Title: A Proposal for Developing Software for managing Fleets and Processes for a Bicycle Leasing Company
Business problems pose challenges to business owners on how to tackle them in order to remain competitive or achieve a competitive advantage. Blue Bike (BB) is a startup company involved in the hiring of bicycles and electric scooters to clients who use them within the larger Melbourne; customers can book and collect, or just drop by and collect a bicycle from the eight outlets from which the company operates, use them, and then return the bikes when done. BB is however facing a challenge for managing demand because there is always variation in demand on different days and in different times of the day for each of the eight collection/ drop off points. Further, the present system requires that the bikes are dropped off to the point at which they were collected, a process that has been reported to be inconvenient by the customers. The company has approached out team to develop for them a software based solution. This paper discusses how a real life business problem can be solved using software and goes on ahead to develop a suitable solution for the business case. The problem will be solved by developing a software application that uses the agile software development model since the client does not have much time and the software must meet the needs of the business.
The aim of this write up is to propose a solution for solving the problem of BB regarding managing their bicycle hire business. The proposal starts by defining the problem and needs of the customer and describes a detailed approach on how the software will be developed to ensure the customers’ needs are more than met.
The expectations from this write up include;
BB is a Melbourne based company that hires out bicycles and electric scooters to customers who use them within the region. Their typical process entails customers showing up at their designated locations and collecting the bike they intend to use, register, and make payments or provide their credit card information. After using the bike, the customers drop them to the point from where they collected them from. However, the company has faced several challenges with their approach; sometimes they cannot meet demand in certain collection points, while other points have an oversupply of bikes. Customers complain that they must deliver the bikes only to the point they collected them from. Further customers would appreciate knowing in advance if there are available bikes and possibly book and pay for them in advance.
The customers would also want to drop the bikes at the nearest collection point convenient to them. To better manage their fleet and serve their customers better, BB would like a system that tracks and helps them manage their fleet to ensure peak times are taken advantage of and to ensure there are no oversupply in one location and a shortage in another location. Further, they would like to efficiently manage their electric scooters so they always get sufficient charge before they are collected as in the past, customers have suffered the problem of batteries running out midway. Finally, the management would like the eight collection points to function seamlessly, not as disparate units the way they have been functioning. For this reason, they want a software based solution to meet their business needs to improve their efficiency, customer delivery, and result in satisfied customers. User requirements capture is very important because it determines what will be developed and this phase has be to exhaustive and in-depth
The management of the project will be based on the use of the IBM JazzHub TM; the first step entailed creating an account in JazzHub and then creating the project; the project name is BB. The envisioned development methodology is the iterative agile software development framework. Specifically, the extreme programming (XP) model will be used for developing the software, where focus is on the code since without code, there is no working software (Macholz, 2007).
Capture user requirements and create user requirements document: The user needs are captured through an in depth interview where customer needs and problems are listened to and documented. The customer is observed when undertaking their tasks and technical skills used to envisage the required system. This will entail arranging a meeting with the customer and the user requirements document will be ready by April 26th 2017 at noon. The client will have been consulted to review the user requirements document before coding can begin.
Assign team tasks and decide platform to use: The second phase entails assigning the team roles for the development; each team will undertake specific tasks. This phase also entails preparing a work plan and determining the platforms to use for coding and development; the GitHub platform will be used for developing the code.
Create a code for the interface and data capture: This phase entails programming the user interface to include functionalities including ease of use, ability to search for information, and link it with social media sites for BB so customers can ask questions and get prompt responses. A database to capture and store information input into the system is also developed.
Testing: The code that has been created is tested; can the administrator log in to it, can it capture customer questions and allow for feedback? Is it linked to social media handles for the company? Is the user interface user friendly and aligned with customer corporate colors?
Evaluate functionality and get user feedbacks: This follows on the testing phase where user inputs are written down and be used for the next phase which is to correct errors and any concerns raised and make changes. This process is repeated with every incremental coding where past errors are corrected and new functionalities added based on the requirements of the user, testing results, and technical adjustments based on user feedback. Through the use of extreme programming approach in agile development, the software code and web interface are developed in small bursts/ phases of code that have functionality and then tested. This is followed by getting feedback and functionality assessment and corrections made then incremental development undertaken, until a prototype is developed that can perform broad range of functions. These functions include the management ability to enter the stock levels; this is managed on the back-end using RFID readers and tracker systems installed on the bikes. The data should be captured and accurately updated in the database so that the bike numbers are up to data for all the eight departments.
Improve the database and enhance the user interface with credentials: The database is what will capture and store information on bikes from each of the eight locations. The information is captured by using the RFID technology on the stickers and trackers installed on the bikes and the information updated. The user interface is enhanced with log-in credentials from the back-end so that designated users can log in and review the numbers.
Create the scheduling and booking functionality/ application: The functionality that handles scheduling and handing of orders is created. The scheduler will give a list of bikes available at each location and match it with the pre-booked as well as inquiries made at the locations. The company has a historical data on the demand times and peak times for every day and time of the week based on past history. These are used to create the demand estimations and create a schedule. the scheduler receives input from registered customers or from the administrator/ customer service agent and based on the client requirements and time, assigns a desired bike to the customer and returns them a message through e-mail and text on where to collect the bike, the time, and the charges. With this information, the customer can collect the bike; it will determine the charge levels for electric bikes based on the entry times for charging
Create and link a payment portal: A payment portal that can be viewed from the web interface is created and linked with the preferred payment processors and banks; customers can pay cash or by using debit or credit cards from their web interface. This will be recorded by the software at the back end and details updated on the financial sub-system; the booked/ paid for bikes will be updated in the inventory manager for all the eight collection points in real time
Create a payment management and financial management and accounting system: The financial management system will capture transaction details and update the finances system by capturing and displaying the number of booked orders, payments made/ due, and receive payments from the customer based on the billing method (time or unlimited use). This can be viewed by management and finance department and reports created
Test functionality of entire system during scheduled meeting with client: The software will be tested with all the different system functionalities and components including the scheduler and booking system, stock manager, tracking, payment, and payment processing to see how well they work together. Any errors will be noted and changes made during the next rapid coding phase while the system functionality and integration is updated. Testing will be done on different browsers and devices to ensure it is cross platform compatible.
Adjustments to code and adding other functionalities: based on the main testing phase involving the client and the users, any feedback’s on functionality and ease of use is noted. Any errors returned during the main testing are also noted and corrected. Using the XP method of agile development, it is expected that the number of errors and bugs will be very few since the software and its integrated applications are developed in small quick and incremental steps and any errors corrected. However, integrating the whole unit and testing it will reveal any problems with inter-operability of the different components of the software. Changes will be made and a second testing phase undertaken
Acceptance test: A final major testing phase will be scheduled where the whole software and its integrated systems are tested with the client, analysts, and future users are all involved in testing; some people will act as clients. The system should be able to meet and match all the requirements as recorded in the user requirements document plus any other functionalities/ usability raised and incorporated during the XP agile software development process. Once the customer is satisfied with the software, the system is ready for deployment; it will be deployed to work with the old manual system until all stakeholders can use the system as required.
Training and development of user manual and documentation: After the user accepts the software, training is conducted for the users and management; this is to ensure the users are comfortable working the software and will not make any major mistakes. This will improve familiarity with the workings of the system. At this phase, technical and support/ training documentation and user manuals are created, as well as the license agreements for the software rights. The documentation will also define future engagements including support and upgrades, as well as how any other future functionality will be added to the software
Release: The software will then be released and deployed at all the clients’ outlets and installed. The software is designed to work in the cloud and from physical servers and client computers; the cloud functionality is to allow for disaster recovery and offer a backup plan in case of any problems. The full deployment will follow on deployment at one pilot station and in this case as well, any hitches will be corrected and incorporated before the major release an deployment company wide.
The roles and timelines are shown in the image below
This development follows the extreme programming approach of software development. The management approach is the agile methodology which is suitable for the customer business case
A fully functional software for BB; the software will do the following;
Enable customers to make inquiries from a web portal (online) or through text and enquire on the availability of bikes for hire, based on their location. The customers should then get a feedback either through e-mail, mobile, text, or chat. The available bikes should be shown clearly on the home page. The web interface will be easy to use and allow the customers to register (for new users) or log in. the customers should then be able to select the product they want, the location, and choose any of the offers / charge plans available. At the backend, all bike details per collection point should be captured through RFID and automatically updated in the stocks for all eight locations. The customer service agent can then allocate customers based on inquiry and booking. After making a selection and confirming the date and time of collection, the customers will then make payment for the product and collect them. Collection allows the system to update records automatically and also give the administrators projected demand. The system should accept payment and update the records and allow relevant reports to be generated as and when needed. When done, clients can drop the bikes at the nearest collection point and the system is automatically updated.
References
Chang, S. K. (2002). Handbook of software engineering & knowledge engineering: 1. River Edge, NJ [u.a.: World Scientific.
International Workshop on Advanced Software Engineering, Ochoa, S. F., Roman, G.-C., & IFIP
World Computer Congress. (2011). Advanced software engineering: Expanding the frontiers of software technology : IFIP 19th World Computer Congress, First International Workshop on Advanced Software Engineering, August 25, 2006, Santiago, Chile. New York: Springer.
Layton, M. C. (2012). Agile Project Management For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons.
Macholz, C. W., & University of Montana–Missoula. (2007). XP project management.
Shore, J., & Warden, S. (2008). The art of agile development. Beijing: O’Reilly.
Stellman, A., & Greene, J. (2008). Applied software project management. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.
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