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GSJ: Volume 6, Issue 12, December 2018 ISSN 2320-9186

GSJ: Volume 6, Issue 12, December 2018, Online: ISSN 2320-9186

www.globalscientificjournal.com

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN ONLINE

STUDENT ROOM AVAILABILITY SYSTEM

Mohammed Shettima, Abubakar Sani Jato, Abubakar Mohammed, Umar Tijjani Ali, Idi Mohammed

———————————————

• Author Mohammed Shettima is currently a lecturer III of Computer Science Department at Mai Idriss Alooma Polytechnic
(MIAPOLY), Geidam Yobe State Nigeria, PH-+2348085328386. E-mail: [email protected]
• Co-Author Abubakar Sani Jato is currently Assistant Lecturer at (MIAPOLY). PH-+2347061614828. E-mail:
[email protected]
• Co-Author Abubakar Mohammed is currently Assistant Lecturer at (MIAPOLY). PH-+2348030626149. E-mail:
[email protected]
• Co-Author Umar Tijjani Ali is currently a Lecturer III at (MIAPOLY). PH-+2348020866574. E-mail:
[email protected]
• Co-Author Idi Mohammed is currently Lecturer at YSU). PH-+2347030615772. E-mail: [email protected]

KeyWords

Computerised reservation system; Internet; PHP/MySQL, HTML; Java Script; Waterfall Model

ABSTRACT
The advent of computerised reservation system (CRS) has influenced the way organisations used to store and retrieve
information and conduct transaction related to reservation of rooms, air ticket, train ticket and most types of
transportation. Organizations like Hotels transact businesses and conduct their room reservation with the help of an
internet. However, computerised reservation system is not widely used in most parts of developing countries. A
computerised reservation system has been designed to improve room reservation system that gives students access to
reserve a room. The main aim of this report is to develop an online student room availability system, designed in context
of a computerised reservation system. The reservation system has been implemented using PHP/MySQL coupled with
HTML and JAVA scripts. PHP was used to connect the reservation web pages and the reservation database. The linear
life cycle model (waterfall model), used to plan the activities and stages of the report has helped to provide a detailed
and well documented report. The final artefact was tested and evaluated to assess its achievements against its
requirements, and suggested possible future enhancements.
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Introduction
A computerised reservation system (CRS) plays a vital role both in IT and business transactions. CRS is a
computerised system used to store and retrieve information and conduct transaction related to reservation of
rooms, air ticket, train ticket and most types of transportation Pizam (2005, p.91). All reports produced by the
CRS are enhanced with the help of a database, which is used to store, retrieve and also update data that are
stored within the database. Majority of colleges in West African countries like Nigeria are not using an online
reservation system to manage and maintain day-to-day activities like room reservation. A reservation system is
not developed in context to a CRS in most of Nigerian colleges. Most of the colleges are using a spread sheet
package to record and retrieve reservation information. Most student information in the campus department
are stored using spread sheet package, the student information includes that includes student details like Names,
address, contact, health status, and halls of residence. However, this system is not sufficient to maintain records
or retrieve them because there is increase in number of students that leads to staff workload, back log in getting
the records inputted, unauthorised access to records, students are not assigned rooms of their choice.

Pizam (2005, p.91) highlights some major benefits of CRS to individual organisations and IT in general, which
include: flexible booking capability, complete and detailed reservation system, easy to retrieve and store records
and over booking management that yields the functionality and integrity of the system.

Literature Review
Computer Reservation Systems (CRS)
Reservation systems is a computerised system used to store and retrieve information and conduct transaction
related to reservation of rooms, air ticket, train ticket and most types of transportation. CRS is specifically used
for inventory management in an organisation for their daily routine transactions that relates to room booking,
airline, and other hospitality management organisations. However, an improved and sophisticated CRS
configuration and features offers many organisations an incorporated control measures and ideas for numerous
procedures like managing business transactions, reservations, customer courtesy control and services and some
attributes of marketing practice (Sigala, Lockwood and Jones 2001). CRS plays a vital role both in IT and business
transactions- Pizam (2005, p.91) suggested that there are major benefits of CRS, which include: the flexibility of
inventory booking capability, complete and detailed reservation system, modifications and cancelation of
confirmation and lastly, over booking management that yields the functionality and integrity of the system. In
virtue of room reservation system, O’Connor also suggested some benefits of CRS; they include:

 Improving bulk control and operating competence

 Simplify a centralised reservation record management
 Offer the detailed statistics of the last room booked
 Better database access for management purposes
 Extensive management report
 Enhance handling of group booking

However, CRS is implemented with the help of computer terminals and system interconnections, and it provides
accessible pricing records to intercessors and guides customer checking availability, making bookings and
payments. All the transactions and reports produced in the reservation system are enhanced with the help of a
database system. CRS used to store, retrieve and also update data inside the database. However, data is the most
vital part of CRS, therefore, appropriate measures and procedures need to be adopted to ensure data is secured
and its integrity is protected. Moreover, in other to ensure data is protected, the database needs to be secured
from numerous threats as such threats might leads to the loss of integrity, competence, confidentiality and
availability of data. To control such threats appropriate database security measures needs to be adopted to
protect databases from unauthorised access or modification.
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Computerised reservation system is not yet stable in developing countries like Nigeria. Previous analysis shows
that, most of the schools in Nigeria are not quite familiar with a computerised reservation system (online).
Database is not yet developed in such context, schools in Nigeria mostly rely on keeping room reservation details
for students living in the halls of residence using a spread sheet package and all the student information is stored
within the computer system. Secondly, the system is not efficient enough to manage and control the data,
because the number of persons (administrative staff) maintaining the records are limited and records can only
be accessed one at a time. However, another issue is that of unauthorised access and staff bias in terms of room
allocation that leads to an inappropriate use of data (misuse) or alteration (back log). Furthermore, the
introduction of an online reservation system will enhance flexible boking capability, improve the database
accessibility for management and provide accessible and available details of the last room reserved
In respect to data integrity and security, Date(2004, P.505) differentiates the distinct between the two, he
lamented that, security simply means protecting the data against unauthorised users and integrity simply means
protecting data against authorised users. In other words, security means making sure users are allowed to do
things they are trying to do; and integrity means making sure the things user is trying to do is correct.

Methodology
Software process model is a framework used to organise, plan and manage software development processes. In
addition, Sommerville (2000) describes software process models as an abstract illustration of a system
development life cycle. Furthermore, software process model is a method, plan, and process used for the control
of software development activities, which comprises of the planning, analysis, design, coding, testing and
maintenance of software. However, each available model or framework is not necessary suitable for a specific
kind of projects it is based on various technical and organisational project and team consideration. There are
many software process model used in the development of software which includes waterfall model, spiral model,
agile model, prototyping model and unified model.

Requirements Eng..

Architectural
Design

Detailed Design

Coding

Unit Testing

System Te s ting

Fig. 1: Modified Waterfall model (with feedback) Acceptance

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Chosen Process Model

Waterfall model is the models that best suites this project because the following reasons
 The objectives and solutions to the problems are clearly stated and well understood
 Project requirements is comprehensive, clear and consistent
 Project requirements is not subjected to any changes (stable)
 There is no pressure for immediate implementation
 The project requires an accurate documentation of each phase
 The requirements will continuously be verified, and validated to ensure its correctness and it meets user
requirements
A waterfall type model shall be adhered to, whilst creating each different section of the project which as
mentioned above will be shown to the client. Each stage will require requirements to be defined followed by the
design, implementation, and testing. Each step will be completed fully before continuing to the next step, as
described in the waterfall model. As mentioned earlier, using the waterfall model prevents the addition of extra
features which may have been thought of during a step after the requirements. This is good for this project as it
prevents adding any time consuming additions to the system.
Finally, waterfall model places a considerable emphasis on a careful analysis before system is actually built (Vliet
2008, P.50).

Requirement Specification for the New System

This section describes the requirement for the project based on the analysis done. It provides an overview of the
generic requirements, the users (students) requirement and the staff (campus admin) requirements and lastly a
detailed requirement specification document will be produced.

General Requirements:
 The online reservation system should be able to compete and inherit some basic functionalities of a
reservation system web site
 To develop a system that provides good usability and in accordance with user interface design principles,
rules and guidelines.
 Developed using software that is compatible with various operating systems and are platform
independent

User (student) requirement:
 Registration web page
 Login information web page
 Updating information web page
 Room availability page
 Reservation web page
Staff (campus admin) requirement:
 User details administration web page
 Admin registration
 Change account detail (staff)

Conceptual design of the system

The conceptual design of the CBT system was carried out using the data flow diagram, the use cases, flow chart
and the entity-relationship diagram.

Data Flow Diagram (DFD DATA DESIGN)

This section describes the flow of data in the current system, both the physical and logical description of flow of
data, the processes, the entities involved and the data store using the DFD. DFD shows the movement of data via
information system but does not show the logic of the program or steps in its process. Bell [1] mentioned
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that, DFD also represents a logical model that shows what the system does, not how it does it.
Room
Confirmation

Student Payment detail Campus

Staff
Student details
Receipt

Payment Fig. 2: data flow diagram

for the old reservation
system
Accounts

Introduction to New System

Based on the underlining problems described in the requirement analysis, the proposed new system will bring
about a rapid change to both the student and the campus administration. These changes include:
1. The new system will help student to reserve a room online without physically been present at the hostel
or seeing any body. So the issue of delay does not exist.
2. The new system will also have a database where all the student's reservation records will be kept
secured. Also with this database any time a particular file or information is needed it is very easy to
retrieve it from the database without searching all the files or data in the database which in return
reduces staff workload
3. The server which is responsible for managing the student’s data have number of disk to prevent damage
and system recovery are going to be made, while in the current system data can lost easily by any means.
The new system will provide an opportunity for students to access the reservation system via the internet and
make reservation anywhere. The introduction of the new online reservation system will provide ease of access
and allow student to check the availability of rooms before reserving. Also, the admin staff will have ease of
access to the control, manage and maintain the student reservation records. Students will also have access to
the services rendered in each of the halls of residence, including study suites and recreational facilities.

This research is aimed at solving several problems with the current system by proposing an online reservation
system to allow student to register and book rooms in the school’s various campuses. The diagram below shows
the context diagram (DFD), for the flow of data, the process involved and the entities involved.
Figure 3: Process flow of the new system using the DFD (context level diagram)

Update
details 1
Student
Student Username/ Password Online Reservation Campus
System administrator
Database
queries
Reserve

Reservation
details
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Use Case Diagram (UNIFIED MODELLING LANUGUAGE)

The use case diagram analyses the requirements analysis outlined in the indicating the main activities of users
(actors) of the online reservation system. A use case diagram represents the boundaries of the system and the
scope between the actors and the system, Pressman [9]. Also, it shows the system’s scope, describing the
processes and the associations that lie between the system and the user while interacting with the system. The
diagram below shows the use case that represents the system scope of the online reservation system.

Fig. 4: Use Case Diagram for Online Student Room Availability System (Student)
USE CASE DEFINITIONS

Table 1: Use case definitions for student class.

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4.2.2 USE CASE DIAGRAM FOR STUDENT CLASS

Fig 5. Use Case Diagram for Online Student Room Availability System (System Admin) USE CASE DEFINITIONS

Table 2: Use case definitions for admin class.

Flow chart (PROCEDURAL DESIGN)

Also referred to as the procedural design, flow chart transforms the structural components of the system into a
procedural description; ideally, the procedural specification can be stated in a natural language like English using
the program design language also referred to as the pseudo code, the graphical design notation and tabular
design notation. But, the most widely used notation the graphical design using the program flow chart. Flow
chart is a graphical representation of the program logic in solving a problem that describes the program based
on the three structured constructs which includes sequence, selection/ repetition and iteration used in the coding
of the artefact.
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Figure 6: Flow Chart diagram –Online student

Start room availability system (Student)

Open Web
Page

Display
If New No login Yes
Enter login rooms
student? details success?

No
Yes Check
Forget
Availability
Update details Password

Enter Student ID No If room is

Available?

Change password Yes

Stop Print reservation Reserve room

details
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Figure 7: Flow Chart diagram –Online student room availability system (Campus Admin)

Start Login

Select Reservations
Select Hall
Option

Registrations Display rooms

Reserved

Display rooms
Select Available

Operation

Update
Display all
records

Search Delete

Enter
student ID

Enter student Enter student

ID ID

Update
Details

Record
Record
displayed
deleted
Update
confirmation

Stop
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Database Design
This section describes the actual model of the database, it provides a detailed description of the logical structure
used to store data. The database design model used is the entity relationship model known as the Entity
Relationship Diagram (ERD). ERD is a diagram that helps to describe the database more efficiently by describing
the entities involved and the relationship between those entities (tables) in the database with their various
attributes and cardinalities. ERD helps to describe how the database actually works with all the interactions and
data flows. The Diagram below shows the ERD of the online student room availability system.

Figure 8: Entity Relationship Diagram for Online Student Room Availability system (ERD)
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Table 3: ERD table definitions

System Interface Design

This is an illustration of the developed system implementing the mentioned features of the requirement. The
main menu of the system, which is the first users interface containing a security gateway of the super
administrator, the sub administrators and the citizens.

Halls of residence page Check room availability page

Implementation and Testing

This chapter describes the techniques used in system testing. It justifies the technique to be used for testing the
artefact and also it describes the test cases, test plan and test logs. Secondly, this chapter explains the
development environment of the artefact, how it is implemented and the difficulties encountered during the
development.
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Implementation
This section describes the development environment of the artefact, the difficulties encountered during the
development and how the difficulties are countered.

Approach for implementation

The waterfall model approach to development verifies the design, implementation and testing phase after the
artefact is developed as discussed earlier in chapter 3, the newly modified waterfall model allows developer to
revisit the development phases for verification and validation. The artefact is tested in local computer using a
local host testing server. The description of the development tools used is provided later in this section.

Development Environment
This section describes the tools used to develop the final artefact there are several development tools used for
this project which includes.

Dreamweaver 8
As discussed earlier in chapter 2, dreamweaver is a web authoring tool built with different programming
languages and mark-up languages used for developing web applications. The programming tools used are
PHP/MySQL, JAVA script and HTML. The web authoring tool is an extremely powerful application and is very easy
to use even for novice users. The most important part of it is that dreamweaver has the ability to maintain
structure of existing sites which means codes are not changed by the application.
Therefore, dreamweaver proves to be the best choice to develop the artefact for this project as it was web based.
Also, the developer had the experience using the application from the previous system development projects
course.

Figure 9: Dreamweaver application screen capture

The above screen capture shows the dreamweaver environment. The screen is divided into different parts: the
platform for writing the codes, the page layout, and task pane for different set up wizards, files (web pages), page
properties and database connection. Dreamweaver allows the user to write the codes and see the page design
simultaneously, and also it allows the user to connect to the database using a setup wizard or to include a function
to the web page with the setup wizard.

Wamp Server (database)

This is the local host server used in the development phase that allows the user to create the database, tables
and test the web pages. This allows users to test their web pages on its own developing environment which
reduces the influence of other developers when testing. WAMP server uses PHP and MySQL to communicate
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with the dream weaver environment to run the codes and execute queries. WAMP server is chosen because it is
free source software, easy to set and use.

Hardware
The hardware used during the development includes a standard PC with Microsoft Windows 7 operating system.
Due to the memory requirement issues for the development tools, it is recommended to use up to 512MB
memory and at least 125MB hard disk space with a processor speed of 780MHz. For the actual implementation
of the artefact, a 2.8GHz speed with dual processor, 1GB memory and 160GB hard disk space were used.

Configuring Software
Site definition
After a successful installation of the software, before creating the database connection, developer needs to
define the sites for the project using the dreamweaver environment. Site definition describes the root folder in
which all the web pages and images will be stored, the type of LAN connection and server side scripting language
and lastly the URL prefix. Dreamweaver provides a set up wizard for the site definition; also a root folder will be
created inside a folder named WWW in the WAMP program file.

Database connection
After the software installations, the database needs to be connected with the web developing environment. After
a successful site definition, the database connection can be made by writing the PHP codes in the dreamweaver
platform or connected using the database connection wizard in the applications task pane through the
dreamweaver environment. The PHP code below describes the host name, database connection name and the
username. If the inputs is the same the connection will be made else it will display User_Error. The following
shows the PHP codes written to connect the database with the web developing environment

<?php

# FileName="Connection_php_mysql.htm"

# Type="MYSQL"

# HTTP="true"

$hostname_Savior = "localhost";

$database_Savior = "savior";

$username_Savior = "root";

$password_Savior = "";

$Savior = mysql_pconnect($hostname_Savior, $username_Savior, $password_Savior) or

trigger_error(mysql_error(),E_USER_ERROR);

?>
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Difficulties Encountered
During the implementation of the project, there are several problems encountered while coding the artefact.

Update room availability problem

During the coding of the artefact, updating room availability was a bit difficult because after a successful
reservation, room availability needs to be updated automatically and immediately after clicking on the reserve
button. But the user finds it difficult to implement the function. After a thorough research, the user decides to
implement the function using an SQL query within the PHP and HTML codes. The SQL query below shows the
update function.

mysql_query("UPDATE room Set availability='No' WHERE

room_id='{$_POST['room_id']}'",$Savior) or die(mysql_error());

The above code and query describes that the function should update the table named room and set the field
availability to NO where the room Id is equal to the room Id submitted during the reservation process from savior
database. If the function is not successful, the page should display an error page.

Approach for implementation

The waterfall model approach to development verifies the design, implementation and testing phase after the
artefact is developed as discussed earlier in chapter 3, the newly modified waterfall model allows developer to
revisit the development phases for verification and validation. The artefact is tested in local computer using a
local host testing server.

TESTING (Verification and Validation)

Testing is a technique for verification and validation of a system that is anticipated to ensuring that software
adapts to its specification and meets its requirements. Testing includes checkind reviewing processes and system
testing, it also involves executing the system with test cases that are derived from the specification. Currently
the dominant technique used for verification is testing. And testing typically consumes an enormous proportion
(sometimes as much as 50%) of the effort of developing a system (Bell 2005, P.267). The objectives of testing a
software is executing a program with the intention of discovering an errors, a good test case is one that has a
high probability of finding errors and a successful test is one that uncovers an as-yet-undiscovered error.

The technique chosen for testing the artefact is the black box testing because:
1. The artefact developed involves interactive interface and all the errors that relates to the structure
of the program where debug during the coding of the program, that is why white box testing is not
necessary.
2. Black-box testing attempts to find errors in an incorrect or missing functions, interface errors,
errors in data structures or external database access, behaviour or performance errors, and
initialization and termination errors.
3. Unlike white-box testing, which is performed early in the testing process, black box testing tends to
be applied during later stages of testing.
4. The tester does not need to have any experience or knowledge of any specific programming
languages.
5. Test cases can be designed as soon as the specifications are complete tests are done from a user's
point of view
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TEST CASE
This section describes results of testing conducted, it comprises of the test plan, test cases and test log to
determine the success of the testing conducted. It includes the results expected, the actual result, test data and
conclusions of each test case whether it is successful or not.

TEST LOG
Test Case Description Conclusion
Case 1 To test whether the links in welcome page are working and also the login for new users Successful
Case 2 To test the login page to ensure users login successfully Successful
Case 3 Update details page Successful
Case 4 Room availability page for BBY, Prince and Shanghai flats Successful
Case 5 Reservation page Successful
Case 6 Insert page Successful
Case 7 Search page Successful
Case 8 Update page Successful
Case 9 Delete page Successful
Case 10 Reservation report page Successful
Case 11 Delete reservation page Successful
Case12 Update availability Successful

TEST RESULT

During development, tests were performed on each section of the program as it was nearing completion,
primarily to ensure the artefact is performing its intended function correctly. With corrections being applied
during development, the testing was very successful, with no errors being found. The website anticipated all
potential mistakes, and continued to function, without any difficulties.

Evaluation
This chapter discusses how the project was evaluated. It describes the evaluation of the project against its
requirements and evaluation of the project management.
The aim of this project is to develop an online student room availability system that allows students to check
room availability and reserve a room. The reservation system is divided into two different sites for students and
for web page administrators, administrative staff will have access to maintain student records, update room
availabilities and also make reservations.

Evaluation against Requirements

This section examines the requirements of the system to determine if the evaluation of the reservation system
meets the specified requirements as discussed in the system requirement specification document (SRS).

Evaluation against General requirements

1. The online reservation system should be able to compete and inherit the basic features of a
reservation system web site:-
This requirement was achieved, because the artefact inherits some but not all of the features of a
reservation system website. One of the main features includes checking availability which was
implemented successfully. The screen below shows an example of a reservation web site followed to
develop the artefact.
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2. To develop a system that provides good usability in accordance with user interface design principles,
rules and guidelines:-
The requirement was achieved because the web pages provide a good navigation using links from one
page to another. Another interface design guideline implemented with the artefact is the minimizing
users input and also providing validation to forms. Users require less data input to make a reservation
and lastly the web pages are easy to use.
3. Developed using software that is compatible with various operating systems and are platform
independent:-
This requirement was successfully achieved because the artefact was developed using the simplest,
most widely used and plat form independent developing tools. The full description about the tools used
to develop the artefact is given in chapter 2.2.

Evaluation against Functional requirements

The functional requirement of the artefact is divided into two classes:
User class Student
1. Welcome Page:
This page allows new students to login and update their information to obtain a username and password.
It also gives access to previous users to follow a link to the login page where they will have access to the
home page. The functional requirements of this page was successful the full test cases, screen shots and
test results are described in Appendix F and chapter 6.
2. Update detail Page:
This page allows students to update their information including their login details. The functional
requirement of this page that is the update function was successful and the detailed test cases and
screen shots are also described in Appendix F and chapter 6 respectively.
3. Login Page:
This page is specifically meant for user authentication, which only allows authorised users to access the
web site. There are many pages in the artefact that require user authorization before accessing the web
pages. The functional requirement for the authentication pages was successful, the test cases, screen
shots and results are described in Appendix F and chapter 6 respectively.
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4. Availability Page:
This page is designed each hall of residents, it displays the list of all rooms available in the halls. The
functional requirements for the availability pages was successful, the test cases, screen shots and results
are described in Appendix F and chapter 6 respectively.
5. Reservation Page:
This page allows users to reserve a room and also the availability of the room reserved should be
updated automatically after clicking on the reserve button. The functional requirement for this page was
successful, the test cases, screen shots and test results are described in Appendix F and chapter 6
respectively.

User class- Campus administrator

1. Student details Page:
This page comprises of 5 functions insert, search delete, display and update record pages. The functional
requirement for the page was successful, the test cases, screen shots and test results are described in
Appendix F and chapter 6 respectively.
2. Reservations Page:
This page also consist of some set of pages that is used by administrators to manage reservation related
information like the reservation report page, delete reservation page and updating availability page. The
functional requirement for the page was successful, the test cases, screen shots and test results are
described in Appendix F and chapter 6 respectively.
3. Admin Login page
This page authenticates the administrators to gain access to admin home. The functional requirement
for the page was successful, the test cases, screen shots and test results are described in Appendix F and
chapter 6 respectively.

Evaluation of Project management

This section discusses how the project is managed and planned. Project management plays a vital role in project
development process and it always leads to a successful completion of a project. The main project management
technique used is project time management that also counters the main constraint of the project.

Time management is an essential part of a project; it helps developers to plan their development phases, set
project milestones and accurate timings for the start and completion of the development process. It is one of the
crucial constraints that affect the overall progress and success of a project. The project plan was designed using
the Gantt chart as shown in Appendix A and C. The development model (waterfall) used for this project also helps
to plan this project in a linear and sequential manner.

Conclusion
This chapter summarises the aims and objectives of the whole report that has been achieved, it also describes
the problems encountered and also the future enhancements for the artefact. It discusses the reflections on the
technology and learning upon the approaches taken over the course of the project.

Project overview (Summary of what was achieved)

The main aim of this project is to develop an online student room availability system that performs the functions
of a computerised reservation system. The key functional objectives of the project include:

 Ability to check the availability of rooms

 Provide authentication to users
 Validation of forms
 Reservation process with update of room availability upon reservation
 Ability to insert, delete, search, display and update student details
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 Managing reservations by providing report for all reservations, access to delete reservations, update
room availability and also to make a reservation by an administrative staff

No project is totally perfect, but the overview of the project was partly successful. All the functional requirements
of the system was achieved after a successful testing as described in the evaluation chapter, though the artefact
did not possess all the features of a reservation web site but it performs it intended functions correctly. The non-
functional requirement of the project that is providing a documented report on the whole development process
was achieved successfully within the expected duration having completing all the milestones of the project at the
predefined time. Also, for the functional objectives of the project, the developing tools used also leads to a
successful achievement of the functional objectives using developing tools PHP/MySQL, JAVA scripts and HTML
implemented with WAMP serve as reviewed in chapter 2.
The design tools used for the project provides a greater flexibility in designing the database, also the sever side
scripting language used (PHP) plays a vital role because it communicates with the both the web site and the
database and there is no need to implement a lot of query or coding to make the communication. Furthermore,
the methodology chosen for the project provides a great advantage in producing a good report because it ensures
each development stage must be completed before proceeding to the next level which provides a great flexibility,
a simplified and linear step by step development without any strictness. However, this leads to a successful
design, implementation, testing and the objectives of the project.

Problems Encountered
The problem encountered during the development process is that of learning new technologies that are required
for a successful development of the artefact. The student does not have enough experience on the key
programming language needed for this project that is: PHP/MySQL. Having a little experience about this
programming language specifically PHP, a lot of effort is pushed in on research and tutorials on the programming
language because it is the key to a successful artefact. PHP is very easy to learn and understand, there many
tutorials, books and codes for different functions available online at no cost which also helped to clarify how to
develop a web application with many functionalities. Another problem regarding the new technology is that of
implementing MySQL queries within the PHP codes. The SQL query written to automatically update the
availability of rooms immediately after a reservation was difficult to implement within the PHP codes. This
problem therefore delayed the project for a while due to some compilation errors in the syntax, a lot of time was
spent trying to uncover the error and the syntax was somehow correct but where to paste the query within the
code PHP is causing some technical error to the web page. However, the problem was solved after several rounds
of trial; the SQL query needs to be placed after declaration of the form variables and the function is working as
expected.

Future Enhancement
As discussed in the evaluation chapter, the general requirements for this project were successful, that is designing
an interface that inherits the basic features of a reservation web site and designing an interface according to
interface design principles and guidelines. Even though the functional requirements of the artefact are working
correctly as expected, there are again room for further enhancement and improvements of the artefact. The
following points highlight the future enhancements of the project:
 The artefact should inherit all the main features of a reservation web site with newly improved
functionalities
 The artefact’s interface should be improved following all the key guidelines and principles of HCI as well
as the principles of display design.
 Improve handling of group reservation
 Enhancing facility administration and functional competence
 Providing a wide-spread report for the administration
 Ease central room inventory management
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GSJ: Volume 6, Issue 12, December 2018
ISSN 2320-9186

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