selected users for input on our emerging system.
We have gone through a lot of milestones but there are still many requirements that need to
be met before we can launch. We still need to flesh out some ideas with enhancing the current
system once we have taken into account the original user requirements and refine the behavioral
the other dynamic classes. I suggest a website later down the road where you can post your items for
sale. This will further your revenue and keep your inventory low in return for little cost. Once these
issues have been dealt with, we can enter the next phase but a choice will have to be made sometime
in the near future regarding whether or not to build the system from scratch using our analysis or
acquire a pre-built system that matches the project requirements.
Once we get into the implementation stage, that’s where our work will take flight. My
suggestions for this stage are that we stick to the Gantt Chart as close as possible and to refer back to
our analysis documents whenever possible as to avoid missing key functions. The implementation
stage is where we need all hands in play including the users and you yourself so please expect testing
in the near future.
In conclusion, we at are proud to be of service to you and your business needs. I hope we can
continue to work on this project if you so choose to keep going from here on out. Please let me know
soon if you have any questions or comments about any of the supplied documents.
Nicholas Jones
