CIS/319

Pic-A-Pizza

Final Group Project

Week 5

Maria Gonzalez

Vivian Montoya

Jeremy Vigil

September 14, 2001

Barrington Shaw

Executive Summary…………………………2

Operational Requirements………………….2

Program Requirements……………………..4

Storage Requirements………………………6

Install, Design and Test……………………..7

System and Procedure………………………9

Conversion and Training…………………10

Cutover……………………………………..11

Organizational chart……………………….13

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Pic Your Pizza was established in 1996 and is family owned. The Family/owner has no desire to participate in the business. They just want to “Collect the money”. Owner is unwilling to add more staff this has compounded our problem below. We are a thriving business, which handles 50 square miles. Our delivery driver is getting a workout. We are a local shop and many customers are regulars. Many customers are very satisfied with the tastes of our pizzas. We use fresh ingredients and add special spices to our dough. This gives our pizzas a unique taste. Word of mouth has made us a local icon for our area. Some people say we have the best pizzas for the state.

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The first operational requirement will be training. All employees not only need to be trained on the new system but also basic computer use. None of the current employees have had experience with computers. More training will be done with Maria the cashier because she will be doing most of the order entry. The cook and the delivery driver will have little to do with the new system but they will need to be able to answer customer questions and serve back up to Maria in case she is unavailable. We will need to bring in an outside expert for the training. Sandra, the manager, will bring in her brother in law Steve to do the training. He has several years’ experience working with computers and is well liked. His fee is $1000.00 for a week’s worth of training, which was the cheapest we could find. This should be sufficient time for training.

Maria, the cashier, will be our resident expert so a great deal of pressure and training will be put on her. Not only will she need to know how to do basic order entry but she will also need to know basic troubleshooting of the equipment. She doesn’t need to become a computer expert. She will however need to be able to fix minor issues and determine if the software or hardware vendor needs to be called for more advanced issues. She will be our front line to customers taking orders and answering questions. This will require confidence in her abilities so customers feel they are getting the right answer.

Vivian, the cook, will need the same training but not as intense. We will have a video monitor placed in the back so she can view the orders as Maria places them. Vivian will make the pizzas. She will place an address and order sticker on the pizza box printed from the printer. Then remove the order from the video monitor via the computer that we will add in the back part of the store. Maria’s computer up front and Vivian’s computer in back will be networked together.

Jeremy, the delivery driver will have even less contact with the computers. He will only need to read the sticker and double check that the pizza is correct. Jeremy will also serve back up to Maria and will answer phone calls and place orders as needed.

The order process will go as follows:

· Order is placed by phone call or via web site.

· Maria enters order. This will appear on Vivian’s video monitor. “Web orders automatically appear on video monitor with out Maria’s intervention.”

· Vivian makes the pizza or pizzas to order.

· Vivian takes printed label and places it on box then removes order from video monitor.

· Jeremy double checks pizza is made correctly then delivers to address on pizza box.

· For lobby customers, Maria directly gives them their pizzas.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Last week we conducted a staff meeting. The purpose of this meeting was to examine the factors that cause pizza businesses to fail. We determined that 80% of our advertisement is distributed through the local newspaper. We soon discovered that potential customers would rather log on to the Internet to obtain stock quotes, shop, and read the local and world news. There has been a recent decline of sales in the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post since they decided to merge.

Pic-A-Pizza will need two Pentium IV computers. One computer needed for order entry. The other computer is needed for the cook to view and remove orders. A server for the new database and web traffic. Mailing software to increase capacity for future customers that move into the neighborhood. We will use excel in the Microsoft office Suite. Microsoft SQL Server 2000 will employ the new database software. The total system cost will be $15,800

EQUIPMENT	QUANTITY	COST	TOTAL
Micron P6-XL Computer System	2	$3,500.00	$7,000.00
Server	1	$2,000.00	$2,000.00
Printer w/fax capabilities	1	$400.00	$400.00
SQL SERVER 2000	1	$1,500.00	$1,500.00
Microsoft office	1	$400.00	$400.00
Chrysanth Inventory Manager 2001	1	$500.00	$500.00
TRAINING	1	$1,000.00	$1,000.00
DSL line 3-year contract	1	$3,000.00	$3,000.00
SUB TOTAL			$15,800.00

Although the cost funding is expensive, there is a much bigger return on the investment than just the bottom line. As a co-founder of Pic-A-Pizza, it is my job to put together business plans and recommend computer upgrades and installations.

Many small businesses use computer databases to keep track of inventory, employee data, manufacturers and a current mailing list. Since we have an outdated accounting system, (cash register) which currently does not have the capacity to handle anything besides adding and subtracting. Therefore we will be purchasing this new system for the following reasons:

· Determine what our future sales will be

· Using charts from previous year (s)

· Accounting software for billing purposes

· Taxation problems

· Managing the inventory

· Customer service tracking

· Marketing communication (e-coupons, mailing lists, sale promotions through our web-site)

· Sale projections

· Employee data/personnel records

STORAGE REQUIREMENTS

Storage requirements are not a major priority at this point. Our business is still small. We are using two computers and one server. Our server has about 20 gigs of storage capacity. We count on two hard drives and maybe another two for secondary storage. Of course investing a little more money for better and greater storage we can have the option of using magnetic disks, optical disks, and magnetic tapes also as part of our secondary storage. The best thing about using these types of storage devices is the speed they provide. Considered to be a fast food restaurant, speed will be a priority. All of our customer data will be saved in to our server and the most useful will be
accessible from our hard drives. With the upgrade to our system we should
not run in to any problems with storage such as crashing our server. Using programs like Microsoft Access, Lotus Organizer, and Software Suites and Integrated Packages should be good resources to manage all of our customer data.

OVERVIEW

Premier Support for our Internet Business is a commitment to our business success. It features a complete line of proactive services that enables e-commerce, hosting, and a service provider business that we will be able to effectively launch, manage, and grow. With the new resources available through Premier Support for our Internet business, our company will have ongoing, coordinated Microsoft services at our fingertips through a single point of contact. Solutions that address the primary needs of Internet based businesses, such as reliability and scalability; will keep us on track and ahead of the competition.

Single-Point Account Management: Our designated account manager gains a complete understanding of our current and future needs, and then we can determine and acquire the appropriate Microsoft resources for us.

Comprehensive Solutions Based Services: Much more than just product based support, Premier Support for our Internet business focuses on both short and long term life cycle solutions by including proactive services such as training, workshops, inventory and online resources designed for our community.

Flexible Packaging and Pricing: A Microsoft professional will evaluate our support needs and help us determine the best support option. We will work together to build a comprehensive support program focused on ensuring our business’s success. We also determined to contract these services separately from our proactive account.

The systems we purchased are two Dimension 8200 computers systems. One SQL server a printer with fax capabilities and the inventory programs that will be used are Microsoft office and Chrysanth Inventory manager 2001. Our platform is windows 98 because it came with the computer system. The cost for each computer is $1729.00, $4999.95 for our SQL server, and $389.95 for our printer. The price for our programs is $579.95 for Microsoft office and $159.99 for Chrysanth inventory Manager 2001. The total cost for the whole system is about $10,000. With this investment made, we expect to operate at our best with our new system.

INSTALL, DESIGN AND TEST APPLICATION PROGRAMS

Our business will rely on the Internet, which will require comprehensive, integrated support designed to keep our commercial services and applications available. Microsoft Premier Support for Internet Business is a top-to-bottom, start-to-finish, proactive and reactive support solution that will help our small company succeed at planning, preparing, inventory control, deploying, and maintaining an International Business.

We had the following programs to work with: Chrysanth Inventory Manager 2001, SQL Server 2000, Microsoft office, and Windows 98. Little effort was needed to install the required programs. We received adequate support from the software vendors.

We did a thorough test on all applications and hardware. We stress tested the applications and did a mock run on all systems. We didn’t find any major problems. We did have minor issues that were corrected on the spot.

Windows 98 required the least amount of effort because it was already loaded on the computers we bought. We customized some settings to our preference. Most were cosmetic changes that needed to be adjusted for our benefit. Windows 98 was our main choice and led us to select windows programs. While running programs on Windows 98 we did see some slowing. To correct this, we removed some memory resident programs that were not needed and we added more memory. This changed the performance drastically.

Chrysanth Inventory Manager 2001 was fairly easy to install. It didn’t require much information during installation. Most of the effort was to add our current inventory into the program and add historical figures so we can get accurate forecasting. We choose this program because we had a chance to get a 30-day evaluation on this program. CIM 2001 was able to do everything we needed.

SQL Server 2000 was the most complicated program we had to install. There were many features and options we didn’t understand. Luckily, we had help from Steve, our hired technical trainer. Steve went through the install with us and explained all of the features and options in layman’s terms. This program is the heart of our system. SQL Server 2000 was able to handle all of our needs. It integrated our inventory, address and financial information. As well as handling our entire Internet traffic. We did find integrating all of our services time consuming. We tested this by mock orders. We found some minor issues but nothing worth mentioning.

Microsoft Office was not a problem. We had Vivian, the cook, install Microsoft Office and she did it with no problem. We mostly use Microsoft Access for our address information. We added mock data and everything came up in the correct field. We did some test printing from the database and we didn’t find any problems.

SYSTEM AND PROCEDURES

Order is placed by phone call or via web site. The phone orders are entered into our desktop computer installed on the front counter. The transaction is completed then sent to the server. The server processes the information from the transaction. It updates the inventory program and saves the address information. The address information is saved in an access database that is used to print address labels for mailers. The transaction is sent to the computer in the back kitchen area. There it displays the order on a video monitor. The cook is only given the order information. The sales information is removed because it is not needed to prepare the pizzas. I.e. price information. At the same time the printer prints out the customers order and address information for the pizza box. The delivery driver takes the printed labels and applies them to the box. The delivery driver then delivers the pizzas. The web orders are processed the same way as phone orders.

The web page was designed for simplicity. We don’t have extensive graphics and/or multimedia. We want our web page to reflect our lobby, which is basic. We want customers to buy our pizzas for the taste and not the fluff. The main feature is placing a delivery order. The first step is selecting the size and toppings for your pizza. We have added a unique feature that customers should find appealing. When customers add their toppings a picture will display what the final pizza will look like. In other words, the picture displays the toppings as the customers add the toppings on the pizza. After selecting the pizza, customers are asked for the address and credit card information. We check if the address is in the delivery area before we charge their credit card. If customers are not in the delivery area, we give them our address and ask them to pick up the pizza at the store and give them the option to pay now or later. We will charge the credit card according to the customers’ answer. All address information given to us by the customer is added to our database for future mailers.

CONVERSION AND TRAINING

Fortunately, the company we hired for training Computer Consultants Network also provides consulting services for disaster recovery planning, data recovery systems, and insurance fraud. The CCN staff provided consultation and evaluation regarding the integrity of our data backup system and future disaster recovery plans. Using their services helped us to save time, money and the hassle of trying to recreate the information we have spent hours and even years compiling. Since, our previous method of inventory keeping was a cash register receipt and basic book keeping; the CCN had no problem converting the hard copies to the Chrysanth Inventory Manager 2001 software. CCN provided in house trainers and brought us up to speed with our organizations newest software. The training team sat down with us and analyzed how we should use our software. They looked at the types of documents that our company creates, looked at the specific customizations to the software and took into account the experience level of our staff and from there they designed a specific learning plan for our small company. CCN also provides help desk staff to establish a central point of contact for troubleshooting and solving future application problems. The help desk services include phone support, assistance at the end user’s desk, logging and tracking of problems reported to the help desk, administration and management.

CUTOVER

Once we have done all the upgrading to our system, we will give proper training to our employees. Then our turnover to our new operational system with hands on and practice, it will be simple. With this big change, sales will increase dramatically and will be on our way to being the number one pizzeria in our city.

During cutover time we will shut the business for a weekend which should be enough time to do the transition. We will shut all of our old system down unplug everything pack it and take everything out, most likely give it to the salvation army then we will bring in our new system. We will install new ports/plugs new wiring and have a whole new setup. Maria, Vivian, and Jeremy will help Steve do all the installation. Steve our web trainer for the new system will guide them to do some of the installation. However he will do most of the important parts like setting our computers, installing the programs and putting our small network up and running. Once finished setting up the new system, Steve will continue the training first and mainly with Maria the cashier. Since all the pressure and heat will be on her she will be our resident expert so most technical problems will be turned to her. Then Steve will continue with Vivian and Jeremy they will be taught the basics of our new system. By the end of the weekend they should be good to go.