Work Placement Report

Website Design, Data Import and Support

By Maria Kayani

Duration: July 2007 to July 2008

Acknowledgments

I will like to thank the whole team at Calculus Software Solutions Ltd, for welcoming me for

the whole year. The whole team provided me with in depth information about their

specialist areas and deepened my knowledge of different aspects; I worked on though out

the year.

I will like to thank specially my supervisor, Rupert Woolger, for providing me with support

and extensive information though out the year. However I will like to thank James Lawrence

as well for supporting me throughout the project of RP Convert.

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Contents

1.

Executive Summary

4

2.

Introduction

4

2.

Support

5

2.1

Second Line Support

5

2.2

Customer Installation

6

2.3

Sales

8

3.

Web Development

9

4.

Data Import

11

5.

Conclusion

12

6.

Figures

14

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1. Executive Summary

I spent my placement year working for Calculus Software Solutions Ltd, a company that

provides business systems to the independent electrical retailer market. My primary role

was as a 1st and 2nd line support advisor. I was also tasked with designing and building an

integrated website solution based on an existing specification. I was also heavily involved

with training, installation and data import for one of the clients.

My placement required me to learn to work to deadlines, both by myself and in a team

environment. I learned SQL and ASP.net in order to design the website, and had to

familiarise myself with both the application front end and database design of the company′s

flagship product, NCompass, in order to develop and support this new offering to Calculus′

customers.

2. Introduction

Calculus Software Solutions Ltd has developed business software for Electrical Retailers

which is called NCompass. This is a developing product that the company has launched in

1999. It was established in what was effectively a monopoly market, where there were a

small number of very well established competitors. One unique selling point for NCompass

was that it was a Windows based application with a free and relatively short development

cycle, allowing customers to request new features for the system without incurring expense

over and beyond that of an incredibly competitive support contract.

The business itself is a very small business with only eleven members of staff, which leads to

overlapping in what duties are carried out by specific people within the hierarchical

structure. A diagram of the working structure within the company is shown in Fig 1 to

outline not only the links between the different roles within the structure of the company

itself, but what impact this has on the day to day tasks expected from someone in one of

those roles.

I was employed within the company as a first line support advisor, while working on an

individual project of building an integrated website for NCompass. Whilst NCompass is used

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