Team Name
Team Elbit
Timeline
Spring 2023 – Summer 2023
Students
- Adam Emerson
- Charlie Hua
- Clay Gifford
- Katheryn Taylor
- Ryan Rivera
Sponsor
Elbit Systems of America
Dr. Shawn Gieser
Abstract
Elbit Systems of America makes use of a web application called the Everyman Database, which is used to track company projects, budgets, and engineering employees. However, with the current state of the web application, there are many hurdles and work-arounds that are required to use the most fundamental aspects of the application’s functionalities. This then leads to many functional managers opting out of using it entirely. For this project, Team Elbit will be developing Demand Center – a vastly improved version of the Everyman Database that aims to provide a much better user experience.
Background
Everyman Database is an offline, web application that allows functional managers within Elbit Systems to assign employees hours to project budgets for improved business intelligence. However, despite being an important strategy for business awareness for a while now, the low quality of the aging software of the Everyman Database leads to decreased quality in data. The tool itself has a myriad of problems that include poor coding practices, lack of documentation, sole compatibility on Internet Explorer, many bugs, and a confusing user experience. In order to address these problems, an entirely new web application will be developed, using modern languages and frameworks, that will ultimately improve upon the functionality and user experience of Everyman Database. Features such as notifying users when their attention is needed on a project, logging changes, and Microsoft Excel integration will all serve to greatly improve the quality of the data, leading to greater business awareness across the company and better hiring practices. As a result, this solution will put Elbit Systems in the position to save money on labor, while also increasing job security and improving the welfare of the staff.
Project Requirements
- Manage Projects – Users with the correct permissions will be able to add Projects and edit existing Projects fields.
- Manage Persons – Users with the correct permissions will be able to add and edit the Persons fields.
- Manage Budget – Any user will be able to select a project and view its budget. Budget owners can edit, add, assign, or save the budget.
- Manage Resources – The Resources tab can be accessed by any user, however only staffing owners will be able to view their currently assigned resources compared to the project departments.
- Filter Functionality – Allows for filtering of views. Users with different permissions will have different views.
- Notifications/Warnings – Notifications or Warnings will be sent out to users, whenever certain conditions are met. Warnings must be addressed in some way before they can be dismissed.
- Common Row Edit Shortcuts – Allows users to edit rows in data tables more efficiently.
- Change Log – Any changes to the database made by the web application will be logged.
- Log In – When entering the web application, the user will be prompted to log in with a username and password.
- Excel Integration – Any user will be able to export their current view of the Budget or Resources table to an Excel CSV file. However, only users with the correct permissions may import an Excel CSV file.
System Overview
The system is composed of a Client-Browser layer, Server layer, and Database layer. These 3 layers contain multiple subsystems that interact with each other in various different ways to allow for the entire system to properly function.
The Client Browser layer is how the user will be able to interact with the system. A user will be able to log in to the application and once logged in, they can then navigate the various tabs, depending on which feature is needed. These features include managing projects, managing people, managing resources, and managing budget. Additionally, users will be able to export and import their view of the Resources or Budget table, however it is to be noted that only users with correct permissions may import. Users will also be able to see notifications and warnings appear on their screen, whenever certain conditions are met. This section communicates extensively with the Server layer to display all of the information that the user needs and wants.
The Server layer includes all of the inner workings of the system. It makes all of the necessary checks, cross-references, data pulls, and data modifications, that need to be performed, whenever a user performs certain actions. This includes whenever a user logs in, whenever a user requests data from a table, and whenever a user changes data in a table. Additionally, it is also responsible for keeping track of when all of the conditions are met for a notification or warning to be sent out to a user. This section communicates extensively with the Client Browser layer to feed it the information it needs and with the Database layer to obtain or modify information.
Lastly, the Database layer contains all of the information that is stored by the system and it sends information to the Server layer, whenever requested. All changes to information that are requested by the user will update the information in the database.
Results
Link to 1080p Version of Video
Future Work
Upon receiving the software, Elbit America must go through an integration effort before beginning to use it. Integration will involve the following:
- Everyman MySQL database must be upgraded to MS SQL and table shapes need to be changed
- Demand Center must be connected to Oracle database and the auto-fill feature needs to be fully implemented for the Create Person and Create Project functionalities
- A testing plan must be created to thoroughly test the application on the intended host system
- Training documentation must be updated to include screenshots of the final product
Project Files
Project Charter (link)
System Requirements Specification (link)
Architectural Design Specification (link)
Detailed Design Specification (link)
Poster (link)
References
None
