Enterprise Application Development for BSc(hons) Computer Science Degree Module
THE ASSIGNMENT PROBLEM
In this module, you take on the role of consultants/development team creating an enterprise Management Information System for a company called Mellor415.
There are two parts to this assessment
Part 1
Develop an enterprise solution for Mellor415 (60% of the module marks) In this part of the assignment, you will work in groups of 4 to establish the company’s requirements and to design and build a database which provides a Management Information Systems solution for the company, including GDPR compliance, data security and database management functionality
INFORMATION ABOUT MELLOR415
Mellor415 Ltd is an SME which employs 12 full time staff and 39 part time and contract staff. Full time staff are paid either national minimum rate, intermediate rate (currently £15 an hour) or expert rate (currently £40 an hour). Part time staff are paid pro rata to the full time rates for the number of hours worked and contract staff have individual contracts with different rates of pay. All part time hours must be authorised by a line manager and the line manager must be a full time member of staff.
Mellor415 offers compliance services, that is, it advises companies how to comply with financial and data protection legislation, reviews company systems and carries out mock audits. The company is very profitable but has run into a number of problems
Mellor415’s own database was somehow compromised. They still do not know how, but details of clients appeared on the web with the implication that these companies were getting round GDPR. Mellor lost over 20% of its clients over this and for a while it looked as if the company might not survive. It has recovered but cannot risk a second scandal. An audit by the new director of Data Security revealed that Mellor415 cannot track who has accessed the database and does not have appropriate protection in place Details of staff and how much they should be paid are maintained on a spreadsheet and data is frequently overwritten. The Director of Data Security strongly suspects that some staff are claiming for unauthorised hours but cannot prove this (yet). Mellor415 decided to carry out a marketing exercise to attract new clients following the database scandal. The exercise proved embarrassing as they targeted some of the clients who had left. It turned out that there were no proper client records. The management of Mellor415 have complained that they do not receive the information they need to run the company effectively and that when they do receive information, it is very difficult to interpret.
The Director of Data Security has brought your team in to solve the problems. You are asked to design and build a management information system for the company. The system must be able to track staff and company contact and financial details including employment records, payments and contracts. A history function is essential as is proper archiving. The database must be GDPR compliant, must have proper security and must ensure that usage can be tracked. The system must provide acceptable performance and must be extensible. It must provide the basis for a management information system and information must be presented to management in an accessible and user friendly format.
Note that you are not required to design a front end. This is not part of your brief and no marks are allocated for the provision of a user interface.