Project/Placement: Vehicle Database Design and Implementation

This project report focuses on the design and implementation of a vehicle database for a haulage company, addressing the limitations of their current paper-based system. The report outlines the background and context of the project, the models and theories used in the analysis, and the various project phases, including planning, initiation, execution, and closing. It details the skills developed during the project, such as teamwork and technical knowledge application, and analyzes the actions taken and not taken, along with their respective impacts. The report concludes with key learnings from the project and how they can be applied to future work scenarios, highlighting the benefits of an online cloud-based database system for improving storage, security, and operational efficiency. Desklib offers a range of similar project reports and study tools for students.

Running Head: PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
Project/Placement Design and Implementation
Name of the Student
Name of the University

1PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................2
2.0 Project Portfolio.........................................................................................................................2
2.1 Background and Context of the Project.................................................................................2
2.2 Models and Theories Used in Analysis.................................................................................3
2.3 Project Phases and their Effectiveness..................................................................................4
2.4 Skills Developed to Solve Work Based Problems...............................................................10
2.5 Actions Taken / Not Taken..................................................................................................12
2.6 Learning Taken from Project...............................................................................................12
3.0 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................15
Appendix........................................................................................................................................18

2PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
1.0 Introduction
A vehicle database is a type of database that is used to store vehicle details and
information of availability at a certain point of time. Generally, this type of system is useful for
haulage companies that deal with large number of transportation vehicles every day (Yunus et al.
2017). The haulage company in focus of this project uses paper document system for storing
records of vehicle details and client application forms for reservation of vehicles. Naturally, this
type of system is vague and has a lot of issues regarding storage and security. The paper
documents take up significant amount of physical storage space and can be destroyed easily.
The focus of this project is to identify these issues accurately and provide a suitable
recommendation for an alternate system that can be able to solve the problems together all at
once. The suggested solution for the problem is an online based storage system that will provided
significant number of benefits to the company. The system will provide infinite virtual storage
space for storing details of vehicles and applications from clients. Furthermore, with this system,
the clients will be able to reserve vehicles online and pay for the same through online payments.
2.0 Project Portfolio
2.1 Background and Context of the Project
This project is based on the development of an online vehicle database for a haulage
company. In the current system of the company, the vehicle details are generally recorded in
paper documents and after allocation of one or more vehicles for a particular contract, they are
checked off as unavailable in the paper documents itself. Due to the use of paper documents, the
availability record papers need to be changed every month (Nidzwetzki and Güting 2016). As a

3PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
result, there are often major errors while handling the data in the new month. Moreover, these
paper documents are often lost or damaged resulting in even more errors in the system. For
instance, let two trucks of the company have already been allocated for a contract but for some
reason (paper damage / no update on the record), the trucks have not been marked unavailable.
For the next contract, the same two trucks have been allocated but it will found that these trucks
are not available (Reddy et al. 2014). This will result in customer dissatisfaction as well as loss
of valuable time of the clients and company itself.
The proposed solution for this issue is an online vehicle database in which, all the details
of the vehicles will be stored online. There will be options to check off a vehicle with one click
once it is booked by a client. This will completely replace the paper document system and will be
much more efficient and less time consuming.
2.2 Models and Theories Used in Analysis
During the analysis and suggestion of the solution for the problem, several models and
theories have been considered. In order to identify these models, first, the issues to be addressed
are listed as follows.
Wearable Records – The paper documents in which the vehicle details and availabilities
are recorded can wear out quickly or can be destroyed easily if not properly stored and handled
(Arasu et al. 2016). Hence, it is required to develop a storage system in which the records can be
stored on a long term / permanent basis without the chances of wearing out.
Security – Paper documents are also very much unsecured as anyone who has access to
the office can steal pieces of paper documents containing records and details of the vehicles.
Hence, a secure storage system is required so that the records are kept safe and cannot be stolen.

4PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
Storage Space – Paper documents have very limited storage space. Generally, one
vehicle record is kept in one paper and application forms for contracts are also prepared in
different pieces of paper. Within few months, the paper documents stack up quickly and occupy
a lot of physical space. Hence, a system is necessary in which unlimited virtual storage space is
available without any limits for storage.
In order to incorporate all these requirements into one common system and also reducing
processing time by increasing operations efficiency, the best possible solution is to develop an
online cloud based database system (Achpal, Kumar and Mahesh 2016). A database system is a
huge collection of data that stores various types of data and information based on certain
categories and specific commands that are added during entry of the data into the database. The
benefit of implementing cloud based database is that it will provide unlimited virtual storage
space without even needing physical storage space like hard drives. Furthermore, such a system
can easily be secured using multi-step verification system so that the online documents can be
stored with sufficient security preventing any intruders to steal documents (Hababeh, Khalil and
Khreishah 2015). Databases also work on simple logics and commands and it will not be very
hard to enter vehicle details into the system. The system user will need to enter details of all the
vehicles into the database and there will be feature to book vehicles online. Once a vehicle is
booked by a customer online, the database will automatically mark that particular vehicle as
unavailable and hence, the unavailable vehicle will not be available for next bookings until it
becomes available again.
2.3 Project Phases and their Effectiveness
There are a number of project phases that are dependent on the type, duration and
complexity of the project. Some of the project phases utilized in this project are as follows.

5PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
Project Planning – This phase marks the starting point of the project and in this phase,
the stakeholders discuss about the problems and possible solutions. It is important to identify all
the problems of the system in this phase and agree on a particular solution (Schwalbe 2015). It is
also important to identify the benefits and shortfalls of the proposed system.
Project Initiation – In this phase, the project is initiated and preparatory works are
started. These works include development of project charter, project scope, budget, schedule and
others. Moreover, in this phase, the stakeholders are allocated with duties that they need to
perform in the project.
Project Execution – This is the main phase of the project in which the entire project work
is executed as per the prepared plan (Kerzner 2018). In addition to delivering the works, it is
important to effectively manage the time and budget so that both of these can be effectively
utilized in course of the entire project.
Project Closing – In this phase, the project documentation is prepared and then reviewed
by the project manager. Once satisfactory results are gained, the stakeholders sign off and the
project manager closes the project officially.
It is to be hereby noted that these phases of the project must be executed in the right order
by linking the work packages with each other in order to complete the project effectively and
successfully. For this particular project on focus, the project schedule is shown in the following
table including the stakeholders assigned and the estimated costs for each of the work packages.
Task Name Duration Start Finish Resource Names Cost

6PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
Development of
Vehicle Database for
Haulage Company
135 days
Mon
5/14/18
Fri
11/16/18
$298,400.00
Project Planning 7 days
Mon
5/14/18
Tue 5/22/18 $17,600.00
Survey and
Analysis of Problems
in Current System
2 days
Mon
5/14/18
Tue 5/15/18
IT Manager, Project
Manager
$6,000.00
Proposal of
Solution
1 day
Wed
5/16/18
Wed
5/16/18
IT Manager $1,400.00
Testing for the
Feasibility of the
Solution
2 days Thu 5/17/18 Fri 5/18/18
Finance Manager, IT
Manager
$5,600.00
Risk Assessment 1 day
Mon
5/21/18
Mon
5/21/18
Project Manager, IT
Manager
$3,000.00
Approval of
Project
1 day Tue 5/22/18 Tue 5/22/18 Project Manager $1,600.00
Project Initiation 15 days
Wed
5/23/18
Tue 6/12/18 $23,600.00
Assign Respective 2 days Wed Thu 5/24/18 Project Manager $3,200.00

7PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
Roles to the Right
Stakeholders
5/23/18
Hire Consultant
and Database
Developer
2 days Fri 5/25/18
Mon
5/28/18
Project Manager $3,200.00
Develop Project
Charter
1 day Tue 5/29/18 Tue 5/29/18 Project Manager $1,600.00
Identify Project
Scope
2 days
Wed
5/30/18
Thu 5/31/18 Project Manager $3,200.00
Estimate a Feasible
Budget
1 day Fri 6/1/18 Fri 6/1/18 Finance Manager $1,400.00
Determine
Assumptions and
Constraints
1 day Mon 6/4/18 Mon 6/4/18 IT Manager $1,400.00
Develop Project
Schedule
2 days Tue 6/5/18 Wed 6/6/18 Project Manager $3,200.00
Divide Work
Packages among Team
Members
2 days Thu 6/7/18 Fri 6/8/18 Project Manager $3,200.00
Green Light for 2 days Mon Tue 6/12/18 Project Manager $3,200.00

8PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
Proceeding with
Project
6/11/18
Project Execution 103 days
Wed
6/13/18
Fri 11/2/18 $232,720.00
Assign Roles to
Team Members
2 days
Wed
6/13/18
Thu 6/14/18 Project Manager $3,200.00
Provide Room for
Project Work
1 day Fri 6/15/18 Fri 6/15/18 Project Manager $1,600.00
Secure Budget
from Sponsor
2 days
Mon
6/18/18
Tue 6/19/18 Finance Manager $2,800.00
Start Development
of Database
2 days
Wed
6/20/18
Thu 6/21/18
IT Manager, Database
Developer
$5,120.00
Prepare List of
Features to be Added
1 day Fri 6/22/18 Fri 6/22/18 IT Manager $1,400.00
Install New
Hardware
15 days
Mon
6/25/18
Fri 7/13/18
Database Developer,
Hardware[1], Vendor
Costs[1]
$82,400.00
Install Support
Software
4 days
Mon
7/16/18
Thu 7/19/18
Database Developer,
Software[1]
$29,640.00

9PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
Develop Initial
Database
10 days Fri 7/20/18 Thu 8/2/18 Database Developer $11,600.00
Develop Company
Website
2 days Fri 8/3/18 Mon 8/6/18 Database Developer $2,320.00
Run the Functions
of the Prototype
5 days Tue 8/7/18
Mon
8/13/18
Database Developer $5,800.00
Test the Prototype 4 days Tue 8/14/18 Fri 8/17/18 Database Developer $4,640.00
Solving Errors of
Prototype
5 days
Mon
8/20/18
Fri 8/24/18 Database Developer $5,800.00
Develop Full
Version of the
Database
25 days
Mon
8/27/18
Fri 9/28/18 Database Developer $29,000.00
Final Testing 15 days
Mon
10/1/18
Fri 10/19/18
Database Developer,
System Tester
$29,400.00
Training of
Company Staffs
10 days
Mon
10/22/18
Fri 11/2/18
Training Costs[1],
System Tester
$18,000.00
Project Closing 10 days
Mon
11/5/18
Fri
11/16/18
$24,480.00
Project Review 2 days Mon Tue 11/6/18 IT Manager, Project $6,000.00

10PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
11/5/18 Manager
Documentation of
Project
3 days
Wed
11/7/18
Fri 11/9/18
IT Manager, Database
Developer
$7,680.00
Final Appraisal 3 days
Mon
11/12/18
Wed
11/14/18
Project Manager $4,800.00
Stakeholder Sign
Off
1 day
Thu
11/15/18
Thu
11/15/18
Finance Manager, IT
Manager, Project
Manager
$4,400.00
Official Closing 1 day Fri 11/16/18 Fri 11/16/18 Project Manager $1,600.00
2.4 Skills Developed to Solve Work Based Problems
Since there were a lot of work based problems and challenges faced during working on
this project, I developed many skills that assisted me to overcome these problems. Some of these
skills are described as follows.
Team Work – The first main skill I developed during the project is team work skills.
While facing complex problems and challenges, I realized that trying to solve the problems
individually will not only be time consuming but also will most probably be futile. Hence, I
learnt the value of working as a team and I asked my teammates to assist me to solve the
problems. In return, I also assisted them in solving their problems and building a great team
coordination as a result.

11PROJECT/PLACEMENT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
Application of Technical Knowledge – In order to solve the problems, I understood that
it was necessary to apply sufficient technical knowledge and expertise. I gathered sufficient
technical knowledge regarding cloud computing and databases during my learning course and in
this project, I needed to apply this knowledge to overcome the challenge. I relied on my
conceptual knowledge on databases and cloud computing and it helped me solve the problems
and proceed further in the project.
Ability to Identify Problems – One main attribute / skill of an individual needed for
overcoming problems is to be able to identify the problem itself. It is very often seen that
individuals fail to identify the exact problem and apply any remedial measures that do not affect
the actual problem in any way. Hence, I prioritized the identification of the particular problem
and then I proceed to solve the same.
In-Depth Knowledge of the Solution – Another common issue noticed during the
projects is that the individuals know the solution to a problem but does not know to apply the
same effectively in order to address the problem. I was well aware of this and hence, before the
project, I evaluated possible challenges and problems and studied their possible solutions
accordingly. This helped me to apply solutions to the problems effectively without losing much
time or resources.
2.5 Actions Taken / Not Taken
During the course of the development of the project plan, there were some actions that
needed to be taken whereas there were some actions that had to be avoided for the benefit of the
project. These are listed as follows.