Design and Implementation of a Web-based Alumni Database Management System
Chapter One
Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is:
To develop a viable web-based alumni database management system that will serve as a central data repository for all alumni information for Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The system will perform the following objectives:
- To keep alumni information organized under administrative control no matter how disparate, fast changing or intricate it may seem.
- To incorporate automation in the storage and retrieval of alumni information
- To provide ease of access through the use of well-designed, user friendly interfaces and the World Wide Web.
- To incorporate security measures in data manipulation within the system.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Overview of Information System
An Information System is a set of interrelated components that collect/retrieve, process, store and distribute information to support decision-making and control in an organization Laudon (2002).In addition to supporting decision-making and control, information systems helped managers and workers to analyze problems, visualize complex subjects and created new products. An Information System contains information about significant people, places and things within the organization or in the environment surrounding it. In order to have an information system, there had to be raw data that had to be transformed into information, which was meaningful and useful to human beings. Laudon (2002) stated that information was a resource like any other commodities. It becomes stale and worthless if not used in time. This called for regular updates to replace old, stale and outdated information.
Information collected and possessed had to be utilized for increased benefits to solve problems, appropriate decision-making and for development Abidi (1991). At the same time, the right information was obtained Yilmaz (1995).
Other scholars observed information as part of human existence and acquiring and processing it were fundamental aspects of life itself Debons (1988). Yet other scholars argued that information was power and even the Holy Bible said, ’My people were perishing because of lack of information’. Again, Laudon & Laudon (2002) stated why information systems were needed by clarifying that not until 1980s; managers knew little about how information was collected, processed and distributed in organizations as it was considered unimportant.
Most of the time, management process was face-to-face, personal art but nowadays managers value the information handled by the organization. Also competition had brought about worldwide changes and altered the environment of working. Global economy had strengthened the emergency of transformation of industrial economies and societies into knowledge and information, posing a number of new challenges to business firms and their employees by having distributed computing in a network to allow geographically wider connectivity. Information technology had brought about changes in organizations that made the firms even more dependent than in the past on the knowledge, learning and decision making of individual employees.
A feedback was required about the information systems, which was in form of output returned to appropriate members of the organization to help evaluate or correct the input stage. This was done through querying the database for the required reports depending on the uniqueness of the culture and fundamental set of assumptions, values and ways of doing things accepted by the organization. Management had to track information. Tracking of the information given was to monitor progress of a particular record. The record would show various details to enable monitoring of various activities. Monitoring was the act of overseeing the progress and ensuring the right system was protected, accurate data entered, complete, verifiable and compliant with the system. At the same time, accessing data was restricted by giving privileges to the right people to access it. This denied unauthorized users to have access to the reports. Therefore, Management Information System provided timely, reliable and useful information to management for quick decision-making in real world through practical business problems.
Database Management Information Systems
According to Stoner et al., (1995), Management Information System is the computer based information system used for effective planning, decision-making and control. This was through a database. As leaders of departments, good information ought to be maintained and controlled in a database by use of security measures through quotas, usernames, passwords and privileges. A database is a shared collection of logically related data and a description of this data, designed to meet the information needs of an organization. In order for quicker and easier retrieval of alumni details, there was need to automate the system to come up with a database for faster, cheaper, more efficient and effective performance than the manual processing system.
This built permanent information kept for future use. Also the database had become an integrated part of almost every human’s life without it, many things we do would become tedious and perhaps impossible. A database gives way to do complex things, which human being cannot do, as they are prone to errors. Consequently, Connolly and Begg (2001) stated that a database management system and management information system was a software system that enabled users to define, create, maintain and control access to the database. In many instances, it gave access to users at the click of a button to get the required information without traversing into many documents.
Accordingly, constraints were alleviated like storage space, budget and time factor making information easier operated in order to be automatically converted into printed form, which is exactly encompassed in the new era.
CHAPTER THREE
SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND METHODOLOGY
Methodology Adopted
Object Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology (OOADM) was adopted for this work because, it shows the system as interacting objects sharing data and resources, cuts down development time and costs, and enables producing more flexible, modifiable, easily maintainable object-oriented systems.
Object Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology
Object Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology (OOADM) involve the use of classes of objects whereby business logic can easily be interfaced with both the data access layer and the presentation layer. Each class of object is uniquely identified by the data their attributes hold. This prevailing software development methodology involves three aspects: object-oriented analysis (OOA) which deals with the design requirements and overall architecture of a system, and is focused on describing what the system should do in terms of key objects in the problem domain; object-oriented design (OOD), which translates system architecture into programming (OOP), which implements these programming constructs. The fundamental idea behind an object-oriented (OO) language is object decomposition, breaking the complex system down into its various objects, combining the data and the function that operate on the data into a single unit, the objects are discussed and built by modeling real-world instances. A typical OO system consists of a number of cooperating objects; each of which may or may not collaborate with other objects in order to achieve some task for the user. Real-world objects display the characteristics of high cohesions; they maintain a single theme or focus, while software objects model real-world objects. This form of objects decomposition provides a natural way of breaking the problem down into isolated, manageable parts. In many cases, the development effort shifts from writing a new code, to assembling existing objects in new and innovative ways to solve a problem.
Object Oriented Analysis and Design models are primarily intended to be used as part of a complete development using object oriented methods. However, they may also be used in their own right as part of an otherwise conventional development in which case the data model will probably be derived from the object model.
The Organization and its environment
Nnamdi Azikiwe University came into being as an off-shoot of the defunct Anambra state university of technology (ASUTECH). ASUTECH, established by the Anambra State University of technology statute, operated as a multi-campus university with campuses in Abakaliki and Enugu-in what is now Enugu State- and Awka and Nnewi- in what is now Anambra state. Following the split of the former Anambra state into two states-the Awka and Nnewi campuses of the former Anambra state university of technology, were by the Anambra state Edict No. 5 of November 26, 1991. Constituted into Nnamdi Azikiwe University. The Edict upheld Awka and Nnewi as campuses of the University. The University was taken over by the federal Government with effect from July 15, 1992. The Rt. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Owelle of Onitsha, after whom the university is named was in the Vanguard of the fight against colonialism in Africa and was the doyen of the independence struggle in Nigeria. Believing in the use of Education as a veritable tool in the liberation struggle and in the enthronement of the ‘dignity of man’, he founded the first autonomous Nigeria University. His choice of a name for that University- The University of Nigeria is an eloquent testimony to his belief in and commitment to Nigeria unity. The Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was the first indigenous Governor- General of Nigeria and its first president. The university is proud to be named after this renowned statesman and will remain true to the ideals which inspired him. The organizational structure of Nnamdi Azikiwe University is as shown in figure 3.1.
Demographic and ownership variable
Nnamdi Azikiwe University is founded on the philosophy that knowledge should be propagated and disseminated to individuals without hindrance and that teaching and research would be focused primarily at providing the needs of the Nigerian Society and Mankind generally. The Alumni department is a part of the Institution and as such owned by the Federal Government. Dr. B.E.B Akudinobi is the current coordinator, Alumni Liaison, for Nnamdi Azikiwe University.
CHAPTER FOUR
SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
System Design
This is the actual design of the proposed system. In this chapter, the system design involves application of various techniques and principles with the aim of translating the system requirement into representation of the system programmed. It is aimed at producing the model of the software developed.
Objectives of the Design
The objective of the design is to develop and implement a web based alumni database management system for the university. The implementation of this work will be to solve all the problems encountered while using the manual system of data storage. Other objectives include:
- To be able store data related to different alumni of a college in a consistent and secured manner.
- To enable quick access to required information about alumni over time
- To incorporate a smooth and fast search mechanism for any record already existing within the database.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION
Summary
In this research work, design and implementation of a web based Alumni Database Management System, all necessary efforts and analysis were implemented in order to develop a suitable database management system that will solve the problem faced by the university alumni department, by efficiently reducing the time taken in storing varied information of the numerous alumni in files and cabinets that are almost insecure and stressful to access.
This research work focused mainly on using resources available to it to model and design a computerized web based database management system developed to handle the data requirements of the university’s alumni association. The basic requirements for the system included the collection and storing of alumni data for quick and efficient retrieval, as well as providing an automated mechanism for the updating of the stored data.
A suitable system methodology was adopted during the design of this system after a detailed examination and analysis of the existing system was carried out, hence paving way for the design and implementation of the new system. This new system addresses the shortcomings currently experienced in the way data are being collected, processed and managed within the Alumni Unit.
Recommendation
This software is recommended to all alumni departments of all higher institution though the scope of the study is limited to alumni department of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The Software is recommended for the following reasons:
- With this ADBMS software, it is easy to classify and reclassify data thereby reducing duplication of efforts of the staff or personnel.
- The system is easy to understand and it is user friendly.
- The system has an integrated search engine mechanism which makes user experience fast and efficient.
- The ADBMS software is a web based system, therefore there’s no geographical restriction or barrier.
Conclusion
This ADBMS software was designed and developed for fast and easy way of handling alumni information. It reduces error usually encountered in the management of large and varied data from different sources. In essence, the software is designed to help the management handle processes of storing, retrieval and updating of alumni information of Nnamdi Azikiwe University. The software eliminates data redundancy as it will also keep alumni information organized under managerial control no matter how disparate, fast changing or intricate the information may be.
The system is a web based system that will enable alumni to register their information in the system irrespective of their locations. They can also make modifications on their profiles with a proper authentication and approval by the system administrator.
Suggested Areas for further studies
This work covers most aspects of alumni information management and it is restricted to alumni department of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The suggested areas for further research include extending the work to integrate the other campuses of the institution. The research could further be extended to other higher institutions within the country and worldwide.
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