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Islington College
Final Year Project

FC6P01NI
Interim Report
Submitted By: Submitted To:
Suman Rai Mr. Dhurba Sen
15043835 Lecturer, IT Faculty.
Group: L3C2
Date:1/16/2019
ABSTRACT
The aim of this project is based on developing a web-based application named Inventory
Management System (IMS) to keep momentum with new technology and strategies.
Inventory Management System (IMS) is a software solution, which grants a particular
organization to manage an inventory. This system can be used to store the information of
the inventory, maintain and update the stock on inventory based on the sales details and
provide the necessary intimation report. In any particular organization involving the
inventory system there might be recurrences of problematic entities because of the intricate
amount of data. Hence, this system provides solutions for confirming the store inventory
and for correcting stock quantities.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER-1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Introduction to Inventory Management System ...................................................................... 1
1.2 Project description ...................................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Problem Statement............................................................................................................................ 1
1.4 Project as a Solution ......................................................................................................................... 1
1.5 Objective of the Project .................................................................................................................... 2
1.5.1 Primary objectives ..................................................................................................................... 2
1.5.2 Secondary objectives .................................................................................................................. 2
CHAPTER-2: BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................ 2
2.1 Architectural Review ........................................................................................................................ 3
2.1.1 Client tier .................................................................................................................................... 3
2.1.2 Logical tier .................................................................................................................................. 3
2.1.2 Data tier ...................................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Techniques and Methods .................................................................................................................. 4
2.3 Similar Applications ......................................................................................................................... 5
2.3.1 Zoho Inventory ........................................................................................................................... 5
2.3.2 TradeGecko ................................................................................................................................ 6
2.3.3 inFlow .......................................................................................................................................... 6
2.3.4 Odoo ............................................................................................................................................ 7
2.4 Comparison between Applications .................................................................................................. 8
2.5 Drawbacks of the Applications ........................................................................................................ 8
2.6 Gathering of Information from Applications ................................................................................. 9
2.7 Tools and Techniques ....................................................................................................................... 9
2.7.1 HTML ......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.7.2 CSS .............................................................................................................................................. 9
2.7.3 Bootstrap ..................................................................................................................................... 9
2.7.4 C#................................................................................................................................................. 9
2.7.5 ASP .NET .................................................................................................................................... 9
2.7.6 MySQL ...................................................................................................................................... 10
2.7.7 Visual Studio............................................................................................................................. 10
CHAPTER-3: DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................................ 11
3.1 Studies on the System Methodology .............................................................................................. 11
3.1.1 Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) ............................................................................ 11
3.2 Why Agile Development? ............................................................................................................... 15
3.3 Stages of Agile Methodology .......................................................................................................... 16
3.3.1 Stage 1: Planning and Requirement Analysis ....................................................................... 16
3.3.2 Stage 2: Defining Requirements ............................................................................................. 17
3.3.3 Stage 3: Designing the system architecture ........................................................................... 17
3.3.4 Stage 4: Implementation of the project .................................................................................. 17
3.3.5 Stage 5: Testing the project ..................................................................................................... 17
3.3.6 Stage 6: Deployment in the market and maintenance .......................................................... 17
3.4 Project Plan ..................................................................................................................................... 17
3.4.1 Work Breakdown Structure ................................................................................................... 17
3.4.2 Gantt Chart .............................................................................................................................. 18
CHAPTER-4: PROGRESS ...................................................................................................................... 20
4.1 Program Skeleton............................................................................................................................ 20
4.1.1 System design ........................................................................................................................... 20
CHAPTER-4: FURTHER WORK .......................................................................................................... 24
APPENDIX ................................................................................................................................................ 25
Survey Form .......................................................................................................................................... 25
Result collected from survey ................................................................................................................ 26
References .................................................................................................................................................. 34
Tables of Figures
Figure 1:Tier-3 Architecture ......................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 2: Inventory management infographic ............................................................................................... 4
Figure 3: ZOHO Inventory ........................................................................................................................... 5
Figure 4: TradeGecko page ........................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 5: inFlow Inventory ........................................................................................................................... 7
Figure 6: Odoo software ............................................................................................................................... 7
Figure 7: Stages of SDLC ........................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 8: Waterfall model ........................................................................................................................... 12
Figure 9: Iterative model ............................................................................................................................. 13
Figure 10: Agile model ............................................................................................................................... 14
Figure 11: Agile scrum process .................................................................................................................. 16
Figure 12: Work Breakdown Structure ....................................................................................................... 18
Figure 13: Gantt Chart ................................................................................................................................ 19
Figure 14: Process Flow Diagram ............................................................................................................... 21
Figure 15: Use case diagram ....................................................................................................................... 22
Figure 16: Wireframe for the project .......................................................................................................... 23
Figure 17: survey form................................................................................................................................ 25
Figure 18: Result from question 1............................................................................................................... 26
Figure 20: result from question 3 ................................................................................................................ 28
Table of Tables
Table 1: Comparison between the systems ................................................................................................... 8
Table 2: Advantages and Disadvantages of waterfall model ...................................................................... 13
Table 3: Advantages and disadvantages of Iterative model ........................................................................ 14
Table 4: Advantages and Disadvantages of Agile model ........................................................................... 15
Final Year Project (FYP) FC6P01NI
CHAPTER-1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction to Inventory Management System

Nowadays many systems have been developed to make life easier. There are many
systems for inventory management system, but it does not meet the necessary requirement
that is still new in the technological world. The entire organization must keep accurate
calculation of their stock inventory.
1.2 Project description

The project Inventory Management System is a complete web-based application
designed to work on .Net technology using an integrated development environment (IDE)
software Visual Studio. This application revolves around the management process of stock
of an organization. The application contains general organization profile, sales and
purchase details, ordering system, tracking and delivery inventory levels and the remaining
stock that are presented in the organization.
1.3 Problem Statement

Before we started to build the application, challenges needed to be faced. We defined
our problem statement as:
➢ To make web-based application of IMS for small organization.

➢ To make the system easily managed and can be secured.
➢ To cover all the areas of IMS like purchase details, sales details and stock
management.
1.4 Project as a Solution

The solution of this project is to develop an application which will help the
organization related to inventory to manage and update for their business tactics which is
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Suman Rai 16th January, 2019
more reliable and easier to use. It will notify the user about the condition of the entities,
daily report of sales and purchase, point of sale, billing system etc.
1.5 Objective of the Project

When developing the system, some objective has been outlined. Major objectives
include the followings:
1.5.1 Primary objectives

The primary objectives of the project are mentioned below:
➢ To accomplish the requirement for the final year project (FC6P01NI).

➢ To know the fundamentals of the .NET technology and Visual Studio with the
.NET Framework.
1.5.2 Secondary objectives

The secondary objectives of the project are mentioned below:
➢ To develop a prototype of stock inventory system.

➢ To develop a system to help to make it easier to maintain the record of stock,
purchase and sales and balance stock details.
➢ To develop the easy management system for inventory.
➢ To provide the details information about the stock balance for the organization.
➢ To computerized the manual task in term of stock inventory.
➢ To provide advantage to the organization.
CHAPTER-2: BACKGROUND
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2.1 Architectural Review

This web-based application is based on 3-tier architecture of .NET framework. The
3-tier includes the three hierarchy of the flow of programming (Marston, 2012). The 3-tier
architecture includes following:
2.1.1 Client tier

This tier is based on the client side of the component of the system. The visual part
is implemented using all kinds of swing components, which does not make database calls.
The main function of this tier is to display information to the user upon user’s request
generated by user’s inputs such as click button events.
2.1.2 Logical tier

The middle tier is based on business logic of the system which is called by the client
to make queries from database. The core function of the system is to connect the data tier
which simplify tasks that were done by the client tier.
2.1.2 Data tier

Data layer is representation of the class which fed up the data information from the
business tier and sends it to the database or vice-versa
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Figure 1:Tier-3 Architecture
2.2 Techniques and Methods

In the process of making any particular system there are certain methods and
techniques that are used by organizations for tactical and strategic decision making (Accion
Inc., 2016). Data are involved and those data must be used to track and analyse.
Figure 2: Inventory management infographic
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The techniques that can be used in Inventory Management System are mentioned below:
➢ FIFO (First-in-First-Out): First-in-First-Out (FIFO) methods revolves
around the process of ensuring oldest stored inventory and using as first.
➢ Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems: Purpose of-Sale (POS) enables tracking to
occur from the minute a client makes a buy. POS systems are regularly an
application that integrate with inward inventory software, making continuous
stock updates conceivable.
2.3 Similar Applications

There is much applications found which would provide features regarding the
Inventory Management System, since this project is based on the conglomeration of ideas
gathered from such applications. Summarization of similar applications are as follows:
2.3.1 Zoho Inventory
Figure 3: ZOHO Inventory
Zoho inventory is a web-based application which can be used on a mobile

device. It is software solution designed for small business institution. Some of the
main features of this application includes the reporting and analysis for the vendor
and management of the inventory.
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2.3.2 TradeGecko
Figure 4: TradeGecko page
TradeGecko is cloud based and mobile-based platform which can integrate with a
multitude of platforms, including eCommerce sites like Amazon, Shopify which is helpful
for selling products online. The main attribute of this application is exporting data in the
most common format, CSV.
2.3.3 inFlow
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Figure 5: inFlow Inventory
inflow Inventory is a desktop application designed by Archon System for item-

based businesses and introduce the features to scan the barcode, invoice of information,
changeable labels and supports different currencies.
2.3.4 Odoo
Figure 6: Odoo software
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Odoo is open-source enterprise resource planning and management (ERP) software.

This software allows user to modified the code and it’s features because it is open-source
software.
2.4 Comparison between Applications

The comparison between existing systems are showed in the following table:
Alert
System Package Expiring Ordering Bar Customizable
Date Scanning Code
JOHO Integrated Yes Yes No No

Inventory
TradeGecko Alone No Yes No No
inFlow Alone No No Yes No
Odoo Yes No Automatic No Yes
Table 1: Comparison between the systems
2.5 Drawbacks of the Applications

Every app has a drawback. The JOHO inventory software dose not have the
feature to bar code scanning. Similarly, inflow and TradeGecko software does not
alert the expiring date of the product.
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2.6 Gathering of Information from Applications

Since IMS is based on the conglomeration of features and ideas collected
from such applications, these applications can be useful as they have a related
inventory and they have been following the similar algorithmic process. they can be
helpful in listing out the patterns of data flow and traceability features.
2.7 Tools and Techniques

The tools and techniques used to complete this software are discussed below:
2.7.1 HTML
Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is the language of the web which means the
language understands by the browser. HTML 5 is the newer version and will bes
used during this project.
2.7.2 CSS
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing
the look and formatting of a document written in a mark-up language and will be
used for this project.
2.7.3 Bootstrap
Bootstrap is a free and open-source collection of tools for creating websites
and web applications. It contains HTML- and CSS-based design templates for
typography, forms, buttons, navigation and other interface components, as well as
optional JavaScript extensions.
2.7.4 C#
C# is an Object-Oriented Programming Language (OOP) based on the .NET
framework. This is the main programming language used for the development for
this project.
2.7.5 ASP .NET

ASP .NET is the server-side web application framework designed for web
development. This framework is based on C# programming language.
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2.7.6 MySQL
MySQL is the largest open source database available. MySQL
database version 5.7 or higher will be used for storing of data.
2.7.7 Visual Studio

Visual Studio is integrated development environment (IDE) software
develop by Microsoft. With the uses of this software, development of this project is
processed.
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CHAPTER-3: DEVELOPMENT
3.1 Studies on the System Methodology
A system development methodology refers to a system that is used to plan, structure
and control the flow of the process to developing any particular information system
(Cohen, 2017).
3.1.1 Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

SDLC is a series of systematic activities followed for a particular software project,
while developing a system (Swersky, 2018). The following figure is a graphical
representation of the various stages of a typical SDLC:
Figure 7: Stages of SDLC
Before implementing the suitable methodology, it is good to study and represent the idea
about them. Therefore, 3 methodologies will be studied: waterfall model, iterative and agile
model.
3.1.1.1 Waterfall Development

Waterfall development is a traditional system development life cycle
approach that still used today. In waterfall model, Users and system developers
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procced in sequence from one phase to another (Sami, 2012). So as to continue to

next phase, designers are required to present the key expectations to extend patron
for endorsement.
Figure 8: Waterfall model
The following table represents the advantages and disadvantages of waterfall

development.
Advantages Disadvantages
Identification of clear requirements Completion of system design before
before doing the programming for the implementing the steps.
system.
Minimize changes to requirements as the Cost a lot if changes are required
project proceeds. because it is difficult to change.
Complete and detail documentation. Long-time elapses between the

completion of the system proposal and
the delivery of the system.
Little of users’ involvement.
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Table 2: Advantages and Disadvantages of waterfall model
3.1.1.2 Iterative Development

Iterative development model also known as incremental model is a system
development model which allow the developer to create a software and later helps to
improve after the testing phase have been done (Powell-Morse, 2016). In an iterative
model, increment process starts with the implementation of a set of software requirements.
Figure 9: Iterative model
There are both advantages and disadvantages in using iterative development model
while developing the software. The details are presented into the table below:
Uses of the first version of the system to Chances of running overtime and budget
gain knowledge and changes to the while developing the system.
requirements in the next iteration.
Easier to test and debug during a smaller Each phase of an iteration is rigid and do
period of time. not overlap each other.
Parallel development can be planned. It is not suitable for smaller projects.
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Less time is spent on documenting and

more time is given for designing.
Table 3: Advantages and disadvantages of Iterative model
3.1.1.3 Agile Development

The Agile movement proposes alternatives to traditional project management
(Littlefield, 2016). Agile approaches are typically used in software development to help
businesses respond to unpredictability. The requirements and solutions are evolved through
collaboration between cross-functional teams.
Figure 10: Agile model
The details about advantages and disadvantages are summarized into the
table below.
14
Decrease in time requirement for the Scalability.
system.
Transparency Documentation is done at later phases.
Debugging and fixing phase is faster in Reduce in the usability of components.

compared to other models.
Improvement of coding skill because of Needs special skills for the team.
the QA feedback.
Table 4: Advantages and Disadvantages of Agile model
3.2 Why Agile Development?

Agile Scrum model been chosen while developing IMS, that is because I wish to
develop this system by problem solving mode and deliver solution as per requirement.
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Figure 11: Agile scrum process
In waterfall, development teams only have one chance to get each aspect of a project
right. In an agile paradigm, every aspect of development requirement, design, debug etc. is
continually revisited. Agile methodology allows to make changes, it is an easier way to
add features that will keep updated.
Iterative development may solve large problems into smaller entity but it requires a
perfectly shaped idea and accurate estimation to build the system which is going to be time
costing and might be problematic in terms of budget. But agile development overcomes
these problems.
3.3 Stages of Agile Methodology
3.3.1 Stage 1: Planning and Requirement Analysis

Every system development is started with planning. In this stage, requirements
gathering is done to define the problem statement. Objective and scope of the project is
also implemented.
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3.3.2 Stage 2: Defining Requirements

After the requirements are defined, system development will continue to
analysis phase to define the requirements. This stage analyses the user’s requirement and
produce requirements document and represent use case diagram and class diagram.
3.3.3 Stage 3: Designing the system architecture

According to agile development model, design of system must be done
before implementation. Therefore, design of user interface, database, and report
must be determined before implementation phase.
3.3.4 Stage 4: Implementation of the project

This stage is the most crucial and complicated phase because it involves
building and developing the project. In this stage implementation of normalization
in database, coding in chosen programming language and testing etc. are involved.
3.3.5 Stage 5: Testing the project

Testing stages assess the software for errors and debugs the bugs if there are
any.
3.3.6 Stage 6: Deployment in the market and maintenance

Once the system is fully tested and passes through all the stages without any
issues, deployment of the system is needed to be done and feedback is collected.
3.4 Project Plan

For a successful project, a good project plan is the main key thing. Without the plan
nothing succeeds as there will not be any clarity of scope or any deadline for the project.
The steps for this project are mentioned below:
3.4.1 Work Breakdown Structure

It the graphical representation of the project deliverable that organizes the
steps of work into manageable sections. The work breakdown for this project is as
follows:
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Figure 12: Work Breakdown Structure
3.4.2 Gantt Chart

Gantt chart is graphical representation of project schedule. A Gantt chart for
this project is shown below:
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Figure 13: Gantt Chart
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CHAPTER-4: PROGRESS
4.1 Program Skeleton

Project is now in the designing phase since requirements gathering and
analysis have already been implemented. Some stages of the chosen methodology
have been completed. In coming time, other stages will be done respectively. But
for now, I am going to summarize the stages that I had already done.
4.1.1 System design

While developing the project, designation of different entities has been done.
In this stage, first I conglomerate the different ideas about how my system should
look like and how it is going to work etc. I presented both the diagrammatic and
graphical representation of some part of the system and are discussed below:
4.1.1.1 Process Flow Diagram

Process Flow Diagram is a diagrammatic representation of the algorithm
which uses geometric symbols and arrows to define the relationship. The Process
Flow Diagram of my project is shown below:
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Figure 14: Process Flow Diagram
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4.1.1.2 Use Case Diagram

Use case diagram is the diagrammatical representation of the system which
describes a sequence of actions that provide something of measurable value to an
actor and is drawn as a horizontal ellipse.
Figure 15: Use case diagram
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4.1.1.3 Wireframe of the projects

Wireframe is the prototype representation of the how the system will look
like in the future. The basic wireframe of the project is shown in below figure.
Figure 16: Wireframe for the project
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CHAPTER-4: FURTHER WORK

In the second semester, the most important task would be implementation of
projects. This phase includes the process of database designing and consequently
normalization process. This enables to develop the prototype for the model in the
upcoming future. As the same way, deploying the database into the server is also the vital
part of this phase. After that, system testing and collecting feedback will be processed.
While doing this, I hope that I can modularize the whole process, such that future testing
and training can be conducted at a simple manner, ideally at a GUI panel.
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APPENDIX
Survey Form
Figure 17: survey form
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Result collected from survey
Figure 18: Result from question 1
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Figure 20: result from question 3
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REFRENCES
Accion Inc. (2016, April 5). Inventory Management Techniques | Accion. Retrieved from Accion:
https://us.accion.org/resource/inventory-management-techniques/
Cohen, E. (2017, September 25). Project Management Methodologies: Everything You Need to Know.
Retrieved from Workamajig: https://www.workamajig.com/blog/project-management-
methodologies
Littlefield, A. (2016, September 2). The Beginner’s Guide To Scrum And Agile Project Management.
Retrieved from Trello: https://blog.trello.com/beginners-guide-scrum-and-agile-project-
management
Marston, T. (2012, May 5). What is the 3-Tier Architecture? Retrieved from Tony Marston's Blog :
https://www.tonymarston.net/php-mysql/3-tier-architecture.html
Powell-Morse, A. (2016, December 15). Iterative Model: What Is It And When Should You Use It?
Retrieved from Airbrake : https://airbrake.io/blog/sdlc/iterative-model
Sami, M. (2012, March 15). Software Development Life Cycle Models and Methodologies - Mohamed
Sami. Retrieved from Melastar: https://melsatar.blog/2012/03/15/software-development-life-
cycle-models-and-methodologies/
Swersky, D. (2018, May 31). The SDLC: 7 phases, popular models, benefits & more [2019] · Raygun
Blog. Retrieved from Raygun: https://raygun.com/blog/software-development-life-cycle/
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Islington College

Final Year Project

1.1 Introduction to Inventory Management System

1.2 Project description

1.3 Problem Statement

➢ To make web-based application of IMS for small organization.

1.4 Project as a Solution

1.5 Objective of the Project

1.5.1 Primary objectives

➢ To accomplish the requirement for the final year project (FC6P01NI).

1.5.2 Secondary objectives

➢ To develop a prototype of stock inventory system.

2.1 Architectural Review

2.1.1 Client tier

2.1.2 Logical tier

2.1.2 Data tier

Figure 1:Tier-3 Architecture

2.2 Techniques and Methods

Figure 2: Inventory management infographic

2.3 Similar Applications

2.3.1 Zoho Inventory

Figure 3: ZOHO Inventory

Zoho inventory is a web-based application which can be used on a mobile

Figure 4: TradeGecko page

Figure 5: inFlow Inventory

inflow Inventory is a desktop application designed by Archon System for item-

Figure 6: Odoo software

Odoo is open-source enterprise resource planning and management (ERP) software.

2.4 Comparison between Applications

JOHO Integrated Yes Yes No No

TradeGecko Alone No Yes No No

inFlow Alone No No Yes No

Odoo Yes No Automatic No Yes

Table 1: Comparison between the systems

2.5 Drawbacks of the Applications

2.6 Gathering of Information from Applications

2.7 Tools and Techniques

2.7.5 ASP .NET

database version 5.7 or higher will be used for storing of data.

2.7.7 Visual Studio

3.1.1 Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Figure 7: Stages of SDLC

3.1.1.1 Waterfall Development

procced in sequence from one phase to another (Sami, 2012). So as to continue to

Figure 8: Waterfall model

The following table represents the advantages and disadvantages of waterfall

Complete and detail documentation. Long-time elapses between the

Little of users’ involvement.

Table 2: Advantages and Disadvantages of waterfall model

3.1.1.2 Iterative Development

Figure 9: Iterative model

Parallel development can be planned. It is not suitable for smaller projects.

Less time is spent on documenting and

3.1.1.3 Agile Development

Figure 10: Agile model

Transparency Documentation is done at later phases.

Debugging and fixing phase is faster in Reduce in the usability of components.

3.2 Why Agile Development?

Figure 11: Agile scrum process

3.3 Stages of Agile Methodology

3.3.1 Stage 1: Planning and Requirement Analysis

3.3.2 Stage 2: Defining Requirements

3.3.3 Stage 3: Designing the system architecture

3.3.4 Stage 4: Implementation of the project