Agricultural system

Introduction for System Development

Project Motivation

If to say about this report specifically first of all the system which is to be developed is an agricultural system which suits the Sri Lankan spice & herb industry. When considering on the specific vicinity of the system it was selected because, countries like Sri Lanka has a very good natural advantage on it where as the climate and the local conditions most suit the agriculture sector, like wise in Middle East countries it has the petroleum factor Sri Lanka has the agriculture zone as a main sector, which must gain high effect to the countries development.

But the Sri Lankan spice sector presently doesn't have the needed pull-up to have a very good impact in the Sri Lankan economy, for any country its own wealth is the plus. Also on 20th august 2009 a article on Daily News was published that as 'Big demand for Sri Lanka's spices in global market' So in order to catch up those market the country has to have the needed effect on the sector so in order to have an improvement locally and internationally this specific spice & herb sector is been selected to be developed using information technology.

Project scope illustrates that the project must have only the essential requirements to complete the project very successfully, so here the project scope is divided into parts to view it clearly.

The department of agriculture which is situated in Kandy Sri Lanka is a hugely divided organization where it handles lots of Sri Lankan agricultural products. So in the massive area the system is been concentrated on the spice and herb sector of the agricultural department .Where it has a very good demand locally and internationally since it is unique to Sri Lanka.

Currently the spice and herb sector is having a web system which is running on information providing for the spice and herb sector of the country, but the agriculture department needs a system which can interlink the farmers and the vendors through the department. So that the whole spice & herb sector can be handled through one end. At the moment there are certain resources which can adhere to the current web information system that department is maintaining.

There are certain kinds of problems with the specific web application that the deparmtnet of agriculture is using presently in the spice and herb sector. The major setbacks with the current system are given below in detail.

• Data's currently recorded are not reliable and accurate as data recording is performed once in a while.
• Sales are done within the farmers and the vendors with there own prices. So the price isn't accurate which is delivered by the agriculture department.
• As the warehouse is a separated building, it is difficult to find information about the stock from the store itself.
• Reports are not generated because of the lack of data.
• There is no security with the current system as if any one uses it.
• The farmers aren't much in connected with the department of agriculture since they don't bring much if there product to be sold form the department itself so that the farmers can miss their rewards.

Also when considering the above factors the rural area farmers may face problems such as they wont be getting good market for there products since they cover a limited surrounding. Even though they produce high quality product they don't have the expected market for them so ethically this can be a downfall for them because of that they may loose there profession also.

Also the price floating is not legally correct because when there is an exact price listed by the government the farmers add up to that using certain fraud excuses, so the price increases highly. It's a main problem relevant to the system.

Taking the problems into consideration, the system which would be developed will be a kind of supply chain system. It will include the basic features like:

• Farmer details - Farmers can be register to the system.
• Vendor details - Vendors can be registered to the system.
• Transport providers details - Transport providers can be registered to the system.
• Product Stock details will be stored separately.
• Sales details can be stored.
• Product Orders and Transport bookings can be made.
• Reports on sales process will be marked.

Using the new supply chain management system the agriculture department can be benefited with the following.

• Security wise data's are highly secured since an administrator will manage the whole system.
• Less paper work required.
• Price floating can be controlled by the department.
• The agriculture department is to increase the countries productivity towards the sector so they can give useful hints and farming techniques for the farmers.
• Yearly growth can be tracked through the sales reports.
• The business process will increase day by day since loads of products will be showed up for sales.
• Transport providers will have a method of marketing them.

So the above mentioned problems can be fulfilled up to an extend, the rural area farmers can get a good market when they have the link with the vendors frequently also the prices can be fully controlled and updated instantly by the government also they can penalise the vulnerable individuals who float the rates of the products, since the sales could be done by the government itself.

When considering the shortcomings of the system the brokers may be ignored since the government will handle all the sales process.

So when finally getting the impression on the project aim, because of developing a system of this kind the Sri Lankan spice & herb sector can handle all there process from one place since every aspect will be well organized and also can contribute to the GDP of the government in a remarkable way. So there can be a good improvement in the agriculture sector also there can be analysis made in order to make improvements in future.

Preliminary Investigation

Project Lifecycle

The term project lifecycle models how a project is planned, controlled, and monitored from its inception to its completion.

The project development life cycle method is selected as the waterfall life cycle method. This method will have a sequential flow as when a waterfall is flown from the mountain it is not possible to return it is similar in this development method also. So we cant go back to the previous development process.

The advantage of using the waterfall development lifecycle for the web systems development

• The chapters can be maintained perfectly.
• There can be a project plan created for each and every task and it can be scheduled according to the time limits.
• The development methods which are six can be passed in a sequential move.
• Objectives for the project can be set accurately.
• Stable project requirements can be identified easily.
• Progress of system is measurable.

Phases of the waterfall lifecycle module and the functions of each of them

1. System Analysis - This is the investigation part of the system where as the main intention of developing the project is identified and the project plan is created. Identify Problems, Opportunities, and Objectives Output--feasibility study (economic, operational, technical feasibility and legal).
2. Determine Systems Requirements (Systems Analysis) - This part mainly deals with the fact findings, so this would get the real output of the current and the future system. Determine goals, inputs, outputs, storage, and logic, critical response time.
3. Design the System - From the Requirements analysing the specific system will be designed. The diagrams and the architecture for the system will be created here.
4. Develop the software (programming) - Here the particular systems development process is been done so that the exact architecture and the tailored diagrams will de shown with some sample interfaces of the developed system.
5. Test Software - After the development the testing for the system can be done easily to prove its quality.
6. Implement and maintain Software, convert data and train - Here in the final part the system will be installed and the needed user training will be given to the users.

So this is the six phases of the system lifecycle when using the waterfall module the only draw back from this methodology is that it cannot go back for the previous phase other than that this will be an accurate system development lifecycle module.

System Requirement Analysing

Feasibility Study

A feasibility study is an engineering study designed to define the technical, economic, and legal viability of a mining project with a high degree of reliability. Also it can be mentioned as an investigation into a proposed plan or project to determine whether and how it can be successfully and profitably carried out in future.

Technical feasibility includes the basic needs for the system whether the technical resources are available in order to complete the system if not it will be useless to spend money on developing a system so in point of view of the spice and herb system the below mentioned technical aspects are needed.

Materials & Labours needed

• A computer operator will be needed with complete knowledge on handling a professional website since the department o f agriculture is handling systems it has a individual who can handle the abovementioned task.
• There is a specific PC with internet and printer facilities needed. But since the organization is using a web information system it has a suitable PC for the accumulated job. So that technology wise the resources are available in the organization.

If considering the technical usage and providence it was pretty low in Sri Lanka in the past years s o considering that the Sri Lanka government has gone into some serious concerned projects which shows that the technology is provided and used locally.

• Nenasala (Knowledge Centre) - The remote areas of the country must be able to access ICT.
• Lanka Gate (Country Portal) - The online services must be able to be accessed by all the parties around Sri Lanka
• Lanka Government Network (LGN) - All the government organizations in the network must be provided with the basic infrastructure to connect with there network.

When considering the above factors the Sri Lankan technology has been improving day by day, specifically mentioning the internet has been used through out the island so the system has a technical feasibility to run the system through the internet, below there are some surveys done by the Laboratory for Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Technical Report TR-815.Which has the percentages and the descriptions in a graph.

The email usage has been bulky so that the people around the country are using the emailing facilities to have communications.so that the communications through internet has been growing so that if there is system which handles emailing communications it has the needed pushup to go further.

The system is to be developed in a office and the system can be used in home conditions also so in order to that in Sri Lanka the internet is been used in Office & Home conditions mostly so that the system can be feasible to be handled in offices since the percentage is high.

Other than email the use of internet services -

• WWW
• Chating
• TeleNet
• Sharing Information in the web
• News Groups
• FTP file transfers
• Others

The list was categorized to three -

1. WWW
2. 3 or less
3. 4 or more

The above graph shows that the world wide web is been used with two or more other services so the Sri Lankan individuals any how opt to use the websites, so that technically the usage will be high so there wont be any second thought if it's a web system.

Technically the speed of the internet connections used are high so that there is good use of technolghy made here so that even if there is a huge web site the users can opt to use them pretty easily.

The quality of the internet connection and the realiability is very good in Sri Lanka so that the stats may improve in future for sure.Also form the other side the technical support for the internet usage is also good considering that there may be fault tolerents frequently happended so if there are uneducated people who use internet they can get supproted by this, so that they may feel free to use the internet too.

The above image illustrates that the internets usage for various purposes so that it has a high percentage for communication and also it has a good percentage for marketing purposes. So that the marketing for a organziation is pritty easy in Sri Lanka with using the internet.

So from the above report we can trust that there are enough users to handle the system and the technology is having a very good impact through it so that the technology for the system is already available so the process is to use it successfully the stats mentions that also. When considering the computer usage at the agriculture department there is a graph which mentions that the office and home are the two main places where internet is been handled so that for example if there is a web system it is assured that there will be resources to be used. When considering the materials for the organization at the moment there is a web information system running so that the computer facilities are available with the labourers. So when considering the technical aspect the amount of risk is limited. Some of the additional technical aspects are mentioned in detail in the operational feasibility.

This analysing will mention whether the system is effective or not. So this section will compare the benefit and the saving of the system if it is acceptable the system will be developed or else the system will be further modified. So for the particular system there is a cost benefit analysis done.

Operational feasibility mentions that as practically when the system is implemented will they use it if not it would be a risk to implement it, the technical feasibility mentions that the system has the technical advantages so that there must be operational feasibility in order to use the system which was developed using technology. So to have a brief look into that aspect below there are some stats which mentions that the system can be used in future.

When considering the above system it will be used by the working crowd so that the internet usage in Sri Lanka when considering by the age groups tells that age 26 - 45 has a high range, so that the system can be implemented since the usage will be for matured people.

When there are matured internet users the system is in world wide web so that the internet users must surf the WWW in order to use the system, from the above picture it illustrates that the 1-9 hours of time is spent in using WWW so it is quit a big time when considering practically, so that the system can be implemented considering the usage time of it. Also there must be communication through the internet so in order to run the system with new ideas the users must publish and share there thoughts, it also has a good percentage from the above research.

So if there is a new system implemented there must be proper training to be given if no the users may get frustrated and stop using the system so when considering that the above graph illustrates that there is good opportunities of training and the quality of the training is also high so that there wont be any big issues on that.

Also when there is a new system implemented the user manuals are very important in order to self confidently do some task so that in Sri Lanka the quality of producing and using them is good. So that it means that the individual are having not much trouble with new innovations. Also the ability to connect and maintain a connection is pretty high so that the system can run smoothly if it's implemented since the stats say that the percentage is high.

The use of the emails, web pages and services are high for business, since it is a system with relevant to handle business operations the use of the above mentioned criteria's are high. So in order to that the system can achieve its needed outcome.

Also through internet there can be better prices achieved for the goods and services as it is showed in the above graph so that if the users can benefit from the system they will be surly using the system. It also is guaranteed by the above mentioned percentages.

The legal feasibility study refers to that the developed system doesn't outplay the laws, rules and regulations followed by the company, country, government, trade unions. So with relevant to his there are certain laws to be considered.

The most relevant legislation for use of ICT in government and establishment of e-government services is the Electronic Transactions Act No. 19 of 2006. The act was fooled in Sri Lanka form 1st October 2007, the particular laws was established by the United Nations Commissions.

• To improve the international e - commerce by providing legal guidance
• To increase and encourage to use e - commerce.
• To show out the e - commerce reliability and to develop the government use of e - commerce.
• To market the public for the use of e- commerce so that this has confirmed that electronic communication is legally accepted.

So when developing a web system which has digitalized information to be filled and viewed the above law is one which controls the. So that the current system has to obey the rules and regulations of the mentioned law in order to get legal approvals.

The Computer Crimes Act No. 24 of 2007 provides for the identification of computer crimes and stipulates the procedure for the investigation and enforcement of such crimes. SO the law describes the below mentioned vulnerabilities.

• Unauthorized access to computers or computer programs........etc
• Unauthorized updating or deletion for computers can be an offence.
• Unauthorized document transferring from computers and through computers.
• Causing damage or viruses for computers.

So that after the development of the system if there I any unauthorized modifications done the individuals may get penalized through this law.

Personal and sensitive data are very important asserts to be protected, the European Union data protection regime contains provisions controlling the transfer of personal data to non EU countries, such as Sri Lanka. Those are series issue if it happens out side the EU.

Information and Communication Technology Act of 2003. Is one of the data protection laws which is followed in Sri Lanaka. So this was a law which contributes for the privacy issues so that when the web system is developed the information's forms which are to be filled can be done safely since there wont be any vulnerable actions under this law in case if there is any such events occur the penalized individual can take legal actions against the organization. So to have a good customer relationship the organization has to have these sorts of legal issues.

The Intellectual Property Act no. 36 of 2003 replaced the Code of Intellectual Property Act no. 52 of 1979. The IP Act of 2003 contains several new features in relation to the protection of software, trade secrets and integrated circuits. The particular law protects the unique data's with high priority

So if there is any intellectual property information's added to the system it cannot be copied or rewritten, if such incidents happen the individual can afford to take legal actions since the copyright law is followed by the system development. Also it is similar to the ones who use the system it is not legally correct to copy the particular systems unique features. It can be a offence under this law.

In order to gather information in developing the new system the two important methods of fact finding is the Interview and Questioner. The important of gathering information is to get the full impression of the users and to make the system according to he needs of the users. The above mentioned two techniques are the two methods to be handled in the information gatherings and a on-site review and a document review also is to be held to support the information gathering for the system.

Fact finding contains interviews, questionnaires, onsite reviews, document reviews for the purpose of data collection. During systems design, fact-finding becomes technical as the analyst attempts to learn more about the technology selected for the new system. So this technique will help to a proper system development.

So there are interviews to be placed for the department of agriculture to track the needs of creating the system also the onsite reviews to the farmers to know there impression on the system. The questionnaires will be handed to the relevant individuals who will be mostly the future users of the system. Also a document review is to be held at the agriculture department to analyze some of the paper work.

Interview is one of the techniques for gathering useful data's. This method involves direct contact with the analyst and the potentials users of the proposed system. Considering the system that is to be developed for the department of agriculture, initially an interview is conducted to the person who is currently handling the web system and the second interview is with the director general of the agriculture department. Below is the summary of the interviews which was successfully conducted.

The department of agriculture's system operator was willing to give his own ideas and considering the organizations situation he also said the drawbacks of the system. It was easy to get a conclusion on what were their requirements to be fulfilled while developing the new system. So in order to that the important points mentioned by the system operator were taken into consideration.

The department of agricultures main worry was that the allocated prices of the products are mentioned weekly and they get floated as not for the governments order, so externally the sector contributes to the government GDP is very low even though it can be increased. Also the other agonize was that the rural farmer's doesn't involve in the main markets transaction as they lack in communication. So that the real calculations are not made since all of the transactions doesn't come into account. Also the information's which can be made use for analysing purposes are not got perfectly. Since the needed reports cannot be generated through this system. The system which is currently being used is an information systems web site so that the interest to use it is also lacking by the farmers and vendors since it doesn't provide any useful information's for them.

So according to the drawbacks when inquired for a new system, the systems operator suggested that a kind of a supply chain management system was a good idea in point of view of the department of agriculture spice and herb sector.

The director general is the main head of the agriculture department, so it was very important to contact him and get the feedbacks. He is the main person who handles and finalizes the entire work at the agriculture sector.

The director also mentioned that the time was a very important factor since all the details up to now is stored in writing and the time consuming for that is very high. The director too mentioned that the participation for the GDP of the country wasn't accurate since most of the farmer's doesn't participate. Also the government's interactions with the farmers and vendors are minimum because of lack of communication and resources. The director general explained that if there is any exhibitions done by the government for the farmers the participation is very low it Sims the main reason behind that is that lack of communication between them. Also because of this the incentives given by the government also is been not noticed by the farmers and vendors. He also said that the information flow of the sector isn't accurate.

So according to this the director general was also bit disappointed with the present systems and said that the current system doesn't help them in any means and the growth of the agriculture sector cannot be improved in this way it Sims. So he was also willing for a change in this system, and the director said that if the system is developed using some different terms the participant would be more willing to use the system.

This is a formal way to cover a large number of people to get information's in different criteria's. So that the questionnaire system can relate a hug number of individuals from different places, so this can gather lots of details of each an every person's views. Here the specific questionnaire is been done to the public of 5 different areas just to get the basic knowledge on how they have the impression in farming and internet usage of the Sri Lankan individuals.

1. Do you use the internet?
2. If yes for what purpose do you use internet?
3. In which part of the country does internet usage is high?
4. What is the reason for the above answer?
5. What is the approximate percentage of internet users in Sri Lanka?
6. Who are the main users of the Internet?
7. Does the government handle the internet facilities?
8. What could be the main income for the country?
9. What is the main income from the agriculture sector?
10. Which sector has the international market?
11. Do the business people from rural areas have the IT knowledge?
12. Do Sri Lankan individuals do e-commerce business (buying & selling)?
13. Do the farmers have the IT knowledge?
14. Does the government have agricultural IT systems?
15. Where spice & herb farming are's located in the country?
16. Does the spice & herb sector get a good demand locally for there products?
17. If there is a spice & herb supply chain system (Buying and selling through the internet) in future will it be used?
18. Any ideas on how to develop a spice & herb system?
19. Other Impressions on the use of Internet in Sri Lanka?

First of all if giving the impression on why the questionnaire was done the reason was that the basic knowledge of the public was need in order to get the idea on how the interne is been used in Sri Lanka and some of the systems relevant questions also was given in order to get the idea of the system, but that wont be much suitable to be given to the public because they wont be having a knowledge on in unless they have the relations to it.

When considering the internet usage and the purpose for the usage, the percentage of acceptance is high because now a days internet has been very popular for several reasons and a good margin has mentioned that they use the internet, the reason for that is one for communication and the other for business, communication is one of the major factors with the internet because it is an easy method and there are variety of communication techniques through internet so it is acceptable and also the use for business is interesting, considering the factor human beings look in for the product review and prices through internet before they purchase a product, it is a good marketing technology that has succeeded. Once there was a question asked on which part of the country does the internet usage is high most of the answers were that it is on the western part of the island and the reason was that the wealth is the factor there, also the central part of the country is equally high on the usage of the internet, the education and the cultural factors are the other two reasons so this is acceptable up to an extend because internet was quit expensive at the initiation stage but now it is not the case, but culture may be a good reason for the high rates of internet usage. When considering the percentage of internet usage in Sri Lanka the high range was for the 60% it is marginally a fair call since the Sri Lankan individual's doesn't use the internet 100% where as in other countries.

The main users of the internet is as students and business individuals as it was mentioned above, students need internet for there educational purposes and the business individuals also need internet for there marketing purposes it was suggested in the above question also. After referring the Sri Lankan governments interne usage the answers say that they use them up to an extend it is really true since the government doesn't use the intent for there day to day activities like the European countries. Apart from the usage issue the systems purposes were inquired through the questions and when a query was referred as which is the high agricultural income sector, the answers were marginally equal for the sea food and spice & herb industry it is a plus point when considering the common factors and also the same answers were made for the international market as well. Next was a main question that whether the rural region people have the IT knowledge the answers were rarely high since the questionnaire was distributed in several areas of the country, the actual rural area individuals was also mentioning that the rural area has been using the internet for an extend. Then the question was that whether the Sri Lankan business folks use the internet fro e - commerce purposes the answers were positive as they are using them, so the culture is getting better where as people do the purchasing through the internet itself.

When referring about the farmers IT knowledge the answers were encouraging since the farmers now days start referring the internet for there agricultural effects, in Sri Lanka there are larger scaled agricultural firms where there are lots of educated individuals who opt to use the internet. As the question was asked whether there are agricultural IT systems used by the government the answers were positive because there are ICT projects very populated may be that effect has gone through the viewers. When moving on to the spice & herb sectored relevant questions except Colombo all other place has the part of the sector as per the audience answers. Also the demands for the products are pretty high locally. Finally when inquiring about the propose system the feedbacks were very positive that a spice & herb system would be a successful system locally. Once moving on to viewers comments most of them said that the rural area IT development is increasing day by day because all the rural area schools are now having the IT education done , and the e - marketing is also getting popular day by day since its easy and convenient.

So when considering the positives of the questionnaire the 60% of the answers are supported to the purpose of the developing system, even though there are some concerns on the IT knowledge when new technologies and techniques are introduced in the future the internet would be an essential tool for all the individuals in the country. Since this questionnaire is a public impression on the system the real answers are to be made by the farmers and the vendors in order to get the accurate feedbacks from the users.

Observation may be said simply as the detail look into the aspects of something of person's concern. Observation is also a common instrument used for gathering information. The on-site information gathering is been done to the farmers since they will be the main users of the system. The sequence from farming till selling will be observed and inquiries will be made with the relevant authorities for other information's.

Observation on Nipuna Spice Garden was done on the above mentioned schedule to get the full information from harvesting till it meats the vendors. Even though it is difficult to get the whole details perfectly from a single day the rest of the things were discussed with the farmers.

First of all sowing the seeds are done in separate areas so that it takes different time periods to grow up, depending on the time when the suitable time comes for cultivation the spices will be resolved carefully. Till the time of cultivation the needed chemicals will be used and watering will be done within that time frame. After that the spice items are washed and cleaned from mud and stuff. Soon after that the cleaned spices are dried for several days till it gets matured this is the important part where as the quality depends on the drying phase because different products need different temperatures. The weather will have a very good impact on this specific industry. So when the spices are dried they will be graded according to the quality so that after this phase there can be different kinds of spices in the same category.

Also there is a very important part in this phase as quality assurance, the spices will be tested and if it fails those items will be ignored. Most of the vendors visit these farmers and get the samples for purchasing if it is in there zone of purchasing they immediately order them so that the products are packed and finalized. Apart form this some product will be purchases by the vendors before it's dried so depending on the purposes of the products spices will be purchased a different stages.

The farmers said that there will be huge difference in there pricing schemes since they some times don't know the exact pricings. Also there market for the products is limited since they don't communicate with lots of vendors island wide so these are the drawbacks they are facing at the moment.

Observation procedures were concluded with revel, collecting these important factors regarding the entity most of the criteria's were explained by the farmers. So from this observation it will be helpful to set time limits for orders and sales through the system since it needs some time to look into the samples and purchase them. Also the farmers can display there product phases in pictures through the system so that the vendors will know on when to go for purchasing. So this observation was a very help full and different kind of fact finding methodology to get information regarding the system users.

Record reviewing may be said simply as the detail look into the past or historical data or information regarding an organization of our concern. Record reviewing is also a common instrument used for gathering information basically for determining the trends of the business. The record reviewing for the agriculture firm was done by producing a permission letter since the data's they show are a bit sensitive.

With the help of the system operator and the director general there were some documents produced for referring about the relevant spice and herb industry. The documents consisted with several reports under taken for each year but it wasn't much clear enough to make decisions since some report papers were missing.

When considering the pricing scales for the spice items it have a vast differentiation through out the years, the pricing are reorganized weekly according. Even though there is a increment in prices the sales doesn't shown up a good improvement the main reason for that is that the sales are done in black markets. The industrial incentives through the government have not got the real advantage because of lack of communication. There are several spice industries in the remote areas since it is an ancient resource for the country, but they haven't marketed there products to the urban areas. Also the disease which affects the spice industry has been revealed out but the percentage which has got affected from the disease hasn't reduced.

So from the document review the main opinion that can be made is that even though there is good opportunities for the sector because of various reasons such as communication and operations the industry is having some tribulations.

Here in the specific chapter i have shown all the diagrams with relevant to tour system. It also shows the connectivity, relationship and the process.

Literature survey is the documentation of a comprehensive review of the published and unpublished work if to say it simply in a IT view the research on the current and the future work.

At the moment the department of agriculture is having a pure information system web site. The link which relates it is http://www.exportagridept.gov.lk/. The web site at the moment is upgraded rarely since it doesn't have any important aspects to be updated frequently. The web site has the organizational structure details, product processing details, recent research details and the basic of a website. So when a user entered the site he has to view all the information in it apart from that there is no other activities that he can make use of.

The developed web system is a kind of a supply chain management system where it interrelates the farmer, vendor and the transport providers. As mentioned in the current system it will have all the basic aspects of the agriculture firm. Apart if he is a farmer he can register to the system and display his products for sale, same as that the vendors can register to the system and they can purchase the products and also the transport providers can produce their transporting services for both the parties. So this system is totally different from the old system. So that the users may get alerts and feedbacks through the system also they can send private messages to other parties and the administrators so this system will handle the users attractively and they may participate in it with good interest.

• Users can register to the system and instead of referring the site
• Farmers can produce their goods for sale.
• Transport bookings can be made.
• Product orders can be placed.
• All the users can upload pictures of their firms.
• Their can be important articles and stuff be posted.
• Private messages can be sent to all the parties.
• Reports can be made for management decisions.

Conclusion

So the developed system is fully different from the old system since it does most of the supply chain activities. Also it has the similar features that it had in the earlier system as for an information system part.

When planning on that how the systems logical design is going to be, the particular Spice and herb management agriculture system is to be developed using php programming language php (php hypertext pre-processor), this is a server side scripting language similar like asp.net, the scripts will be executed in the server. php language supports many databases the MySql server is used here for this particular systems development. It is a open source software so that it's Easy to be used.

The object oriented programming concept is used in the coding as a architecture design, which represent the data items with the operations used on it is designated as an object, to operate the data items the methods are used and the objects are grouped in classes. In OOP there are different responsibilities, exceptions and process looks alike. Main reasons for selecting OOP is

• Easy to understand.
• Easy to reuse.
• Easy to maintain.
• Can get advantages of encapsulation, polymorphism and inheritance.

So when moving further the particular system is to be designed using the 3 tier architecture since it s a client - server architecture program 3 tier is a suitable architecture to be followed .

The three main tiers of the architecture

• Presentation - This is the layer where the users come to play, obviously the clients code of the system, the user interfaces functions are occurred here.
• Business Logic - Business rules, handlers data validation task behaviour all are assigned here
• Data Access logic - Databases communication, construction of SQL queries and execution is happened here.

System Development

Sample User Interfaces of the system

The Use of OOP programming

The 3 tier architecture using OOP

The infrastructure described in this document has the following degrees of separation:-

The database engine used here is MySQL, the functions communicate with the database. In this system Tables define the physical storage of data in a database so when ever a database interacting function is occurred this layer comes to play and this stores all the entered data's to the system so that it is easy to retrieve them too. When considering the particular system the product_db, farmer_db.....etc files are some of the examples which handle all of the database layers functions.

The business layer contains the classes for each database table, so ha it can inherit as much generic codes as possible. All communication with the database is handled by the classes through separate DML class. The data validation is handled through the handler the functions are customized in that separate class. In this particular system this layer handles its work load with a related gui_handler for each class so that the integration between the presentation layer and the database layer is interlinked through this, for example there is a class called farmer and also there is a gui_handler_f file which handles all the functions from the middle.

This is the main part used by the client the HTML forms are the one which are sent back to the client's web browser. The CSS files are the way of specifying a standard style in the HTML documents, So that for example there is a file called farmer_gui so this is the specific file that the famer will be entering his data so this file contains the basic design.

Testing software is the activiy of evaluating the program and determining that the codes meet its reuairments.Tis is a very important par tof the developing process.The main reasons for testing this particular system

• To quality assue the ystmem
• For proper Verifation & validation for th eysstem
• Removign bugs & errors fromt eh coding

The Selected types of testing for the above application

Here the black box and the white box testing methods are used to test the system so there are several reasons for that as mentioned below.

The main process in the balck box esitn gis that the tester downt need the knowledge of the internal structure, the system will be as a black-box.The system wil be tested as a whole funcionalty so for a web kind of s system it will be most isutable, since it will be cover the functionality of the whole system.

Black box testing occurs throughout the software development and testing life cycle i.e in Unit, Integration, System, Acceptance and regression testing stages.

The main advantage of using black box testing method to the above system

• Tester can be non-technical.
• Used to verify contradictions in actual system and specifications.
• Test cases can be designed as soon as the functional specifications are complete.

So in order to the black box testing method below there are some test cases which is been done according to the black box testing method.

This par tof testing is known as looking at the structre of the code.The white box testing can assure that the inernal operations are perofmed according to the spcefictions thisis also called as structural or glass box testing.

Why White Box Testing was used to this agriculture system? To ensure:

• All the internal paths of the system will be atleast once exercised.
• All the logical flow will be verified wether its true or false.
• All loopd are excuted at their boundaries.

To discover the following types of bugs:

• There are some logical erros which may affect the functions, loops, conditions which are out of our program.
• The design errors due to difference between logical flow of the program and the actual implementation
• Syntax checking & typographical errors

Here are some sample coding verification functions

The bellowed while loop function which is in the sales_gui code, executes the ProductId from the combo box when the sales form is run.

The bellowed function which is in the transporterBooking_db, automatically generates the IDs of the transport booking when the transport booking form is loaded, so that for each booking there will be a new ID created as for example TB004 automatically.

Here this function will check the numeric and letter validations, so that if there is any other characters enter instead of this the function will show and error message.

Here this function will check the email validations, so that if there is any other characters enter instead of a normal email ID there will be an error message showed.

The bellowed function will check the blank field operations in each and every form, so that in any case if there is a form with a blank field there will be an error message.

Here this function will check the numeric validations, so that if there is any other characters enter instead of this the function it will show and error message.

Here this function will check the letter validations, so that if there is any other characters enter instead of this the function will show and error message.

The bellowed function will check whether the current password is entered correctly and also it checks whether the new password and the retyped password are matching if there is any input errors it will execute and error message as mentioned below.

Soon after the change password function the update password function will be executing, there the new password will be updated successfully to the database from the below function.

From the below mentioned code when a user logs in to the system there will be a session created till the user sign-outs from the system. The code is successfully executing while it was tested.

The above mentioned function will be capture through the below mentioned function which is named as session_start.

Implementing

Implementation Dirgamra

Implementing the System

Implementation refers to the guiding a client for the use of the hardware or software. So in this case the web system is developed now as per the requirements of the department of agriculture. So now its time to implement the system for the future use.

So to implement the system the parallel implementation method is used here so that since it is a government organization the operational feasibly will be a bit lacking so that by suing the old system and the new system the staff can get a very good experience. Because of using both the system side by side the difference can be understood clearly so form that after some time the new system can be implemented uniquely by the time the old system can be ignored or stopped.

Define Organizational requirements - This is the very early stage of the implementation, the organizational needs are grouped here. So when considering the above system there are certain equipments needed, since the organization had a web system before they are full filled with the requirements such as a P3 2.8Mhz PC, Web Hosting, Software Licences and Internet Connection.

Installing and testing - Here the specific web system will be hosted and installed to the organizations PC, so there after equivalently the testing will be also done on whether the software is supporting the hardware will be checked. In case if there is any errors occurred with the system it will be corrected and installed perfectly.

System Control - So that when all are succeeded the new system will be fully controlled, so that the old system will be also running parallel.

User Training - So that when the new system is implemented the ones who created the system will have the exact knowledge so that the one who operates the system in future will be given a user training program for maximum a months time, so that the systems operator will study the whole system with the guidance of the trainer and the user manual. There will be different staffs trained to use th system so that in future anyone can be able to operate the system with authorization.

Post Implementation & Conclusion - This phase completes the implementation. The systems assessment (audit) is happened here, usually four to eight months after the implementation is complete the system will be given an assurance, it provides final analysis to ensure the implementation objectives have been met.

So in this specific report there is a web system developed for the department of agricultures spice and herb industry. The agriculture department previously had an information providing web site and now a kind of a supply chain management system is developed in order to the previous systems tribulations and the new requirements. So when critically analysing the above system I thought of using a SWOT analysis study in order to get an accurate conclusion for the system.

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning to help the business to know there strengths and weakness as the internal factors and to get an external analysis by looking at opportunities and threats. So on behalf of the new system a SWOT analysis is done. The four factors of the SWOT analysis are discussed in point of view of the new spice and herb system.

Strength - This is an attribute with the system which is considered to be important for the ultimate success of the system. So when considering the spice and herb system there are lots of strengths through the new web system.

• Functions of the sector can be operated from one place, where as the farmers and vendors can be interlinked through the spice and herb sector within the system itself.
• Yearly or monthly reports can be maintained for decision making and sector analyzing through the system itself so there will be very less paper work needed.
• Security wise the reliability on the system is very high since all the data's will be handled from a person or two with relevant authorizations.
• For a agriculture sector the farmers and vendors are not only the stakeholders to transport goods the transport providers are also participating, so through the system the transport providers and certain others also can benefit.
• Since the users of the system (farmers, vendors and transport providers) are having accounts they can frequently get to know about the updates so information distribution will be very fast for the sector.
• The system is a good way for marketing the spice and herb trade so that the users can find their own ways to market their products and services through the system.

Weakness - Weakness in the SWOT analysis is the opposite of the strengths where as it is considered as the internal factors of the organization which prevent the success. So this can be considered as the drawbacks of the system.

• It will take some amount of time for the users to get use to the systems since it is a new concept for the agriculture sector. So that the developing and maintaining cost may be somewhat high for a period.
• There can be certain tribulations occurred when there are orders made for product purchasing, in case if the products are not delivered on time ordering and buying products won't be a success.
• Also when there is transport booking made if a single vehicle is booked by two parties on the same date there will be an interruption occurred so that the transport bookings will be a failure.
• To look into the product samples the vendors have to come all the way to the department of agriculture, it can be a drawback since the vendors won't be happy to do so.

Opportunities - This the third part of the SWOT analysis is a external factor which helps the organization in achieving the success or else this factor is the positive side for the company. So this can be pointed out as future recommendations and opportunities of the system.

• At the moment the system doesn't handle the payment schemes so in future they can implement a new criteria called payments where as the online banking and credit card acceptance can be made through the system itself, so it can make good inroads for the system since now a day's e- business has spread widely.
• Also in future there can be importing and exporting business followed through the system at the moment the system is limited to Sri Lanka so in future it can be made to operate internationally, since the Sri Lankan spice and herbs have a very good worldwide market it could be a successful move.
• The pricing scales are common through the system throughout the country so there is a opportunity for the dealings to have a fair business law within them.
• In case if there is any bugs or tribulations occurred for the crops the government can identify them and share it with the relevant authorities through the system itself, also the same can be done by the users too, so it will be a very good community service for the agriculture sector.

Threats - The final component of SWOT analysis is the threats. This is also again an external factor which threatens the success of the business, this can be for the system and from the system. So this can be named as indirect drawbacks from and for the third parties through the system.

• Since the Sri Lankan agriculture sector at the moment doesn't have a very good IT knowledge and the use of the system may fail because of that.
• The agriculture brokers who inter relate the farmer and the vendor in Sri Lanka can misplace their jobs since the system does their work.
• The users who interact with the system may feel that the transaction through the system must be accurate and they may sit back without using the system. for example if a famer produces some goods which is comparatively lower in quality from another farmer, his product may not get the relevant market so in future he may not opt to use the system for business.
• Also the main spice and herb industries are in the remote areas of Sri Lanka so the resources to use such a system are minimum so the system may not be used by them.
• If the department to agriculture doesn't use the system with good interest the users also may fails to do so that it's a indirect threat for the functioning of the system.

So considering the system there are some basic features such as producing product processing details, departmental functions, vehicle details....etc So as mentioned in detail in the SWOT analyzing, even though the system is developed accurately it is not perfect, so there are some drawbacks which can be minimized if the strengths and opportunities are identified correctly. So when moving on to the future enhancement of the system it can add more and more value if there are payments schemes introduced since it is a fast moving event world widely and in point of view of Sri Lanka also there are customers who use the internet frequently for e - business. Also it would be very welcomed if the particular system incorporates export and importing in future since there is a very good market for Sri Lankan spice items.

At last when considering the experienced gained by developing the specific system there are so many. I self studied the OOP concepts to be used in this specific language php (hypertext preprocessor) to develop the system it was a very good learning experience for me. Also the 3 tier architecture was a bit challenging to use in this system development. Also I came across some important aspects such as interviewing a person and on site reviewing a place was interesting and something new for me. There were various social and ethical factors considered while developing the system for example for the user registrations of this particular system there aren't much details required so it was a concept which I studied from my social, professional and ethical issues in information systems subject.

The main reason to develop a spice and herb management system based on Sri Lanka was my own will and I hope this will help the community as a whole since the ancient and unique resources in Sri Lanka are getting destroyed due to various reasons and also this specific system would help the country's economy in future. I may not be an expert to create a perfect system but I personally think that all the aspects of the proposed system is discussed by covering procedure and problem to be faced also relevant solutions for the problems and risks are mentioned and hope the presentation and the suggestion would be acceptable.