MacroHard's Overall Design Document for BCI Project

Function: When the Order Information screen is opened from the Customer Information screen by selecting [new order], the system makes a prediction of the products that the customer will wish to order. This prediction is a copy of the last order on file made by a customer. If the salesman wishes to start with a blank order form, this is accomplished by clicking on the [new order] button. The predicted information is wipped out, and the salesman has the option to begin a new order from scratch.

Button: [New Order]

Function: This button allows the user access to the help screen, which describes how to accomplish tasks related to the screen on which it is pressed. In this case, the help window will appear, containing functional descriptions of all the tasks one can accomplish on the screen.

Button: [Help]

Function: When the salesman wishes to add a new product to the order form, the [View Product List] button takes him to the product list window. Once here, he is able to select items to add to the order from those contained within the database. There is a button called ADD that exits in the product information window. After selecting a product to add to the new order, the salesman hits the ADD BUTTON. Now, when the product list window is closed, the salesman finds himself back in the Order Information screen. The products that he has selected on the previous screen are now sitting in the order form. All that is left to complete the order is adjusting the quantity ordered, and filling in any appropriate discounts.

Button: [View Product List]

Function: The [done] button signals to the system that the user is finished with the current screen, and that he wishes to save all changes that he may have made. The window is closed, revealing whichever windows are still open.

Button: [Done]

Function: This option allows the user to close the Order Information window WITHOUT saving changes made to the order. This will be useful if the user makes a mistake, or desires to start over.

Button: [Cancel]

Function: This field is of type integer. This number will be assigned automatically by the system. The user will not have privillege of changing it.

Field: Order ID

Bad Input: None, as it is non-editable. Comany name also non-editable.

Entry Field: Date Delivered

Function: This field accepts many date formats that MS Access recognizes. For example the user could type "january 19 1996" etc. Bad Input: When the user enters an invalid date or format, an error message will appear informing the user of the problem.

Field: Date Ordered

Function: The current date is automatically entered by the system when a new order is created, thus saving the user valuable time. This field is non editable.

Function: The projected order is the date when the next order might be made by the customer. This is calculated automatically by the system by subtracting the previous order date from the current date and adding the difference to the current date.The user also has the option of editing this field.

Entry Field: Next Order Date

Function: This field is linked with the product ID. The user has the choice of selecting either the product name or the product ID, whichever is preferred, whereby the fields type, product number, and price/unit are all filled automatically by the system.

Entry Field: Product Name

Bad Input: The system will be looking for a valid product name. A name that does not match any of the items in the product list will be noted by the system as an error, and a message indicating this fact will be displayed.

Entry Field: Product ID

Function: This field is linked with the product name. The user has the choice of selecting either the product name or the product number, whichever is preferred, whereby the fields type, product name, and price/unit are all filled up automatically by the system.

Bad Input: The system will be looking for a valid product number. A number that does not match any of the items in the product list will be noted by the system as an error, and a message indicating this fact will be displayed.

Field: Type

Function: The type of the product is filled by the system when the user enters the product name or the product number in the appropriate fields.

Bad Input: None, as it is non-editable

Field:Price/Unit

Function: This field is also filled in by the system when the product name or product number is entered by the user.

Bad Input: None, as it is non-editable

Entry Field: Quantity

Function: The user has to enter the number of boxes the customer has ordered. In a new order, this number will have been filled in by the system with the expected quantity (based on the previous order). The user still has the option of changing this quantity to reflect current conditions if necessary.

Bad Input: An error message will be displayed if the user types anything other than a positive integer.

Field: Quantity Discount

Function: This field is filled automatically when the quantity is set or changed. The percentages used for different quantities will be set in the administrative section of the system.

Function: This field calculates the total discount the customer is entitledto by multiplying the quantity and price/unit with the quantity discount %. The result is entered by the system into this field.

Field: Discount $

Function: This field gives the total for each separate product ordered. The quantity is multiplied with price/unit and added to the discount $ and the result is displayed here.

Field: Product Total

Function: This adds all the product totals together.

Field: Sub-Total

Function: This discount is given by the salesman for preferred customers. The discount percentage is entered by the user, and the amount is calculated and displayed by the system.

Field: Discount

Bad Input: Input must consist of some integer value, otherwise the system will protsest with an error message.

Field: Shipping&Handling

Function: The amount is entered automatically by the system based on the sectors in which the customers are located, and the shipping rate for that sector. The shipping rate itself will be editable in the administrative section of the system)

Function: The applied tax for the sector the customer is located in will be entered by the system, and the taxed-amount will be calculated accordingly and displayed on the screen.

Field: Tax 1

Function: The applied taxes for the sector the customer is located in will be entered by the system, and the taxed-amount will be calculated accordingly and displayed on the screen.

Field: Tax 2

Function: The total amount including taxes and discounts will be calculated by the system and displayed here.

Field: Grand Total

Help:

A) TO PRINT AN ORDER FORM:

1) press the [Print] button Print produces a hard copy printout of the order on the screen. This order form can be used as both an invoice for the customer, as well as a paper file for company records.

B) TO DELETE A PRODUCT FROM AN ORDER

2) select "Delete" from the FILE menu, or press the [delete] button Deleting the item removes it only for the current order. The product will still exist in the database.

C) TO PLACE A NEW ORDER

1) press the [new order] button The order form is cleared, and you are set to fill in the information for a new order.

D) TO VIEW PRODUCT LIST

1) TO SAVE CHANGES

1) select "goto Product List Window" from the GO menu, or press the [View Product List] button.This button brings up the Product List Window, allowing users to add further products to an existing current order.

2) TO SAVE CHANGES AND EXIT WINDOW

1) press the [done] button Changes made in the database are saved permanently, and the window is closed down. The user is left with the Customer Information Window, which the Order Information Window was opened from..

3) TO CANCEL CHANGES MADE TO WINDOW

1) press the [cancel] button No changes are saved, and the window closes. The database is revertes to the state which it was in previous to the opening of the Order Information Window.

Customer Information Window:

Customer Information Window

This screen allows information about customers to be added, deleted and edited. By default, it opens on a blank record to allow a new customer to be added, and records can be stepped through in ascending order by the company name. If this screen is accessed from the route-list screen, a customer will already have been chosen, and only that customer's record will be displayed.

Buttons:

[Print] This button opens up a dialog box that allows the user to choose to print the Customer Information Report (showing all information about the customer except order information) or the Customer Order Summary Report (with summary information about the customer and their most recent orders, sorted in descending order by order date), or both.

[New Customer]

This clears the current fields for a new customer record, saving any changes to the current record.

[Delete]

This deletes the customer record currently displayed on the form, after the user has confirmed the deletion in a dialog box.

[Search]

This opens the customer information search dialog window to allow the user to search for another customer record. The user will be able to search by ID, company name, contact person or phone number.

[Help]

This opens up a window displaying information on how to use this window:

- Move the mouse pointer to the [Search] button and click on it using the left mouse button. This will bring up a search box that will allow you to find a customer based on the company name, customer ID, contact name and phone number. When you close this box, the record for the selected customer will be displayed in this window.

Editing a customer's record

to move to the next field when you are done. Any changes you make will be saved automatically when you go to another customer's record or click on the [Done] button.

Adding a new customer to the database

- Click on the [New Customer] button. All the fields in the window will be cleared and you will be able to add the new customer information.

Deleting the current customer record

- Click on the [Delete] button. A message box will appear asking you to confirm that you want to delete the current customer record and all orders for that customer.

Undoing your changes to a field

Undoing your changes to the record

twice. Note: this will only undo changes made to the record currently being displayed since it was last saved.

Exiting the window without saving your changes

- Click on the [Cancel] button. Note: this will only cancel changes made to the record currently being displayed since it was last saved. Editing an order

- If the order is for another customer than the one currently displayed, you must first find the customer record (see "Finding a customer's record" above). Select the order that you want to edit from the order list by clicking on it with the left mouse button, and then pressing the [Edit Order] button. (You can also double-click on the order to skip pressing the button.) This will open up a window that will allow you to edit the order information. (If you don't see the order you want in the list, it may be further down in the list. You can use the scroll bar to the right of the list to scroll through the orders.)

Adding an order

- First find the customer for the order you want to add (see "Finding a customer's record" above). Then click on the [New Order] button.

Printing customer information or a list of customer orders

- Click on the [Print] button to open a box that allows you to select the document you want to print.

[Undo] This undoes all changes made to the current customer record since it was last saved. (A record is saved as soon as the user goes to a new record.) It will not restore deleted customer records, but all deletions will require confirmation.

[Done] This closes the customer information window, saving any changes to the current customer record.

[Cancel] This closes the customer information window without saving any changes made to the current customer record since it was last saved.

[New Order] This opens the Order Information Window to allow a new order for the customer to be added. The order may include default entries copied from the customer's last order (which may be edited by the user), but this feature may not be included in the minimal system.

[Edit Order] This opens the Order Information Window to allow the order selected in the Order Information List to be edited. (The user can also double-click on the selected order to do this.) If the selected order has already been delivered, the user will not be able to edit it, but they may still view it in the Order Information Window.

Fields:

For all text fields, if the user attempts to enter a name that is too long, the extra characters will not appear, and the computer will beep.

For combo boxes, if the user selects something that is not in the list, a message will appear telling them that they must select something from the list, and advising them to press to reset the field to its previous state.

ID: This field uniquely identifies the customer record. It is an integer assigned automatically by the computer (in ascending sequence) and it cannot be edited.

Company Name: This is a single-line text field, with no input restrictions beyond the length.

Contact Person: This is a single-line text field, with no input restrictions beyond the length.

Phone Number: This field will have an input mask requiring the user to enter the number in the format `(999) 999-9999', where the nines stand for any digit.

Address: This is a multiple-line text field with a vertical scroll bar. There is no input restriction beyond the length.

City: This is a single-line text field with no input restrictions beyond the length.

Province/State: This is a single-line text field, with no input restrictions beyond the length.

Country: This is a single-line text field, with no input restrictions beyond the length.

Postal Code: This is a single-line text field, with no input restrictions beyond the length.

Sector: This is a combo box that allows the user to select the customer's sector by name. The attached list will show both sector names and their sequence numbers, sorted by sector name. If the user enters anything that is not in the list and then tries to leave that field, a message box will pop up to tell the user that they must select something from the list (and advising them that they can press to reset the field to its previous value).

Credit Limit: This is a single-line text field with a currency format. If the user enters something other than a number, a message box will pop up to tell the user that they must enter a number.

Comments: This is a multiple-line text field with a vertical scroll bar with no input restrictions.

Order Information List: This is a list box displaying summary information about the customer's orders, in descending order by the order date. The user can scroll through this list and select orders with the mouse, but the information in the list cannot be edited from this screen. Double-clicking on an order in this list, or selecting an order and then pressing the [Edit Order] button, will open up the Order Information Window with this record selected for editing or viewing. Note that orders that have been delivered already cannot be edited, although they may still be viewed.

Customer Information Print Box

This window will allow the user to choose to print one or both of the Customer Information Report and the Customer Order Summary Report. The report(s) will be displayed on the screen as they will be printed, and the user will be able to print them or select a different printer from the File menu. The [Print] button closes the print box and displays the selected report(s) for printing (one after the other if both are chosen), the [Cancel] button closes the print box without displaying or printing the reports, and the [Help] button opens the help window for the print box, with information on the reports and how to print them.

Here are two sample printouts:

Customer Information Search Box

This box displays four combo boxes that can be used to search for a customer: ID, Company Name, Contact Name and Phone Number. Each will have a list sorted by the associated field, but also displaying the values for the other three fields. When a selection has been made in one of these fields, the other fields will be updated to display the values for the selected customer record. By default, this box will show the information for the record currently displayed in the Customer Information Window. Clicking on Done will cause the matching record to be found and displayed in the Customer Information Window, clicking on Cancel will close this box without performing a search, and clicking on Help will open a window with information on how to use the search box.

Product List Window

This screen is accessed via the main menu or the order window. BCI's list of products is displayed in this screen. By default, all the products with their corresponding information are shown. Each product line consists of a product name, a unique product id number, a type identifier, and a price.

If the user has entered this window from the order window, then if they double click on one of the products, that product will be added to the current order. Of course if that product already appears on the order, double clicking on a product will do nothing. The information that will appear on the order window is the product name, the product id number, the type identifier, and the price. All other order information must be filled in later by the user. There is also an [Add to Order] button, described below, which accomplishes the same task.

If the user has entered this window from the main menu, then double clicking on any product will do nothing. Also, the [Add to Order] button is disabled and greyed out.

Button: [Print]

Function: When the user presses this button the current information in the product list window will be printed. For example, if the salesman filtered out all products greater than $50, and then pushed this button, only the products that cost less than or equal to $50 would be printed. The format of the print would be

Button: [Help]

Function: This will bring up the help window on the product list window. (Refer to end of section for help text)

Button: [Add to Order] (Only valid when entered from the order window)

Function: When pushed, this button will add the highlighted product onto the current order. It will fill in the product name, id, type, and price on the order form, but will leave all other fields blank for the user to fill. However, if the product chosen is already on the current order, then pushing this button will have no effect.

Bad input: none

Button: [Done]

Function: This button closes the product list window. When re-entering this window, all previous searches and/or filters will be lost; information displayed in the product list will always be the same when first opening this window.

Bad input: none

Description of Fields

There are four fields in the product list window: product name, product id number, product type, and price per box.

2) The id number is a unique number associated with each product.

3) The product type is the type of product.

4) The price/box is the cost of the product per box.

These fields are not editable. Product information can only be changed in the administration section, which will not be implemented in this phase.

Help:

How do I

Push the [Print] button. The current contents of the product list will be printed.

2) add products to my order?

Make sure that you entered the product list from the order window (must set up a new order first), then either double click on the product you want, or click on a product you want and press the [Add to Order] button.

3) exit this window?

Push the [Done] button. This will close the product list window.

Search for Product:

This window is opened by clicking on the [Search] button on the Product List window. The purpose of this window is to allow users to locate a specific product in the product list if they already know all or part of the product's name or ID number.

Window Title: Search for Product

Text in window: "Enter a Product Name and/or Product ID# to search for:"

Button: [Help]

Bad input: none

Button: [Done]

Function:

Errors: Bad input in the Product ID field will be detected at this point. If bad input is detected, the Search for Product window will remain open with the bad input highlighted, and an error message will appear, indicating to the user the problem encountered. For example, if the user enters a name in the Product ID field which is expecting a number, an error message saying "Invalid Product ID Number" will be shown to the user. If no matches are found, the Product List window will reappear with the first record at the top of the screen.

Button: [Cancel]

Function:

Type of input: character, not case sensitive

Entry field: Name

Function:

Default value: blank

Type of input: numeric characters only (0-9)

Entry field - Product ID

Function:

Default value: blank

Bad input: non-numeric characters

Assumptions:

2. If multiple matches are found, the first matching record will be at the top of the list when the search is executed.

3. It is considered a match if the value entered to search on is a substring of the value in the list. For example, if the user enters "Ab" in the Name field, the first product starting with "ab" would be returned, even though "ab" may not be the entire name of the product.

Help:

Enter all or part of a name in the Name field, and click on the [Done] button. This will return you to the Product List window with the first matching product at the top of the screen.

Enter all or part of the product ID in the Product ID field, and click on the [Done] button. This will return you to the Product List window with the first matching product at the top of the screen.

Filter Product List:

This window is opened by clicking on the Filter button in the Product List window. The purpose of this window is to allow users to restrict the products shown in the Product List window to those products which match certain types or prices.

Title:

Text in window: "Search for products with the following attributes:"

Button: [Help]

Function:

Errors: Bad input in the Price field will be detected at this point. If bad input is detected, the Filter window will remain open with the bad input highlighted, and an error message will be displayed. For example, if the user enters "aaa" in the price field, an error message will appear saying "Invalid price. Please try again, with a number in price form: (ie "0.00")". The user will then be given the oportunity to change the field to a valid number. If no matches are found, the Product List window will reappear, with no products listed.

Button: [Done]

Function:

Button: [Cancel]

Function:

Type of input: selections from a list

Entry field: Type

Function:

Default values: select all

Bad input: input not formatted like a dollar value, eg. 19.99.9, 1.454, 1d, or lower bound is higher than the upper bound.

Entry field: Price

Function:

Type of input: numeric characters

Default values: blank

Assumptions:

1. Consecutive filtering operations will only affect the currently visible product list. For example, if a user filters out all products costing more than $25, and then filters out all products costing less than $20, the resulting list would contain only products costing between $20 and $25. In order to view a list of all products, the user can select "View All" from a menu in the Product List window.

Help:

To view products fitting into a specific price range, enter the lower bound and upper bound in the two fields labelled Price. To specify only a minimum price, leave the upper bound field blank, and to specify only a maximum price, leave the lower bound field blank. Click on the [Done] button to return to the Product List window with only the appropriate products listed.

2. Filter by type:

To remove products of a particular type from the product list, select the product type in the left box and click on the right arrow button to move that type to the Filter box. Any product of a type listed in the Filter box will be removed from the Product List window. Click on [Done] to return to the Product List window.

3. Filter by type and price:

Filters can be simultaneously by both type and price. Enter the parameters for price and type, and then click on [Done]. 4. Undoing filters

To undo a filtering operation which has not yet been performed, click on [Cancel] to return to the Product List window with no changes made. To undo previous searches and view the entire product list, click on [Done] with no changes to the default values.

Route List Window

The Route List Window calculates and displays a list of places that the salesperson should visit, either to deliver orders or because the customer is expected to place a new order soon. From this screen, the user can choose which entries in the route list they wish to keep in the printed list. From the print window the user will be able print out information about the route list for that day in a variety of forms.

Entering the Window

Before opening the window, the program checks the date of the list in the Route List table to see if it is current (i.e. it was created earlier on the same day). If it is, then the list is displayed in the window (the format is described below). If the existing list is not current then the new route list is computed and displayed, and the database is updated to reflect the new date for the route list.

How the route list is computed:

2) Query the Order table for undelivered orders.

3) Query the Order table for today's prospective customers (this is based on the expected next-order date - if it is five days or less after the current date, the customer is included on the list).

4) Combine this information and put the resulting records in the Route List table.

5) Update the stored date giving the last time the route list was computed.

6) Produce the routing by sorting the information in the Route List table using the fixed order given by the sequence numbers of the sectors.

Screen Format

The screen format is broken down into two parts. These are the buttons and the display area.

The Buttons

[Edit Customer Info]

2) Once a record in the display area is highlighted you can edit the customer information by clicking on this button. This will bring up the Customer Information Window, where you can edit the customer's specifics, and when you return to this screen, the information will be refreshed on the Route List Window.

[Print]

2) Clicking on this button (when the button is not disabled) brings up the Print Box. (See the Print Box section.)

[Help]

Click on the [Print] button on the Route List Window and a print message dialogue box will pop up. Check the options box to select what you would like to print. Then click the [OK] button.

Editing customer information in the Route List Window

Notes: Please refer to the "Help section of the Customer Information Window" on how to modify customer information.

Deleting an entry from the route list

Tables and Field Definitions

Sector

- Sector Name

Type: Number (byte - 0 to 255)

- Sequence number

- Average distance in km to the sector

Type: Number (double)

Customer

- Company Name

- Contact Name

Type: Text, 14 characters

- Phone Number

- Address

Type: Text, 255 characters

- City

Comment: This field will give an abbreviation for the customer's province or state.

- Province/State

- Postal Code

Type: Text, 7 characters

- Sector ID

- Type Name (e.g. single-sheet, carbon copy, computer forms)

Product Type

Type: Text, 50 characters - Price per box

Product

- Product Name

- Product Description

Type: Memo

- Type ID

Order

- Customer ID

- Shipping rate

- Tax 1

- Tax 2

- Total

- Balance Owing

Line Item (a single line on an order, giving the order for one product)

- Line Number

- Order ID

- Product ID

- Quantity (in boxes)

Type: Number, integer

- Price

- Discount