DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF STUDENTS’

RECORD WEBSITE

(A CASE STUDY OF ZAMSU DEPARTMENT OF

COMPUTER)

BY

DANIEL MIRACLE ATTAH 2007231070

SOLOMON ZACHARIA 2007231042

SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY, DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE,
ABDU GUSAU POLYTECHNIC, TALATA MAFARA, ZAMFARA
STATE
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR
THE AWARD OF NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN COMPUTER
SCIENCE (ND) COMPUTER SCIENCE

i
 JANUARY, 2023.

APPROVAL PAGE
I certify that this work recorded in this report was carried out by Solomon
Zacharia and Miracle Daniel Attah and has been read and certified to have
satisfied the requirement of the Department of Computer Science Abdu
Gusau Polytechnic Talata Mafara, Zamfara State Nigeria for the Award of
National Diploma in Computer Science

------------------- ------------------
Mal. Abdulmalik Abdullahi Date
Project Supervisor

------------------ --------------------
Mal. Abdulaziz Garba Date
Project Coordinator

------------------ --------------------
Mal. Shehu Muhammad Date
Head of Department

ii
 DECLARATION
We hereby declare that this project was written by us and it is
record of our research work. All sources of information used for
the write-up have been acknowledge by means of references

__________________
Solomon Zacharia Sign and Date
2007231042

___________________
Miracle Daniel Attah Sign and Date
2007231070

iii
 DEDICATION
This project is dedicated first and foremost to the Almighty God, the Holy
one whom has made this project a huge success and has been with us all
through our stay in school and also to our most loving parents and
lecturers in the department of computer science

iv
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, we would like to express our sincere thanks to

the Almighty God for the gift of life, wisdom and understanding He
gave us, a reason of our existence

We wish to also thank all the academic staff of Department of

Computer Science Abdu Gusau Polytechnic Talata Mafara for all the
guidance offered to us during the research development.

In a special way, we wish to express our sincere appreciation to Mal.

Abdulmalik Abdullahi for the expertise and intelligence he has
displayed while supervising this project.

May GOD reward them abundantly!

v
 ABSTRACT

This research is aimed at designing and implementation of students’

records website for the Department pf Computer, Zamfara State,
Talata Mafara. The preliminary revealed that the current system is
associated with the problems of access to notice board since the
physical notice board cannot be accessed from anywhere outside
the school premises and loss of student’s records. Relevant data for
the study were collected using interview. HTML and PHP
programming language was used to implement the computer
program that was designed to solve the problems identified, and
MySQL database was used to capture and manage the database. At
the end of the research, the researchers was able to provide a
system that is more effective and efficient.

vi
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page
Approval page
Declaration
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Abstract.
Table of contents

CHAPTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

1.2 Statement of the problem
1.3 Aims and objectives
1.4 Justification of the study
1.5 Scope and limitation of the study
1.5.1 Scope
1.5.2 Limitations
1.6 Definition of related terms

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0: INTRODUCTION

2.1: Investigation of the current system of students' records

management. .

2.1:1 A System

2.1:2: Records

vii
2.1:3: Records management

2.2: Requirements !'or a computerized students' records

management system

2.2:1: Computerized students' records management system

2.3 Designing and developing a computerized records

management system.

2.3.1: Steps in Developing a Records Management System

2.4 Testing and validating of the system designed.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

3.1 Research method

3.2 Area of the study

3.3 Procedure of data collection

3.4 Study population

3.5 Sample size

3.6 Research instruments and technique

3. 7 System Analysis.

3.8 System design

3.9 Implementation

3.10 Testing and Validation

viii
CHAPTER FOUR

SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

4.0: Introduction

4.1: Data Analysis

4.1.1: Results obtained by interview

4.1.2: Education level of respondents

4.1.3 How students' records are captured and reports

generated in the Faculty

4.2: Systems Analysis and design

4.2.1: Existing system

4.2.2: Weakness of the current system

4.2.3: The Designed System

4.2.4: System Users and their requirements

4.3: System requirements

4.3.1: Minimum hard ware and software requirements

4.3.1.1: Data Flow Diagram

4.4 Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)

4.5: System Design

4.5.1: Architectural design

4.5.2: Database

4.5.3: Graphical User Interface (GUI)

4.5.4: Security

ix
4.6: Database design

4.6 .1: Database Tables

4.7: Implementation

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.0: Introduction

5.1: Discussion

5.2: Conclusion

5.3: Recommendation

REFERENCES

x
 CHAPTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION

1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

There has been very remarkable increase in the creation of website, the public and privates
ones. Each day when browsing the internet, we visit a lot of website, some are more complex
others are just simple personal pages and the driving power behind the website and the pillars
that hold it together are the web pages. Each web pages represent various types of
information presented to the visitors in an aesthetic and readable manner. Most of the web
pages are available on the world wide web (www) which made them widely accessible to the
internet public. Other may also be available online but also restricted to a certain private
network such as corporate. The information in all these web pages is located on the remote
web servers in form of text, image, or script files more significant is the fact that the design
and implementation of students record website is very important for easy running of the
Department of Computer Science at ZAMSU.

The Department of Computer is one of the department that make up the Abdu Zamfara State
University, Since its inception there was no functioning website.

Web design does not have a long history. It is still new and developing area of activity which
combines multiple disciplines of information technologies with communication design.

The term web design means the process of website creation including planning, modeling,
designing and arrangement of web which make up a website.

The main aim of web design is to create a user friendly and easy to navigate website devoted
to a specific subject area and suitable for interpretation and displaying by a web browser on
the internet. Web design is a king of graphics design intended for the development and
styling of object of the internet information environment to provide them with high end
consumer features and aesthetic qualities.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

1. Students cannot be within the school premises at all time so they find it difficult to
know what is going on in their school. Since the physical notice board cannot be
accessed from anywhere outside from the school premises.
2. The system of record keeping in the school is manual which is prone to lost of
students record.

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. To design and implement a website for the Department of Computer Science and
Zamfara State University, Talata Mafara.
2. To serve as a means of communication to the students regardless of their destination.

1
 3. To keep records and prevent lost of students files (Records)

1.4 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

1. The study would enable the students to get relevant information easily.
2. Improvement of record keeping system
3. Provision of remote access for students from different location.
4. Provision of effective and more efficient means of communication
5. Provision of better security for students record.

1.5 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

1.5.1 SCOPE

The scope of the project is confined to store the student records and to provide means of
communication to students to enable them to search, update their records regardless of their
destinations at Department of Computer Science ZAMSU.

1.5.2 LIMITATIONS

This study is limited to the Department of Computer Science ZAMSU, Talata Mafara,
Zamfara state. This is due to the following:

1. Time constraint: The time given to carry out the project is limited and this type of
project requires much time.
2. Availability of Infrastructure: For the system to be used effectively and efficiently
there is need for certain hardware components and software resources to be present
so, due to lack of these facilities the website is limited to school of science and
technology.
3. Financial constraint: Due to the financial crisis the project will not go beyond the
scope of the study.

1.6 DEFINITION OF RELATED TERMS

1. A system: It is a group of components (people, objects and processes) thar work
together to achieve a common goal, or multiple goals, by accepting input, processing
it and producing output in an organized manner.
2. Records: They are specific pieces of recorded information generated, collected or
received in the initiation, conduct or completion of an activity and which comprises
sufficient content, context and structure to provide proof or evidence of that activity'.
3. Records management (RM): Is the practice of controlling records of an organization
from the time they are created to the time of disposal which includes identifying,
creating, classifying, using, storing. securing, retrieving, and destroying or
permanently preserving records.
4. Records management system: Is a collection of elements in an organization
managing records. The activities in this management include the systematic and

2
 efficient control of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the records along
with the business transaction associated with them, for this case which is students·
records management system.
5. A computerized students' records management system: Is a computer program or
set of programs designed to manage and store records. The software can be used to
manage the creation and maintenance of records with in classification schemes, apply
retention and disposal schedules, and control access and use.
6. Apache: A widely used public domain, unix based web servers form the apache
group.
7. Content management system: Is a system that allows non technical contributors to
maintain and update site content without programming knowledge or special software
tools.
8. Developers: refers to the designers, coders, authors and so on.
9. MySQL: Is a relational database management system (RDBMS) which has more than
six (6) million installations. The program runs as a server providing multi user access
to a number of database.
10. PHP: Is a server sided scripting language specifically for the web
11. Semantic markup: refers to the semantically organizing the web page structure and
publishing web services description accordingly so that they can be recognized by
other services on different web pages.
12. Web design: means the process of website creation including planning, modeling,
designing, and arrangements of web pages which make up a website.
13. Website: a website is the collection of web pages. A web page is an HTML
(Hypertext Markup Language) file in execution.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0: INTRODUCTION

This chapter contains the surveys of previously concluded studies and documentations that
are in existence, which attempt to explain the importance of computerized students Record
Management systems in faculty of science and technology at KIU. The literature in this
chapter rendered contribution to the validity and completion of the research, design and
implementation of this project.

2.1: Investigation of the current system of students' records management. .

2.1:1 A System

A system is a group of components (people, objects and processes) that work together to
achieve a common goal, or multiple goals, by accepting input, processing it and producing
output in an organized manner. There are people, objects and processes in computer systems,
the processes are for example computer programs and the objects are the computer hard ware.
Every system-be it computer based or not has to accomplish the activities required for it.
Therefore, what all systems have in common is a goal out of some desire to overcome a
certain set of tasks. (Webster and Watson 2002) noted.

The faculty or science and technology at KIU-WC registers student by use of traditional
methods where by students are sent to buy paper files, use pens to record their information
on papers (registration form) and the files are kept in shelves for later retrieval. For this
matter therefore, as the number of students keep increasing, the papers and the registration
file also increase which therefore demand lor more shelves which occupy too much space
hence inconsistence. Accessing specific information is tiresome and time wasting since one
has to go through all the files hence becoming inefficient, time wasting during the generation
of reports, retrieval also becomes very hard and papers are attacked by rodents like
cockroaches.

According to the above mentioned problems of the current system and how Webster and
Watson explained about how a system should behave, the Faculty of Science and Technology
needs a computerised system that will help them accomplish the activities required to register
students.

2.1:2: Records

International Standardization Organization for (ISO), 2001 Defines records as 'information

created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or person,
in pursuance of legal obi igations or in the transaction of businesses. The International
Committee on Archives (CIA) and Electronic Records defines a record as, 'a specific piece of
recorded information generated, collected or received in the initiation, conduct or completion

4
of an activity and which comprises sufficient content, context and structure to provide proof
or evidence of that activity'. While the detlnition or a record is often identified strongly with a
document, a record can be either a tangible object or digital information which has value to
an organization. According to the above delinitions. I therefore recommend that the records
should be kept by use of a good method for the final completion of any given activity.

2.1:3: Records management

Obrien (2002) delincs Records management as an activity established by an organization to

achieve economy, eniciency and etTcctiveness in the creation, distribution, use, maintenance,
storage, and disposition of all types or records created or received by that organization in the
course of its busin::ss. These !'unctions enable processes within the system to achieve the
objectives oi' maxi:nizing information benefits while minimizing related costs. In essence a
records management system provides the right information, to the right person at the right
time, for the right length ol'time, at the lowest possible cost. A computerized students' records
management system should be able to capture students' records created by tile lttculty oi'
science and technology.

2.2: Requirements !'or a computerized students' records management system

2.2:1: Computerized students' records management system

A computerized stulknts' records management system is a computer program or set of

programs designed to manage and store records. The software can be used to manage the
creation and maintenance of records with in classi lication schemes, apply retention and
disposal schedules, and control access and use. The requirements for a Computerised records
management system are of two types: nonfunctional requirement and functional
requirements.

Functional requirements describe what the software system should do or the behavior of the
system as it relates to the system's functionality while nonfunctional requirements describe
how the system will do its intended work in other words the performance characteristics of
the system.

Functional requirements are grouped according to the clusters in the high-level model: Create
which includes capturing, identification and classification. Design which includes ease of use,
performance, system availability and interoperability. Maintenance which includes control
and security of the system, hybrid records, retention, migration and disposal. Disseminate
which includes search, retrieve and render. Administer which covers administrative tools.
(ICA, 2008)

Nonfunctional requirements include ease of use, performance and scalability, system

availability, technical standards, legislative and regulatory requirements, outsourcing and
third, party management of data, long term preservation and technology obsolescence.
(Bruxelles-Luxembourg, 200 I)

5
2.3 Designing and developing a computerized records management system.

2.3.1: Steps in Developing a Records Management System

O'Brien (2002) recommends the following steps while developing a records management
system:

a. Review the existing system

b. Defining the data needed for relevant units within the organization

c. Determine the most appropriate and effective data flow

d. Design the data collection and reporting tools

e. Develop the procedures and mechanisms for data processing

f. Develop and implement a training program for data providers and data users

g. Pre-test, and if necessary re-design the system for data collection, data flow,
data processing and data utilization

h. Monitor and evaluate the system

i. Develop effective data dissemination and feedback mechanisms

j. Evaluate the system

According to the above steps, the researcher recommends that following them while
designing a system may lead efficient and effective one.

2.4 Testing and validating of the system designed.

Assurance of reliability of software is achieved by execution of quality plans and testing

during the software development process. This involves unit code testing and integration
testing in accordance with the principles of (ISO 12207) and (IEEE 1298 and IEEE 829). The
development and testing of hardware and software should be done, documented and formally
agreed between the various parties. This can ultimately provide evidence in suppOii of good
quality compliance Locations and responsibilities for testing (depending on the category of
the software and system) are outlined.

One of the most critical aspects of development of software is the integration testing phase
where individual elements of software code (and hardware, where applicable), are combined
and tested during or prior to this stage until the entire system has been integrated. Extra
benefits may be achieved by code walkthroughs including evaluation of critical algorithms
and/or routines, prior to testing. Errors found at the integration testing phase are much

6
cheaper to correct than errors found at a later stage of testing. Code review (walk-through) is
best done as early in the process as possible, preferably before submitting a module to test.
Code reviews are best performed before formal unit code testing (i.e. before a unit or module
is frozen and enters formal testing).

Test scripts should be developed, formally documented and used to demonstrate that the
system has been installed, and is operating and performing satisfactorily. These test scripts
should be related to the User Requirements Specifications and the Functional specifications
for the system. This schedule of testing should be specifically aimed at demonstrating the
validation of the system. In software engineering terms satisfactory results obtained from the
testing should confirm design validation. Any processing equipment and activities related to
or controlled by the computer system would require additional IQ (installation qualification),
OQ( operational qualification) and PQ(performance qualification) testing regimes. It may be
appropriate to combine test phases and test scopes for a group of equipment or activities, and
this should be defined in a test plan or strategy. Regulated Users should be able to
demonstrate formal acceptance of systems after testing and controlled transfer into the live
operational environment.

For the validation of computerised systems there should be a system in place that assures the
formal assessment and reporting of quality and performance measures for all the life-cycle
stages of software and system development, its implementation, qualification and acceptance,
operation, modification, requalification, maintenance and retirement. This should enable both
the regulated user, and competent authority, to have a high level of confidence in the integrity
of both the processes executed within the controlling computer system(s) and in those
processes controlled by and/or linked to the computer system(s), within the prescribed
operating environment(s). (PIC/S GUIDANCE, 2007) (PA/PH/OMCL (08) 88 R, 2009)

According to the above testing and validation steps, if they are used properly, the system can
run very well.

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 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This chapter discusses the type of research methodology that was used by the researcher; the
data gathering techniques that were done during the interview and the evaluation of the
respondents. It also covers the research design that was used, the study population, sample
selection and size, research instruments, validity and reliability testing of the instruments, the
procedure that was used to collect data. The method and technique that was used to process,
analyze and design the Computerized Records Website.

3.1 Research method

This study was grounded upon descriptive research design principles in order to capture,
analyze and interpret necessary information which eventually led to the completion of a
computerized Students' Records Website (CSRW). This type of research is more of analytic
or statistical type of research wherein the data descriptions must be factual, accurate and
justifiable. In order to identify and define the existing process by which the system was based
upon, the researcher used questionnaires, observations and interviews. The researcher first
conducted a series of observational activities and surveys that ensured that all of the
underlying principles and plans were carefully set and planned into achieving a Computerized
Students Records Website.

3.2 Area of the study

The study was conducted in the faculty of science and technology at Zamfara State
University Talata Mafara specifically in the Department of Computer office and Heads of
Department's office which determined the accuracy, efficiency, reliability, security, user-
friendliness, flexibility, validity of the system and supported the ideas and concepts of the
researcher.

3.3 Procedure of data collection

The researcher obtained an introductory letter from the Faculty of Science and Technology.
This helped in personal identification to the respondents as a student carrying out a research
study to benefit me. At the end of data collection, questionnaires, notes taken, and documents
collected were compiled/ put together which helped in data processing.

3.4 Study population

The study population consisted of 10 staffs that included Faculty Deans, Heads of
Departments (H.O.D), data entrants and lecturers in the faculty of science and technology.

3.5 Sample size

8
The sample size was eight (8) and this size consisted of the following; I Faculty Dean, 2
Heads of Departments (H.O.D of Computer Science and staffs of Computing Department), 2
data entrants and 3 lecturers from different departments. The above people chosen were
interviewed with the use of questionnaires whereby questions were printed out on sheets of
papers and given to them and also interviews were used as data collection tools.

3.6 Research instruments and technique

To bring about the effectiveness of the project, the researcher used questionnaire, interviews
and document reviews.

Questionnaire

This was the dominant primary data collection method in the study. Under this part, the
questionnaire was given to the respondents and this was the main data collection instrument
in the study. The questionnaire was designed to gather information and explore the key
variables addressed to management of staff records. Both open and closed ended
questionnaires were used and they encouraged respondents to give their own opinions about
the research problem and the information got was used for decision making during the design
of the computerized system. This method was chosen because it gives first-hand information
to the researcher. More to that, large amounts of information was collected from a large
number of people in a short period of time and in a relatively cost effective way.

Interviews

The researcher conducted face - to- face interviews with the stake holders. An interview

schedule was drawn and guiding questions prepared which also acted as a tool for collecting
data. The interviews were conducted on the study population in the Faculty of Science and
Technology. The interview method was chosen because it's reliable, accurate and gives
satisfactory results. It helps to discover how individuals think and feel about a topic and why
they hold certain opinions.

Document review

A thorough review of the documents was done in the Faculty of science and technology with
the intent to study how students' records are managed and discover the loopholes in the
system. A number of documents were reviewed including personal files, daily routines per
student. This method was chosen because it's cheap as data is already available thus it permits
examination of trends over the past and there are few biases about information

3. 7 System Analysis.

Data collected was analyzed using Ms Excel software which gave the researcher the way
forward of coding and represents descriptive data which is in terms of numbers.

3.8 System design

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The system was designed basing on windows environment and Microsoft visual basic 2005
was used to design the user interfaces while Microsoft Access was used in designing a
database (DBMS) for storing data thereafter a logical connection was established which
helped in sharing data between all the platforms of soft wares used. System design was done
in two different levels, i.e. logical design and physical design. Under the logical design,
sequence diagrams were used to show the interactions between the users and system, under
the physical design programming languages Microsoft visual basic 2005 was used and Ms
Access for data base management.

3.9 Implementation

The system was implemented using Microsoft visual basic 2005 for the creation of user
interfaces and Microsoft access for database design after which a logical connection was
made.

3.10 Testing and Validation

Testing was meant to prove that the completed system would do what it was meant to.
Testing was carried out at each phase to identify errors and keep track of the changes made to
the system. The system was tested using sample data collected from the Faculty which helped
to meet the required specifications.

There are three mam types of testing namely unit testing which involved testing individual
software components or modules. This was done by the programmer because it required
detailed knowledge of the internal program design and code. Integration testing which
involved testing the integrated modules to verify combined functionality. And functional
testing which involved focusing on the output as per requirement. This type was geared to
functional requirements of an application ignoring the internal parts of the system.

10
 CHAPTER FOUR

SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

4.0: Introduction

This chapter discusses how the researcher presented and analyzed data and how the new
system was designed.

4.1: Data Analysis

Data was collected using questionnaires, interviews and observation from different
individuals in the faculty and was analyzed using Microsoft excel. The results got were
presented in form of frequency tables, pie charts and graphs.

4.1.1: Results obtained by interview

The researcher conducted interviews where most of the people including H.O.Ds, lectures
and the Dean in the faculty were asked questions related to the current Students' Records
Management System, how it works and the challenges being faced while using it. The
researcher found out that the current system of records management was not perfect to the
Faculty in terms of time management, file retrieval and storage.

The interview results are presented in the tables as follows: -

4.1.2: Education level of respondents

N=6

Figure 1: Education level of respondents

11
The above figure shows levels of Education according to the Faculty members. The
percentage ofthe faculty members having Bachelors was 16.7, those having Diplomas were
16.7, those with Masters were 33.4 and those with PhDs were 33.4.

This encouraged the researcher to design and implement the Computerised Records System
since all the members in the faculty are literate

4.1.3 How students' records are captured and reports generated in the Faculty

According to six (6) respondents got from the Faculty of science and technology, 4 said that
they use a traditional method (use of pens, papers and manual file) and 2 said that they use
both computers and traditional method. But they emphasized that though they use computers
to capture students' records, traditional method covers a big range in relation to computers.

4.2: Systems Analysis and design

4.2.1: Existing system

The Department of Computer Science was using traditional method (use of pens, papers and
paper files) to register students and keeping them in files and there was also use of computers
at a small extent.

Under the above mentioned method of record keeping, the faculty members used to getting
had time to update, manage and retrieve the files and it used to take them a lot of time to
arrange and search for the needed files. There was also a challenge of loss of some files
because every semester the numbers of students keep increasing which leads to the miss use
of files. This also results into the need of more cabinets/shelves which used to consume a lot
of space hence congestion in the faculty. This proves the current manual system inefficient
and insecure hence not able to enhance business in today's technological era

4.2.2: Weakness of the current system

The current system uses a lot of paperwork which takes much time as compared to other
methods of records keeping. It also makes it difficult for the users to retrieve a particular file
because one has to go through all the files first. Congestion was also another weakness since
files kept increasing as the number of students also was increasing and this resulted into need
of more shelves which increased congestion in the faculty. Another weakness is loss of some
files because as files increase in number, the old ones are seen as useless hence misused. The
current system was insecure in terms of data access and confidentiality. This was more so
because there are no strict measures implemented that denies unauthorized people from
accessing the information and this led to data being distotied or compromised with.

To solve the above weaknesses of the current system, it requires good measures to ensure that
the system can meet users' needs. It required a computerised students' records management
system to solve all the above problems.

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4.2.3: The Designed System

The system designed was a computerized system which would help in storing a lot of
data/information and carry out automatic report generation. The new system was more
advantageous than the old system in the following ways; the new system generates reports
within minimum time and with minimum errors as compared to the old system. The new
system used computerised methods in capturing and processing of data which were cheaper
as compared to the old system which used papers and pens that take a lot of time and space
during processing and capturing and consumes a lot of space. Since the new system does not
occupy a lot of space, it made it easy for the faculty to overcome the problem of congestion.
All the records/particulars like (names, gender, Nationality, age) concerning students were
captured electronically in the new system stored in the database for the efficiency of the
system.

4.2.4: System Users and their requirements

During analysis of the system, different user categories were identified with their
requirements. The system users include; Heads of Departments, data entrants (secretaries)
and the Faculty Dean. Authorized users have certain roles that determine their usage. The
user requirements for each user were identified and are as follows:

The authorized data entrants can use the system to:-

i. Register a new student into the system

ii. Update and edit information of individual student

iii. Search and view student's reports

iv. The system administrators (H.O.Ds and the Faculty Dean)

v. Add new users to the system

vi. Delete users from the system

vii. View all the reports

4.3: System requirements

There two categories of requirements namely; Functional and Non-functional requirements.

Functional requirements: are grouped according to the clusters in the high-level model:

The system should authenticate the users of the system.

The system should only allow the administrator to delete records from the database.

13
The system should allow the users to create reports which include capturing, identification
and classification.

The system should be able to carry out maintenance which includes control and security of
the system, hybrid records, retention, migration and disposal.

The system should be able to disseminate which includes search, retrieve and render.

Nonfunctional requirements include;

• Ease of use which includes speed of the system

• Performance and scalability,

• System availability,

• Technical standards, legislative and regulatory requirements, outsourcing and third party,
management of data, long tetm preservation and technology obsolescence.

4.3.1: Minimum hard ware and software requirements

Hardware Minimum system requirements

 Cycle speed I 00 Mega Hertz (MHZ)

 Display monitor 800x600 colors (1024x768 high color 16 bit recommended)

 Memory/RAM 128MB RAM (256MB recommended)

 Processor Intel Pentium, Intel Celeron

 Hard Disk space 40GB

Software requirements

 Software Minimum system requirements

 Operating System Windows environment (Windows XP,

 Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows I 0)

 Database Management System MsAccess

 Firewall/A ntivirus AVG, Kaspersk, Avast and any other

14
4.3.1.1: Data Flow Diagram

Figure 3: Dataflow diagram

4.4 Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)

15
Figure 4: Entity Relationship Diagram

4.5: System Design

4.5.1: Architectural design

The structure of the students' records management system is divided into four components

• Database

• Students' Records System

• Security

• Graphical user interface.

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The user interface helps the user to interact with the system. Any information entered into the
system is stored in the database. In between all the components there are security measures
for authentication purposes as show in the diagram.

4.5.2: Database

This houses the data in the system and data about it (Meta data). It consists of tables, which
make up the database schema. Primary keys identify each entry in the table while foreign
keys link the tables with each other. Data consistence checks such as data types, illegal or
null submissions or duplicate entries are checked at this level. It was designed based on the
three structures that is the Conceptual database, Logical database and physical database
design phases.

4.5.3: Graphical User Interface (GUI)

This is where information kept in the database in viewed. It also displays forms where data is
entered and saved to the database.

4.5.4: Security

This ensures access rights to the information kept in the database. It allows login details to
the system for authentication.

4.6: Database design

The database design composed of the following objects: tables, security, indexes, keys,
columns.

4.6 .1: Database Tables

Staff Table

Field Name Data type Constraint

Staff_id Varchar Primary Key

Staff_name Varchar

Staff_title Varchar

Table 1: Staff Table

Student Table

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Field Name Data type Constraint

Student_Reg Varchar Primary key

Student_name Varchar

Student_Nationality Varchar

DateOfEntry Varchar

Phone Varchar

Table 2: Student Table

4.7: Implementation

In this stage, the whole system is converted into a computer understandable language. Coding
the new system is an important stage where the defined procedures are transfo_rmed into
control specifications with the help of a computer language. The programs coordinate the
data movements and control the entire process in a system. It is generally felt that the
programs must be modular in nature. This helps in fast development, maintenance and future
change, if required.

This system has been developed using the Visual Basic 2005 (VB) in the interface i.e. the
front end and Microsoft Access as database management software, has been used at the back
end. These are user-friendly programs and easy to use.

Database (Ms Access) allows accessibility of data and retrieval of data easily. It allows
elimination of duplicated data and also security of the database is possible.

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

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5.0: Introduction

In this chapter, the researcher looks at the summary of the findings, conclusions, and
recommendations of the study on designing and implementation of Student Record Website.

5.1: Discussion

The research was conducted successfully from the month of July to January 2022. However
the researchers met some challenges which include the following;

Most of the Department members were not realizing the weakness of the traditional method
which was being used therefore it was difficult to get the right information from them.

The researchers faced a problem of expenses when buying equipments like pens, flash disks,
paper, printing expenses and binding materials which facilitated the development for the new
system. There was also a problem of time because the researcher was a student so he could
get hard time to manage both studies and carrying out research.

5.2: Conclusion

The study was carried out in order to solve the problem of the Department about records of
the students. Accordingly, the faculty of science and technology at ZAMSU found out that
the idea of design and implementation of a computerised system in the faculty was very
helpful and efficient as compared to the traditional method of record keeping. The faculty
found out a lot of benefits with the use of the new system that will not only serve the faculty
but also the member of the faculty. Benefits to the staffs include; ease of use, time saving,
easy retrieval and creation of reports.

5.3: Recommendation

Training of all the members of the department of computer science and technology to get
accustomed to the system serves as a priority. This being a new system, some members of the
deparment get threatened that the computerized students' record website will replace them.
The researchers recommends that the management of faculty of science and technology
should educate the staff on how this system operates and how it supplements their efforts. For
the efficiency of the faculty, users of the system need to be thoroughly educated about the use
of the passwords and the user names, not only that but also not to be careless of them. They
should be kept confidential. Access to the server room should be physically guarded against
unauthorized person; the server room should be dust free and should be carefully protected
and should have an air conditioner to prevent the server from overheating. Backup media like
CDs, Diskettes and Flash disks can be used for backups and storage of data.

REFERENCES

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I. Eludire, A.A. (2011). The Design and Implementation of Student Academic Record
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2. Emmanuel, B. and Choji, D. (2012). A Software Application for Colleges of Education

Student's Results

3. International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR)(2013) Volumell,

No I, pp 112-158

4. International Standard Organization, 15489 (200l).Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia,

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5. O'Brien (2002). Concepts, principles, and methods for the management of electronic
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6. PricewaterhouseCoopers (20 I 0). Achieving more timely, accurate and transparent

reporting: Smart, efficient close-to-report cycles create a foundation for evaluating
performance, supporting business decisions and satisfying external reporting requirements.

7. Processing. Journal oflnformation Engineering and Applications, (Vol. 2, No.I!).

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I 0. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), "Records

ManagementGuidance for Agencies Implementing Electronic Signature Technologies
(GPEA)," October 18, 2000.

II. Vecchioli, L., (1999). A Process for Evaluating Student Records Management Software.
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