| Introduction |
We are very impressed with the product that ISSI has developed for Imagin8. Overall we are willing to accept the finalized software that ISSI will complete according to their outstanding issues report. We are looking forward to a continued relationship with ISSI to take us boldly into the twenty-first century.
| DEMO |
The demonstration of the PlaNet system by ISSI was very impressive and professional looking. ISSI was very organized and the demonstration was very well thought out. Most impressive was the use of scenarios to demonstrate the functionality of the system. These scenarios provided a quick informative overview of the entire system. They were able to demonstrate all major functions in short period of time. We were also impressed with the list of functions that were not yet implemented and the time estimates for ISSI to complete those functions. The ISSI people were obviously very familiar with their system and at times moved a little too quickly for us to keep up.
| Requirements |
| Meeting Management System |
We are extremely pleased with the login process that ISSI has provided for the PlaNet system. The notice notification system is well implemented and surpassed our expectations. The updating of notifications every five minutes was not mentioned during the product demonstration. We understand that this feature could not be demonstrated without a client-server architecture however this was not addressed during the demonstration or in the outstanding issues report.
The calendar is well constructed, intuitive, and the colour coding of days is informative. Navigation through the thirteen month period is excellent. This has satisfied our expectations.
ISSI's help system that provides context sensitive help was very informative and it surpassed our expectations for this system.
This portion of the system has more than satisfied the requirements that we have asked ISSI to produce.
The adding of new meeting locations was especially nice feature implemented in the program. Providing the drop box of choices allowed us to maintain a consistant list of meeting locations while the ability to easily add new locations was something we hadn't originally specified, but we are very excited at having.
We did ask in our response that the selection of names from the list use a colour other than gray and this was not evident in the demonstration that ISSI has provided. However, the use of italics as well makes this system acceptable to Imagin8.
Although this was not yet implemented from what we have seen and what was described during the presentation, this portion of the system looks as though it will fulfill our requirements.
We are unable to comment on the functionality of this subsystem as it was not discussed during the presentation. If the rest of the program is any indication of the success ISSI has proven, we expect this subsystem to conform to our requirements if not exceed them.
Since the change password function conforms to Window's standards found in many applications, this section of the program is intuitive and easy to use.
| PlaNet Administration System |
The system provides a very easy method of managing employees of Imagin8. The ability to easily modify employee information - for example Bobo's - is well implemented in the PlaNet system.
ISSI explained during that the presentation that system administrators do not have access to the details of a user's schedule however there is no security measures outlined that stop an administrator from changing the user's password in order to log in as the user. We understand that this is a very difficult problem and are willing to accept the security limitations however we feel we should have been informed of this by ISSI during the presentation of the software.
This is well implemented and should provide us with the functionality that we require for future expansion in our corporate setting.
| Overall |
Overall Imagin8 is pleased with the PlaNet system provided by ISSI. We look forward to pursuing a further development relationship with ISSI in the future.
| Usefullness Of The Design Process |
| Overview |
The design process used by Imagin8 and ISSI to develop the PlaNet meeting and administration system was an iterative one. As the customer group we made an initial proposal to ISSI for the system that we required. They responded with an informal specification document that outlined a basic system. The process repeated itself until finally a prototype system was demonstrated by the supplier group. All final copies of both customer and supplier documents were posted on the web.
| Advantages |
One advantage of the iterative design process is that a prototype model is quickly developed. This lets the customer group get a 'feel' for how the final system might look and function. Another advantage is that the process keeps the customer involved in the design process right until the prototype is developed. The early face-to-face meetings allowed for the two groups to interact and communicate their ideas quickly. The two groups were able to come together and get their ideas on the same page. Because the documents were posted on the web, every person in both groups could quickly and easily view the documents.
| Disadvantages |
The customer group had no opportunity to discuss any design details with another member of the supplier group. The only feedback that the customer group gave to the supplier group was through annotation of their design documents. By meeting with a few members of the supplier group face-to-face we could have communicated our concerns much more quickly and effectively. Another disadvantage of the process was that as the customer group we felt we had to constantly find fault with our suppliers design as specified in their documents. We felt this created an antagonistic relationship between the two groups. By the end of the design process the two groups might develop an uncomfortable working relationship.
| Improvements |
The design process could benefit from more opportunities for face-to-face contact between the two groups. This type of interaction would lead to a dialogue between the groups and increase the speed at which issues could be dealt with. A more positive relationship should be cultivated by two groups cooperating and working towards a common goal. During this project we felt we were often arguing and competing rather than cooperating and helping each other out.