Problem Definition

‘Jaz The Brand’ is a clothing brand local to Trinidad and Tobago where a young fashion
designer began his process on fulfilling his dream of bringing a mixture of
American/European culture with west Indian music to our island, using clothing. This brand
was established in February of 2020 and houses approximately 150 customers nationwide.
Jaz offers a wide variety of apparel such as hoodies, graphic tees, shorts and much more.
The owner currently utilizes a manual system to generate his orders. Consequently, this
designer has found himself stuck between hundreds of papers filled with payment receipts,
contact information, names, orders, and delivery addresses without any way of knowing
which is which. Many customers have received inaccurate orders because of this, and this
cannot continue to happen. The paper-based record system in which the owner is currently
using is not as effective as they thought, since the number of orders has become abundant.
The owner would like a system that stores all this information effectively and accurately.
They would like a program that would be created to store the names of the customers, their
contact information (email and phone number), their order, the method of receiving their
order and their total cost. The program should then be able to output a personalized bill for
each customer and the owner should be able to view all the bills from each customer, stored
on one file. This customized program would allow all orders to be processed in an orderly
manner while keeping track of all transactions.
Jaz The Brand Questionnaire 
Thank you for participating in this survey. This questionnaire seeks to collect information
on the current ordering system to ascertain how to develop a better, computerized one with
you in mind! Please answer these questions as honestly as possible, to ensure that the new
reports fulfil your desires. We assure you that all responses would be strictly confidential.
Your participation is greatly appreciated.
1. How is your experience at Jaz? 
a. Good 
b. Moderate 
c. Neutral 
d. Bad 
 
2. What type of ordering system do you currently use? 
a. Manual  
b. Digital 
c. Other:__________________________________________ 
 
3. How would you describe the current ordering system for Jaz? 
___________________________________________________________________________
4. Do you experience any issues with this ordering system? 
a. Yes  
b. No 
 
5. If yes, please state in detail the issues being faced. 
___________________________________________________________________________
6. In what way has this system affected Jaz? 
___________________________________________________________________________
 
7. What are some areas of development you would like to see for this ordering system? 
 8. What are the specific requirements fulfilled? 
___________________________________________________________________________
9. What is the most important requirement stated above? 
___________________________________________________________________________
10. What is the estimated deadline for this software system? 
MM          DD        YY 
______/______/ _______ 
Questionnaire report
My team and I conducted a survey to determine the challenges that this company is now
experiencing. This was done to gather both qualitative and quantitative data, which can now
be used to create reports. Some of the questions were open-ended, and the
employees were obliged to provide a lengthy response rather than simply ticking a box. Jaz
the Brand requires a digital automation ordering system that will seek to categorize their
orders in a chronological order by noting orders that have been requested, paid for, packaged,
and delivered. They specifically required that all orders placed through this system include
this material as well as the name and contact information of the individual who placed the
order.
My team distributed fifteen questionnaires, one for each employee of this small business and
based on the responses, we have noted that this business currently utilizes a manual ordering
system. Ten out of the fifteen employees have reported that this system is outdated and
needed to be replaced by a digital one, while five employees reported that the system works
effectively. On the contrary, when asked if issues were being experienced with this system
100% of the employees said yes. The employees reported that orders are occasionally mixed
up and customers are lost because of this. Moreover, keeping track of all tangible documents
have become a task. After having asked the areas of development they would like to see,
three employees reported that they would like to have bigger cabinets to store more files in
order, four employees reported that they would like to have a self-tracking system, where the
customer keeps track of their own order and eight employees reported that they would like to
have a digital system that would seek to chronologically arrange the orders that have been
requested, paid for, packaged, and shipped. They specifically requested that the orders of this
system should entail this material along with the name and contact information of the person
by which the order was made. The requirements of the order stated above would then be
placed into a digital bill where the customer and the employees would both be able to keep
record of the order in progress.
Interview 

Student:  What system do you currently use?

Owner: Well, we use a manual tracking system for orders on paper and keeping receipts in
files.

Student: What are some of the main issues with this system?

Owner: The main issue with this manual method is the clutter you get from doing records
with paper and sometimes customers get wrong orders.

Student: In what way has this system affected your company?

Owner: This method is stressful to the worker because keeping track of manual records is
very tedious and this is in turn frustrating to the customers because we are losing them since
we are getting the orders wrong. 

Student:  What would you like to see in the new system?

Owner: We would like to see better data management for the orders. The new system is also
supposed to make it easier for the clerk to record information so it will be less stressful for
them.

Student: What format would you like the program, an app, or a website?

Owner: We would like it as a software application so it can run natively on the computers

Student: Walk me through the daily running of your business

Owner: The worker usually takes 10- 15 minutes to log the purchase. To use the information
in the future like calling the records the customer is usually frustrated due to the long time it
takes to get the logs.

Student: What are some of the issues you see being resolved by a computerized system?

Owner: The issues that would be resolved is that it reduces the cost, the time it takes to get
information and it reduces the number of errors. 

Student: Would you like your program/application/website to be accessible without an

internet connection(Wi-Fi)?

Owner: Yes, I would like it to be accessible on the internet so we can use the information
anywhere.

Student:  Would you like the features to be accessible companywide? Or would you
appreciate selective access for employees and full access to managerial and supervisory staff
and CEO’s?

Owner:  I would like a selective system where certain employees have access to the
information and are able to edit while others are not. This will ensure that the information is
not tampered with and so that we can prevent file leakages from low level staff.
    

Student: What kind of information would be inputted?

Owner: We would like the customer records to show address, name of the customer, contact
number, the product purchased, method of delivery, total cost.

Student: What features would you like in the program?

Owner: We would appreciate it if the program could make a bill for each customer and if we
could see all the bills of each customer on one file.

Student: How often would data/information be entered into the system?

Owner: After every transaction done with a customer.

Interview Report

From the interview done with the owner, it would seem that the owner uses a manual
bookkeeping method of writing down the customers’ data and keeping receipts in files. This
is ineffective to the owner as the clerk has trouble finding the proper file and receipt for the
customer. This method also confuses the clerk as the customers’ orders may be wrong. Due
to these flaws, some customers may get frustrated and not regular the store anymore. To
prevent further problems for the company, the owner would like a program that is accessible
online with access given to certain employees. The owner would also want the program to
output a bill for each customer and the owner to view all the bills from each customer, stored
on one file. The owner would like this program so time would not be wasted, to minimize
human error and to save money.

Observation 

In the company the clothes were scattered all over the storage room and the sizes and prices
were mixed up for the clothes that were displayed. The workers also take 10-15 minutes to
process an order because they are using an outdated manual bookkeeping service and you can
see the customer get visibly upset. When the worker is processing the order, they process it in
a book and sometimes the worker makes mistakes which causes the customers to make
queries and waste more time. This causes the customers to not want to come back due to the
poor service that was provided to them and the effect on the workers is that they are
constantly stressed because of the tedious method of data entry and the customer's negative
reactions to the workers.