Bsc Final Year Project 2010-University of the West Indies,Agricultural Economics and Extension Department,Natural Sciences Agricultural Extension Portal

7/23/2019 Bsc Final Year Project 2010-University of the West Indies,Agricultural Economics and Extension Department,Natural

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Group Members:

Shane Siloch - 806005303

Aaron Cooper - 807003844

Mark Chickoree - 807002487

Rennie Ramlochan - 02745022

Anil Waithe - 807002402


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Natural Sciences Agricultural

Extension Portal


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Table of Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Problem Statement ...................................................................................................................... 4

Project Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 4

Project Description...................................................................................................................... 5

Benefits ....................................................................................................................................... 6

Project Deliverables .................................................................................................................... 8

Estimated Project Duration ......................................................................................................... 8

Constraints .................................................................................................................................. 8

Project Organization ....................................................................................................................... 9

Risk Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 10

Hardware and Software Requirements ......................................................................................... 13

Servers Hardware ...................................................................................................................... 13Servers Software ....................................................................................................................... 13

Upgrade Machines Hardware ................................................................................................... 13

Upgrade Machines Software ..................................................................................................... 14

Estimated Overall Project Cost ................................................................................................. 14

Work Breakdown .......................................................................................................................... 15

Project Schedule............................................................................................................................ 21

Deadlines................................................................................................................................... 21

Team Members Allocation ....................................................................................................... 21

Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms ....................................................................................... 23Development Team Communication ........................................................................................ 23

Collaboration with clients ......................................................................................................... 23

Reporting Mechanisms ............................................................................................................. 23

Requirements ............................................................................................................................ 25

General Requirements ............................................................................................................... 25

Functional Requirements .......................................................................................................... 26

Non-Functional Requirements .................................................................................................. 28

Proposed Solution for Natural Sciences Agricultural Extension Portal ....................................... 29

Feasibility Study ........................................................................................................................... 31

Context Diagram ....................................................................................................................... 32

Data Flow Diagrams ................................................................................................................. 33

Entity Relationship Diagrams ................................................................................................... 34

Use Cases .................................................................................................................................. 35

Activity Diagrams ..................................................................................................................... 38

Sequence Diagrams ................................................................................................................... 41


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Architecture Design .................................................................................................................. 43

Architecture Design Representing Natural Sciences Agricultural Extension Portal ................ 46

Psuedo code .............................................................................................................................. 48


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Introduction

Project Name: Natural Sciences Agricultural Extension Portal

Client: Agricultural Economics and Extension DepartmentProject Team: Group F

Problem Statement

Currently no convenient and reliable communication link exists which would allow the

University to share information and expertise with their affiliates (Farmers, Ministry of

Agriculture, Caribbean agricultural organisations and International Agricultural Institutions).

As a result, relationships and linkages between the University and the rest of the Agricultural

region have been compromised.

Project Objectives

This project would design, build and set up a web application which would allow the University

to disseminate valuable information in a simple and orderly manner which is easily accessible to

users via the internet.

Currently there exists no forum where the University, agricultural organisations, institutions

and farmers can easily exchange information with each other on a regular basis. Our project

seeks to provide such a platform.

In addition this web application will provide a communication link or virtual environment(network) where people from the fields such as farmers can meet and communicate with

experts from the University.

Our system would be designed with the objective of sparking interest among various groups in

the agricultural sector by providing a useful and interactive web application that would enhance

their day to day lives and assist with the execution of their jobs.

With the implementation of this web application, we plan to expand the Universitys client base

and help in its extension efforts by attracting and encouraging new farmers and other agricultural

organizations and institutions to use the application.


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Clients of the University and potential users of this application especially farmers work in

unique environments. They may not always have access to computers, laptops or even hand-held

internet ready mobile devices. In the past this has hindered participation among farmers in most

technology oriented projects. This application plans to break through this barrier by

implementing an SMS texting feature. This feature would permit users to interact with the

system via the use of the common cellular phone which would not require an internet

connection. It would therefore provide a simple, convenient and affordable way for the users of

the system to access technical expertise within their fields.

Additionally the web application aims to gain the trust of its users and entice them into using

technology in order to make their jobs less difficult. This objective is especially aimed

towards farmers.

Project Description

This project involves the design and implementation of a web application that would allow the

University to disseminate valuable information through the use of newsletters, bulletin boards,

interactive calendars, sharing of articles and projects currently being pursued.

The web application also seeks to encourage user participation and develop a client base for the

University. This would be done by allowing users to freely browse the application. Users will

then be encouraged to register personalized accounts with the University so that their specific

needs can be catered to. Upon registering an account the application would store data on the

preferences and interests of the user with the aim of developing detailed user profiles. These

profiles will assist in the dissemination of information that will be relevant and useful to the

user. On the Universitys side, profiles on each University staff member will be created.

With the creation of these profiles when a question or query is sent to the application, the users

profile and key words within the question or query will be cross referenced with the profiles of

all the Universitys staff members to ensure that the most appropriate staff is chosen to respond.

A comprehensive database of clients and University experts will assist in this feature.

The web application would possess an SMS feature that would allow the University and its

clients to communicate via SMS text messages. SMS text messaging is a feature which

everyone who owns a phone is familiar with. The mobile companies provide this service to

allow users to send text based messages from one mobile phone to another using mobilenumbers. In order for the web application to be able to send and receive SMS texts the

application must request the services of a third party SMS application( in our case Motorola).

The third party SMS application will provide the application with a link to a cell phone

connected to the server computer. All messages sent to this mobile number will be stored on a

server. As long as the application is up and running, messages sent this mobile number would


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then be forwarded to the web application.

If for some reason the application is not functioning the SMS application will store all messages

on its server and forward them when the application is once again functional. On the other end,

administrators of the web application will be able to send SMS messages to groups or

individuals with accounts registered with the application via the applications interface, using

the mobile phone connected to the server as the source. A wireless internet connection on theclient's side will not be mandatory in order for this feature to work.

An interactive calendar will also be included in the web application. This calendar will allow

administrators to add events that will be displayed on the application. The calendar will include

reminders, and allow administrators to update in real-time.

Other features provided by the web application will include bulletin board, News Letter, Fact

Sheets, Article submission, links and a forum that will allow University staff to communicate

with groups of users at a time.

Benefits

This project provides numerous benefits to the different interest groups namely the farmers,

agricultural organizations (both regional and international) and the University.

UNIVERSITY

1. A platform that can be regularly used and is very accessible to all parties involved would

be set up.

2. Provides a forum where the University and all its affiliates can share information with

each other.

3. The University will be able to save on different costs such as travelling and labour with

the implementation of the web application.

4. Extension services would be greatly improved since the web application would have a

much larger reach than any existing communication link.

5. The web application would improve efficiency and the amount of queries handled per

day. This would improve the clienteles trust and increase their reliability on the system.


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6. The web application will provide other universities with reliable and invaluable

information such as farmers crop output, ongoing workshops and conferences and

other information.

FARMERS

1. Farmers would be able to relay important information to different interest groups on

any problems they may experience, solutions to problems, unique approaches and

observations while on the field. This information will be shared in real-time.

2. Farmers would be able to access experts within their fields without having to wait long

periods of time or having to set up appointments. They would be able to receive quick

and reliable responses to any questions or queries they may have.

3. Farmers would also be drawn to the use of technology in their everyday work life; this

would lead to greater efficiency and increasing profits.

4. In the case of natural disasters and other emergencies, farmers can be quickly alerted

via SMS text messages and this would give them sufficient time to put preventative or

corrective measures in place to reduce or minimize any loss or damage to their crop.

5. There is no other more convenient, less expensive way to interact with the farmers than

SMS texting. This feature will give this web application its competitive edge and set it

apart from others. It will fill the missing gap in communication between the University

and farmers.

AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATONS ( e.g ADB, Namdevco, FAO,etc)

1. Agriculture organizations, other universities and the Ministry of Agriculture would find

this web application very useful since they can easily log on to the site and find out

whats going on in the Agricultural department of the University. By viewing the

University newsletter these organizations can be kept up to date with whats going on

within the University. They can also be kept up to date with the concerns of farmers and

other clients using the site by viewing the bulletin boards and questions and queries

posted.

2. Institutions would be able to readily access important documents such as Agricultural

reports without having to go through any long procedures. Documents would simply be

a click away.

3. Details on all research and projects being carried out by the university will be readily

available.


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Project deliverables

Deliverable 1: Project Plan

Deliverable 2: Software Requirements Document

Deliverable 3: Design Document

Estimated Project Duration

The Extension System is estimated to take approximately three months to build.

Constraints

Every system development project has constraints which they must work under. The

Agricultural Extension Portal is no different. Some constraints of this system include:

Limited Budget - The system must be built with minimal cost to the University.

Limited Time - A prototype of the Extension System must be up and running in three

months. This may prove to be a challenge. The project team aims to achieve this by

setting early deadlines and investing extra time in requirements gathering.

Inexperienced developers - developers lack experience and will be learning during the

course of the development process.

Size of project team - the team is limited to 5 persons.

Gaining the SMS system - Discussions need to be held with the company Telios to set upthe SMS server.

Integration of the SMS system with website - Designing the application to integrate the

website with the SMS system.


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Project Organisation

The project team consists of five members. The following is a list of each team member and

their responsibilities:

Project Manager/Analyst- Shane Siloch

Mr.Siloch will be responsible for directing the project team to the timely and successful

completion of the system development process. As the project manager, his responsibilities will

include the allocation of team members to particular tasks and scheduling the completion of

deliverables. Mr.Siloch will also be required to arbitrate any conflicts that may arise during the

project in addition to qualitative analysis of deliverables and the system.

Anil Waithe / Mark Chickoree Analysts / Prototype Developers

Mr.Waithe and Mr.Chickoree will be required to use the data obtained from the client and

develop formal requirements for the system. In addition they will be working on developing the

prototype. Mr.Waithe will be designing, the database and the relevant scripts required to provide

the functionality required. Mr.Chickoree will be working on the user interface, ensuring that the

web application is color coded and user friendly and adhere to the 9 heuristics.

Rennie Ramlochan / Aaron Cooper Designers

The Designers will design appropriate process and architectural design. Mr. Cooper will work

on the process design by making models and pseudo code of processes for the proposed system.Mr. Ramlochan will work on the architectural design of the project by identifying subsystems

and creating appropriate client-server architecture.


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Risk Analysis

Risks occur by failure:

To know who the project is intended for.

To classify the objectives of the project.

To estimate costs accurately.

To specify very precisely the end users' requirements.

To appoint a fully qualified and supported project manager.To secure commitments from people who are needed to assistwith the project.

The possible risks that may affect the project include:

Team members unable to perform functions.

Ambiguous requirements due to key people in organizationleaving.

Poor cost and time estimation.

Failure to acquire the resources and services needed toimplement the SMS feature.


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Risk Type Risk Probability Consequence Result

Requirements Changes to the Moderate SeriousPoor

configurationrequirements control,

require major

redesign and Rework of design

rework. Customers

dont understand

the impact of

changesEstimation Time to develop High Serious Incomplete

underestimated inefficient

project

deliverables

Unrealistic High Serious

schedule

Size of software High Tolerable

Financial Cost overrun Low Catastrophic Reduction in

project budget

Problems

Cost High Catastrophic Legal problems

underestimated

PeopleLow skilled staff

or Low Serious Poorly designedif main personnel prototype

are unavailable atcritical times due

to illness or death.

Organizational Restructure of High Serious Different

management and Managementstaff with

intimate overseeing project.

knowledge of

current system andprocesses leaving

the organization

Technology Hardware and Moderate Serious Poor functionality

Software Defects of the system


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Risk Strategy

Organizational

Problems

Prepare documentation for the client that illustrates the benefits to the

organization that will come from the development and completion of the

project. For example show them how the system will help their extension

efforts and increase their client base.

Recruitment

Problems

Try as much as possible to outsource components and modules for

the system. This will decrease the work load and amount of personnel

needed.

Staff illness Reorganizing team members to distribute the work load as well as ensurethat there is communication between the team about each members

specific job.

Defective

Components

Replace any component that may be defective with another with known

reliability.

Requirementchanges

Derive the impact of changed requirement. Since we using throwawayprototyping any changes will be done at an early stages and will not create

a critical impact on the project.

Organizational Prepare a document that shows how the project is critical in restructuring

contributing to the overall goals of the organization.

UnderestimatedDevelopment Time

Investigate purchasing of software components to reduce time in codedevelopment. When preparing the initial work break down cater for

delays. In addition deadlines for deliverables should be set earlier than

required.


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Hardware and Software Requirements

The following list contains the proposed hardware and software needed to upgrade the

current system.

The following is the required software to achieve the system:

PHP -this software is free and is the building block of the system. It provides server side

processing.

MySQL - this is used to construct the database which is needed to store the client data.

Php was chosen over asp and flash because php is free and open source. This in turn reduced

start up cost as well as php has a wider technical support and troubleshooting

recommendations. Php is also less resource intensive.

Mysql works hand in hand with php, as well as it is free unlike access and oracle. Mysql isalso less resource intensive.

There is also an existing internet info structure that can facilitate the system. Therefore, there

is no need for any additional resources to set up the internet access.

Dell PowerEdge T300 (Web Server)

Quad Core Intel Xeon X3363, 2.83GHz, 2x6M Cache, 1333MHz FSB

4GB DDR2, 667MHz, 2x2GB Dual Ranked DIMMs

(2) 250GB 7.2k RPM Serial ATA 3Gbps 3.5-in Cabled Hard Drive

16x DVD+/-RW, Internal SATA

Intel PRO 1000PT 1GbE Dual Port NIC, PCIe-4

3Yr Basic Hardware Warranty Repair: 5x10 HW-Only, 5x10 NBD Onsite

Servers - Application Software

Windows Server 2008

MySQL

Upgrade Machines Hardware

AMD Turion Dual Core processor 2.0 GHz or higher

3 GB of DDR2 RAM

120GB Hard Disk space or more.

15.4 LCD display or larger.

1 gigabit Ethernet


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Upgrade Machine Software

Operating System- Microsoft Windows 7 Business

Microsoft Office Suite

Estimated Overall Project Cost

Hardware - TT$15000

Software - TT$17000

Total: TT$32000


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Work Breakdown

Activities Deliverables/Milestones

Planning Introduction Description

Project Organization Description

Risk Identification List of Potential Risks

Risk Analysis Prioritized Risks

Risk Planning List of Proposed Solutions

Hardware and Software Hardware and Software

RequirementsSpecification

Proposed Budget

Work BreakdownActivities Report

Project ScheduleGantt Chart

Monitoring and ReportingManagement Reports

Mechanisms

Software Requirements Feasibility Study Feasibility Report

Requirements Analysis Requirements Definition

Prototype Development Evaluation Report

Requirement Specification System Requirements


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Activities Deliverables/Milestones

Design Architectural Design System Architecture

User Interface Design Interface Specification

Report Design Report Plan

Process Design Coding

Implementation Coding Code

Testing Test Scenarios

Installation Installation Plan

Conversion Plan

Documentation System and User Manuals

Training Training Sessions

Training Manuals

Support Online Help


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The work breakdown is where we breakdown the activities involved in the project and determine

deliverables associated with each activity. The project has 4 deliverables:

Deliverable 1: Project Plan: The document contains the following:

Introduction: This briefly describes the objectives of the project and constraints that will affect

the project management.

Project Organization: This describes the organization of the development team, the people


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the classes. Training is done on the user acceptance test system, accessing the test database or a

special training database.

System Manual and Distributed User Documentation: User documentation that was finalized in

User Acceptance Testing is now distributed and in the users' possession.

Finalized System Documentation: System documentation corrected with all updates from the

testing phases is handed over to production support.

Post-Implementation Review Summary - This report is produced after the post-implementation

review meeting, and contains a summary of the project success criteria that were met, success

criteria that were not met and reasons for the problem, what we can learn from the project to

improve practices for the next project. In particular, the report should identify any techniques or

practices used in this project that worked extremely well, and which the project team feels would

benefit current and future projects.

Methodology Compliance Form: This form is initialized by the project team, and completed

by amethodology representative who has reviewed the project documentation and found it

acceptable.


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Project Schedule

Deadlines

Deliverable

Description

Deadlines

1 Project Plan 22nd

February, 2010

2 Requirement Analysis 28thFebruary, 2010

3 Design Document 29thApril 2010

4 Implementation 13thMay 2010

Team Members Allocation

Deliverable Task Anil Aaron Mark Rennie Shane

Waithe Cooper ChickoreeRamlochan Siloch

Introduction X X

Project Organisation X

Risk Analysis X X

1 Hardware and Software X X X

Requirements

X X X

Monitoring and Reporting


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Mechanism X

X

Work Breakdown X

Project Schedule X

Introduction X

2 User Requirements X X X

Description

X X

Analysis Tools X X

Architectural Design X X

Process Design X X

3

Database Design X X

User Interface Design X X X

Report Design X

4 Coding X X

Testing X X X

Installation X X X X X

Documentation X X

Training X X

Support X X X


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Monitoring and Reporting Mechanisms

In order for a successful completion of this project communication amongst team members

and the client is needed.

Team Communication

Team members meet regularly during the week to discuss matters relating to the project. Also

communication using online methods such as Instant Messaging chat, sharing of Google

documents and emails would be used to supply information to the whole team as well as discuss

project matters.

Collaboration with Clients

The team would meet with the client at least once a week in order to clarify the requirements to

ensure everything is going according to plan. These meetings can also help in making sure that

the prototype being developed is to the clients liking in terms of the design.

Reporting Mechanisms

Entity Relationship diagrams, Flow Charts and Data Flow diagrams would be the reporting

methods used. These will be done using Microsoft Visio and Microsoft Access. Reports will

be given in both oral and written forms at the scheduled meetings. They would allow for a

visual representation of how the website should work.


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Requirements

General Requirements- these serve as a basis for functional requirements specification. The

general requirements must first be identified, before the functional requirements are specified.

General requirements describe the different attributes of the system rather than the functional

features.

Functional Requirements- these outline the services that the system must provide and exactly

how it should perform in particular situations.

Non-functional Requirements- These outline the constraints that must be taken into

consideration when building the system. These requirements may specify that the system must

be reliable and efficient or that the system must be built with a certain programming language in

order to inter-operate with another system.

General Requirements

1. Provide a medium to disseminate information from the FSA to regional

collaborators, educators, farmers and other groups who share common interests.

2. Provide a communication link among FSA, regional collaborators, educators,

farmers and other groups who share common interests.

3. Make the system appealing to its target audience, especially farmers.


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Functional Requirements

1.1.0 Bulletin Board

1.1.1 The web application must provide a board that is easily noticeable upon entering the site.

1.1.2 Only users with administrative privileges should be able to edit the bulletin board.

1.1.3 The Bulletin Board must be easily edited or updated by users with the required

privileges.

1.2.0 Newsletter

1.2.1 Previews of the newsletter should be depicted that are not demanding on resources

1.2.2 If the user chooses to see more details on a specific article they should be able to click

on a link that would lead them to it.

1.2.3 There should be an option to subscribe to the newsletter.

1.3.0 Fact Sheets

1.3.1 Fact sheets should be organized according to topic and then according to author.

1.3.2 Only users with administrative privileges should be able to enter and edit fact sheets.

1.4.0 Article Submission

1.4.1 Only articles that are approved should actually be posted on the site.

1.5.0 Question and Answer Section

1.5.1 Users should be able to post questions freely and the appropriate personnel within the

University should be forwarded the question and be able to post a reply.

1.6.0 Pictures/Videos

1.6.1 Previews or icons of pictures and videos should be provided, with the option to view the

full image or video.


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1.7.0 Links

1.7.1 Links to other relevant sites should be provided.

1.8.0 Database

1.8.1 The database should contain all user information e.g. ID, password, field/fields of

interest, size of farm, associated organisation, contact info, e.t.c.

1.8.2 The database should also store information on all the FSA staff associated with the

website e.g. ID, password, fields of expertise, e.t.c.

1.8.3 Provisions should be made within the database for the storage and organisation of data

of different formats that may be needed upon request from the website. E.g. all articles

related to the production of sweet corn.

1.9.0 Calendar

1.9.1 The system should post reminders of important dates for farmers (Calender). Example;

when are the appropriate times to plant certain crops e.t.c.

1.9.2 The calendar should be easily updated daily.

1.10.0 Secure Login

1.10.1 The system must provide secure login for users and administrators along with their

respective privileges.


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Non-Functional Requirements

2.2.0 The system should have sufficient memory space of approximately four gigabytes of

RAM to process all information simultaneously.

2.3.0 The users must be able to access the system anytime of day.

2.4.0 The system must have a lag time that does not exceed 7 seconds

2.5.0 The web application must be very intuitive to allow easy navigation by people with little

Information Technology proficiency.

2.6.0 Each page must be clear and easy to read and access without too much clutter.

2.7.0 The colour scheme for the web system and its pages should be consistent and not too

intense.

2.8.0 Information and feedback should be given to the user whenever there may be uncertainty

for the user while navigating the system.


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Proposed Solution

There are various off the shelf document web content management systems. Joomla is one such

offering. Joomla is an award-winning Content Management System (CMS), which enables youto build Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and

extensibility, have made Joomla the most popular Web site software available. Best of all,Joomla is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone.

Joomlas content management system allows us to keep track of every piece of content on ourWeb site; much like your local public library keeps track of books and stores them. Content can

be simple text, photos, music, video, documents, or just about any other type of digital media

you can think of. A major advantage of using a CMS is that it requires almost no technical skillor knowledge to manage, since the CMS manages all your content for you.

Joomla's powerful application framework makes it easy for developers to create sophisticated

add-ons that extend the power of Joomla into virtually unlimited directions.

The core Joomla framework enables developers to quickly and easily build:

Data reporting tools

Application bridges

Custom product catalogues

Reservation systems

Communication tools

Since Joomla is based on PHP and MySQL, you're building powerful applications on anopen platform that anyone can use, share, and support. Joomla provides tools that help

users update and modify website content easily and with minimum technical effort.

It is designed to work perfectly in basic shared hosting environments, a package that isleast expensive and most common. Installer is simple and just like any other commondesktop software.

It is supported by several extensions, add-ons, and plug ins. They are written in PHP,

which is the most widely used, general purpose scripting language and best suited for

web development.

Available in many languages: Joomla is one of the few CMS which is multi-linguistic.You can design your website with different languages using Joomla.

Maintenance: It can be a bit of a task when it comes to managing a website. Even techsavvy professionals find it difficult to maintain a website. Let alone a lay-man. But

websites designed by Joomla are not at all difficult to maintain as it is quite user

friendly.


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Updating: Joomla is a self-updating application. You do not have to be on a look out for

individuals or software to keep updating Joomla. A person with good knowledge of

Joomla can look into updating the application on their own.

The benefits of mobile and SMS applications include instant availability and access using cellphones, compatibility and integration with existent information systems, real time integration

with dedicated automated devices (machine to machine, or M2M), GPS systems, SMS gateways

integration, connectivity with the web application, ease of use, friendly user interface, support

of pictures, sounds, video, and many other.

Mobile applications can be used for text messaging, communication and networking, votes,ratings, registration systems, mobile marketing and statistics purposes, emergency systems,

checking and monitoring systems, chats and video.

The third party SMS application would provide the functionality of the SMS feature which

would be used for the relaying of messages to and from the web application to the clientsmobile device.

Unfortunately early in our development process the development team experienced numerousdifficulties when trying to integrate the web application and the SMS feature. Hence after team

deliberations, it was decided that the team would not use the Content Management System

Joomla. Instead they opted to create a tailor made Content Management System for theapplication.


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Feasibility study

Costs:

The proposed system incurs no development cost as the University already has the infrastructure

(server, bandwidth software etc.) needed for the system. However, cost in terms of time is

incurred since it would take 2-3 months to complete.

With respect to operating cost, only a small amount of bandwidth is needed as the data is in text

form. Down time in terms of system crashes is also another cost.

Benefits:

The new system would allow the distribution of information simultaneously to many individuals

via a web application. The system can serve over 50 users at once. Data can be retrieved

between 1 to 5 seconds. The feedback mechanism allows an individual to get answers to

questions they may have.

Technical:

The building blocks of the system are SQL and PHP. The team constructing the system has the

technical skills in the key areas (PHP and SQL). Therefore, creating the system would not pose

much of a problem. Again the University already possesses the required technology to drive the

system in terms of hardware, software and individuals with the skills to control the system out

of the box.

Legal:

Concerning legal issues, Trinidad in which the University is situated has no laws governing how

electronic data should be distributed. In addition, the proposed system contains data for

educational purpose. Hence there are no legal issues with the proposed system.

Schedule:

The proposed system would take 2-3 months to be completed. This estimated time is desirable

not demandable. The method of recycling code will be used to stick within the desirable timeframe.

Operational

With the proposed system the University can achieve its intended purpose to share information

with the farmers as well as the rest of the population.


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The system accommodates those without access to a computer as they can communicate with

the system via SMS text messages (using their cellular phones) to receive important

notifications from the system when necessary. The feedback forum offered by the system would

allow the public to post questions which would be answered by the appropriate University staff.

This can contribute to educating the public about agriculture thereby increasing efficiency and

productivity in the agriculture sector and assisting with the Universitys extension efforts.

From the above findings, the proposed system proves to be feasible.

0

Web Application

MOA

University Staff

InternationalAgriculturalInstitutions

Regional AgriculturalInstitutions

Farmers

General Public

Questions/ Queries

Info

SMS texts

Ans to ques/ queries

User info/ profile

Updates( calendar etc)

Articles

SMS texts Ques/ queries

Info / profile

SMS texts

Info

SMS texts

Info

Artic

les

Info

Articles

Media (pics, videos, etc)

Media (pics, videos, etc)


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1 :

1.0

Display Info

2.0

Submit Articles andmedia

3.0

Register Usersand Staff

4.0

Forward Questionsand Queries

5.0

Update Discussions

6.0

Update Other

Features

7.0

SMS

MOA

University StaffFarmers

General Public

InternationalAgriculturalInstitutions

Regional AgriculturalInstitutions

D4 Discussions

SMStexts

Reports

Info

Questions/ Queries

Article

s

Staffin

fo

AnswerstoQuestions/QueriesUpdates(tocalendare.t.c.)

texts

texts

Questions/ Queries

Info

Userinfo.

Info (Projects, Bulletins, e.t.c.)Info (Projects, Bulletins e.t.c.)

Info(P

rojects

,Bulle

tins,e.t.c.

)

Reports

Repor

ts

SMS texts

Info(Projects,Bulletins,e.t.c.)

D1 Users fileinfo

D2 Queries file

articles

queries

D3 Articles file

SMS texts

SMStexts

D5 Database

updates

Discussions

D6 SMS texts SMS texts


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Messages

PK MessageID

UserID

StaffID

MobileNumber

Message

Date

Staff

PK StaffID

FirstName

LastName

Certification

FieldsOfInterest

Projects

Email

MobileNumber

Password

KeyWord

Users

PK UserID

FirstName

LastName

CropInterest

LivestockInterest

MobileNumber

SizeOfFarm

AdditionalInterests

Address

EmailDate

Password

Subscribers

PK SubscriberID

DateSubscribed

NameEmail

Date

send

Subscribe

to

Respond

to

FactSheets

PK FactID

Name

Size

Type

Path

SendMail

PK MailID

UserId

TopicId

Active

send


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System

SMSTexting

From

Websiteto

Mobile

FromMobile

to

Website

Questions/ Queries

Submit/ViewReply

Receive/Reply

University Staff Farmers


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Create user profile

General Profile Admin Profile

Edit Profile

AdministratorGeneral User


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User

Administrator

Upload

data

Update

Or EditView

View

Reports or

Project Info

General

ViewPost to

Discussion

board

Guest


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USER Login Interface Database

Input User Name and Password

Query Logon info withDatabase

Return Result of QuerySuccess = continue

Else ERROR message


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Admin DatabaseWebSite

SMS

EmailSu

bscribers

LoadFile

Send request to ChangeSave changes

Send Email Request

Send request to Upload File

Get All users

Save to Database

Update Site

Email Users

Update Site

Confirmation Feedback



Send request to Delete FileQuery Request

Confirmation FeedbackDelete File if exists and

Update Site


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Architectural Design

The architectural design that best represent the system, being developed for the Natural SciencesAgricultural Extension Portal, is a Three Tier Client-Server Architecture.

Three-Tier Architecture

A Three-Tier Architecture provides greater application scalability, lower maintenance, and

increased reuse of components. Three-tier architecture offers a neutral method of building

Client/Server applications with vendors who employ standard interfaces which provide services

for each logical tier. Apart from the well defined interface of modular software, the three-tier

architecture allows any of the three tiers to be upgraded or replaced independently because of

technology change.

A Three-Tier Architecture is a client-server architecture in which the user interfaces functional

process logic (business rules), data storage and data access are developed and maintained as

independent modules, most often on separate platforms. The three-tier model is considered to be

software architecture and a software design pattern.

The 3-Tier architecture has the following 3-tiers:

Presentation Tier

Application Tier/Logic Tier/Business Logic Tier

Data Tier

Three-tier Client/Server Architecture Diagram


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First Tier / User Interface Tier:First-tier components are responsible for presentation and user

interaction. These client components enable the user to interact with the second-tier processes in a secure

and intuitive manner. Application Server supports several client types. Clients do not access the

third-tier services directly.

This tier manages the input/output data and their display. With the intention of offering greater

convenience to the user, the system is prototyped on the Internet. The users are allowed to

access the system by using any existing web browser software. The user interface tier contains

HTML components needed to collect incoming information and to display information received

from the application logic tiers. The web visitors communicate with the web server via

application protocols, such as HTTP and SSL, sending requests and receiving replies. In our

system, the major web-scripting language exploited in designing the presentation layer is

HTML, Cascading Style Sheets PHP, Java, JavaScript and Java Server Pages (JSP).

Second Tier / Application Logic Tier:The second-tier commonly referred to as the application logic

layer,manages the business logic of the application and has access to the third-tier services. The

application logic layer is where most of the processing work occurs. Multiple client components can

access the second-tier processes simultaneously, so this application logic layer must manage its own

transactions.

The application logic tier is the middle tier, which bridges the gap between the user interfaces and the

underlying database, hiding technical details from the users. An SQL Application Server is deployed. Its

OC4J container embeds a web server, which responds to events, such as data receiving, translating,

dispatching and feed-backing jobs. Components in this tier receive requests coming from the interface

tier and interpret the requests into propose actions controlled by the defined work flow in accordance

with certain pre-defined rules.

Third Tier:Here information is stored and retrieved from a database or file system. The information is

then passed back to the application tier for processing, and then eventually back to the user. The third-

tier services are protected from direct access by the client components residing within a secure network.

Interaction must occur through the second-tier processes.

The database tier is responsible for modeling and storing information needed for the system and for

optimizing the data access. Data needed by the application logic layer are retrieved from the database,

and then the computation results produced by the application logic layer are stored back in the database.

Since data are one of the most complex aspects of many existing information systems, it is essential in

structuring the system. Both the facts and rules captured during data modeling and processing are

important to ensure the data integrity. An SQL database is deployed in our system, and the Object

Relational Model is applied to facilitate data reuse and standard adherence.


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An Example

As an example of how this works, we created a web page that allows the user to enter

information which you wish to then enter into the database.

1. First Tier / User Interface Tier:

This layer will mainly consist of the user interface of the website i.e. the visible part of

the website. You create a web form, which allows the user to input the data into the web

form .

,

.

2.Second Tier / Application Logic Tier:

In the code behind web form, you handle the submit button click event, and send the

data from the form to your class, which sends the information to the database using the

table adapter that allows the data to be inserted into the table, either by a query or stored

procedure.This is basically the PHP logic part of the website. It gets the data from the

1st tier, does the logic and calls the data it needs from the 3rd tier. This layer will have

the business logic implementations and it transfers the data between the two layers.

3. Third Tier:

This is your Data Access Layer. This is the part of application that has direct access to

the database. It has functions that access the My SQL database correctly. You then

create a class, which retrieves the information from the form, checks for field validations

and then uses the table adapter to send the data to the database which then manages and

provides access to the data.


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Laptops

()

Three-tier Client/Server Architecture Design Representing

Natural Sciences Agricultural Extension Portal

The Client tier:

The Client tier which is usually a web browser processes and displays HTML

resources, issues HTML requests and processes the responses. These web browsers are

HTTP clients that interact with the Web servers using standard protocols. The client isoften referred to as a thin client as very little application logic resides in the client tier. It

does have built in features to do more than just display html pages, but they too are

confined only to displaying data of various kinds. Some application logic in the form ofJavaScript is executed by browsers, but its applications are limited in scope and nature.

The advantage of this 3 tier model means that the thin client does not have to be

configured and it does not have to depend on any operating platform or additional

software. While there are subtle differences between the capabilities of differentbrowsers, more or less they perform similarly.

Workstations

Workstation

Laptop

CellPhone

Web Server


Extension Portal Website

Database Server


Client And Staff Database


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The Middle Tier:

The Middle Tierconsists most of the application logic. It brings together the other

layers of the 3 tier. It processes the inputs it receives from the clients and interacts with

the database. This consists of the web server, web scripting language and the scriptinglanguage engine. While the Web server will process the HTTP requests and formulate

responses, the calculation is done by the scripting language which runs on the scripting

engine. The Web Server or the HTTP server listens for the HTTP requests on a networkand return the responses that contain the requested resources. In cases where the request

requires the output after running the program and interacting with the databases, the web

server invokes the scripting engine to perform those tasks. The scripts that are executed

by the scripting engine can be embedded into static HTML pages making client-tierintegration easy. It allows for serving dynamic content and has built in libraries for fast

access to the database tier.

The Database tier:

The Database tierconsists of the DBMS or the database management system and thedatabase. The complex application layer consists of the application logic and exchangesdata between the different layers. The top layer is usually a thin client or a browser.

The Bottom layer:

The Bottom layeror the database layer consists of the Database Management System orthe DBMS and the database itself. This database management layer manages the storage,

retrieval of data as well as allows simultaneous access, provides security, data integrity

and support applications. While a database is a collection of related data, a DBMS is aset of components for defining, constructing and manipulating the database.

The DBMS consists of several components:-

a) Applications Interface or the libraries to communicate with the DBMS.

b) SQL Interpreter which is a parser to check the syntax of incoming statements andtranslates them into the internal format.

c) Query Evaluator that generates different plans for evaluating a query by consideringdatabase statistics and properties, selects one of these plans and translates it into low

level actions that are then executed.

d) Data Access: These are the modules that manage access to the data stored on disk,

including a transactions manager, a recovery manager, the main memory buffermanager, data security manager and the file and access method manager.

A DBMS is required in this scenario, which involves multiple people accessing the data

at the same time. While it may not be required where there isn't relational data or the

data to be collected is atomic, it becomes a convenience when there are large amounts ofdata that require frequent updating.


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Psuedo code for SMS function

SENDING SMS

BEGIN IF

IF phone number AND format valid AND message entered

SEND message to cell phone to forward to recipient

ELSE

RETURN error

END IF

BEGIN IF

IF message sent received from phone

PRINT message sent successfully

ELSE

OUTPUT message delivery failed

END IF

RECEIVING SMS

//SMS is sent to the phone from a client phone transfers SMS to php function

WHILE NOT END OF message DO

EXTRACT message

EXTRACT sender mobile number

EXTRACT date received

STORE message, sender mobile number, date received

in database table smsinbox

READ SMS


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READ database table smsinbox

IF smsinbox NOT empty

READ unread messages

FOR EACH unread message

DISPLAY message

SET message status to read

READ messages

FOR EACH read message

DISPLAY message

ELSE

OUTPUT no sms messages

DELETE SMS

DELETE FROM database- smsinbox

WHERE messageid EQUALS messageid


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SUBCSCRIBE

READ email entered

IF email valid

IF email address already exists

OUTPUT address already exist in subscription list

ELSE

WRITE email address to subscription list

SEND email to user confirming subscription

ELSE

OUTPUT invalid email address

UNSUBSCRIBE

READ email entered.

IF email valid

SEARCH database for the email address

IF the email address exist

DELETE FROM subscribers

ELSE OUTPUT email address not registered

EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

READ message, subject

IF message AND subject NOT empty

READ subscribers table

IF subscribers table empty

OUTPUT no subscribers

EXIT


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FOR EACH subscriber

SEND message to email address

IF message sending failed

OUTPUT sending to email address failed

CONTACT STAFF

User chooses an area of expertise.

Search Staff table

IF the field of interest Equals the field of interest in Staff table

Displays the specific staff

Show information about the staff(name,email address, keyword, and

field of interest)

Show option to email the staff. Enter a message.

If message is Empty

Display error

Else

Validate Email address

Send message to the staff email address

Else if message sending fails

Display error

Else

Display error


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Software Testing

Software testing is the process of validating and verifying that a software program/applicationor product:-

Meets the business and technical requirements that guided its design anddevelopment;

Works as expected and can be implemented with the same characteristics.

Validation and Verification encompasses many of the activities of Software Quality Assurance.

Verification is asking the question: Are we building the product right?".While Validation is

asking the question: Are we building the right product? Validation is the process of evaluatingsoftware to determine compliance with requirements.

The objectives of the validation and verification process are to have a system that has thefollowing characteristics:

Correctness product without errors. Consistency consistent with itself and other products. Necessity extent to which everything in the product is necessary . Sufficiency product that is complete. Performance product satisfies its performance requirements.

Black Box Testing.Black-box testing is your primary weapon in the war against errors. The results of sound

black-box testing are robust and reliable modules. With this approach, you do not need internalknowledge of the technology. All you need to know is how to activate the system and what are

the expected outcomes. We want to test the function of the module. Thus, we are onlyconcerned with the functional performance as it converts input into output. The philosophy is

that, for the module to work error-free, we enter all the test case inputs which produce correctoutputs, and we don't care how it is done.

Our process looks something like this:

We determine all possible classes of data values. We select representative data from each class. We select data at the boundaries of these classes

The objectives of module testing are to: Design test cases to expose faults and weaknesses of the code. Select test cases that have a high probability of finding faults due to errors of omission

and commission.

Cover the full spectrum of module inputs and module environments under combinationsthat tend to uncover hidden faults.

Use stress tests and overload the module in ways that will force failure.


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Blackbox Testing Results

Login

Test Field Input Expected Output Actual Output

Login Id 1235 Invalid Id The login credentials

entered is invalid

Password Wewh2 Invalid Password The login credentials

entered is invalid

Registering


User Id 12398 Invalid User Id (user Id

must be 6-20

characters)

User id must be six to

twenty characters

User ID 806005303, shane1 Login Successful Hello Shane! login

was successful!

Password 1234 Password must be 6-20characters and consist

of both numbers and

letters

You have a weakpassword!

please ensure that your

password is a mixture

of numbers and letters

Password Shae1 Password must be 6-20

characters and consist

of both numbers and

letters

Password must be 6-

20 letters and numbers

User Id 806005303 Id already exists Enter mobile number

in the form country

code followed by

number


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Mobile Number 1 Enter mobile in the

form wxxxyyyzzzz

Enter mobile number

in the form country

code followed by

number

Uploading


Upload (browse

field)

doc type Only pdf accepted Invalid file

Upload (browse

field)

Pdf document Filename uploaded

successfully

File filename.pdf

uploaded successfully

Edit Account


Email a Invalid email E-mail address doesn't

seam to be valid

Email [email protected] Updated successfully Thanks Shane

Update was successful

Change password shane1, shane2,

shane2

Change successful Success password has

been changed

Change password shane1, shane1,

shane1

Invalid password The id and or

password combination

is invalid

Change password shane2, shane1,shane2

Passwords dont match Both new passwordand confirm new

password must match


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White-Box Testing

This testing approach is concerned with the internal mechanism of the component. It is done by

examining the programming code to devise sample data which should exercise all parts of the

program being tested. For example, when a program has an if-statement, we want to create data

which will follow both branches, and when a program has a loop, create data which does theloop 0, 1 and more times. Our testing is especially concerned with branch testing, path testing,

and statement testing.

Function Input Output Supposed to do

db_connect none Connect to database working

check_email Email address boolean True if email is in use,false if email is new

check_email_address Email address boolean True if email is valid,

false if it isnt

Send_id Id, password, name Success message Sends email with user

account details to user

logout none Success message Destroy session and

logs out user

Error reporting Username,password,first

name, last name, etc.

Error message If input does not meet

requirements display an

error message

Check_userid id Boolean True if id is found in

database and false

otherwise

compare_email email Userid, email True if email is correct

and false otherwise