PROJECT TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEM

TITLE:

PRESENTED SWA WYCLIFFE

BY:

REG COM/030/11
NO:

A PROPOSAL SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF THE

COURSE COM 311 (computer science project),

PROJECT CORDINATOR: MADAM SIELE

SUPERVISOR:

DATE: 27, JAN 2014

Declaration

I hereby declare that this proposal is my original work and has not been presented to any institution, be it
educational, research or any other place for any purpose.

STUDENT DATE:

SIGN………………………………… …………………………….....

SUPERVISOR DATE

SIGN………………………………………… ………………………………

i
 Acknowledgement.

I am very grateful for the assistance provided by my project coordinator Madam Siele who offered a
great deal of advice on coming up with a viable research problem.

I would like to express my gratitude to my families and friends for their moral, financial support and
encouragement during the writing of this proposal.

Lastly, I want to thank the Almighty God for the strength, energy and perseverance throughout the
writing of this proposal.

ii
 Dedication
I wish to dedicate this proposal to my entire family who have been so supportive morally and financially

throughout the entire period of writing this proposal.

iii
Table of Contents
title page
Declaration i
Acknowledgement. ii

Dedication iii

CHAPTER 1.0: 1
1.0Introduction 1
1.1 Problem statement. 2
1.2 Goals and Objectives of the system 3
1.3Justification of the computerized system 3
1.4 Constraints affecting my system 4
1.5.1Standalone System 6
1.5.2Database Centered System 6
Economic Feasibility 7
1.5.3 Network Based System 7
Economic Feasibility 7
1.5.4Feasibility study analysis table 8
1.5.5 CHOICE OF STRATEGY 8
1.6 Inputs and output data format
8
1.6.1 Inputs 8
1.6.2 Outputs
9
1.6.3Functions of sand harvesting system 8
CHAPTER 2.0: LITERATURE REVIEW 10
2.0 Introduction 10
2.1 Past system
11

iv
2.1 Current system
12

2.3 Proposed System 12

2.4 Future system 12
3.0 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
13
3.1 Introduction This chapter covers the framework used to structure, plan and control system
development. Methodology is an organizing principle underlying development of information
systems. It is a method showing the steps needed to analyze, design and maintain information
systems. 13
3.2 Development Methodology 13
The waterfall model shows a process where developers are to follow these steps in order: 13
i.Requirements specification (Verification or Analysis) 13
ii.Design 13
iii.Construction (Implementation or Coding ) 13
iv.Integration 13
v.Testing and debugging (Validation) 13
vi.Installation (deployment) 13
vii.Maintenance 13
3.3 Description of SDLC methodology
15
3.4 Reasons for using system development lifecycle
16
3.5 schedule timetable
16

3.6 Deliverables 16
CHAPTER 4.0: Project Management
19
4.1 Introduction 17
4.2 Project schedule
19
4.3Gantt chart 17

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 4.4 Project planning
21
4.4.1Phase Development tools
21
4.4.2Pert charts
21
4.4.3 Architecture and environment 20
4.4.4 work Breakdown Structure
24

4.5 Software cost Estimation

25

4.5.1 Technique for Cost estimation

25

4.5.2 Budget
26

CHAPTER 5.0: Conclusions and Recommendations

27

5.0 CONCLUSION 24
5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS 24

CHAPTER 6.0:Bibliography 25
6.1 BIBLIOGRAPHY 25

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CHAPTER 1.0: Problem Definition

1.0Introduction

The proposal is divided into six major chapters.

Chapter one deals with Problem Definition which entails the statement of the problem needs,
constraints, goals and objectives of both the project and product, Justification of the development of
the new system, functions of the system, solution strategies( which includes the various strategies
such as the network based , stand alone and database based solution strategies) and finally the choice
of the most feasible strategy.

The Second chapter is literature review. This chapter explains the life and history of the system
including the past, present and the future of the problem. It’s basically a combination of my
experiences, ideas of classmates, friends from other colleges as well as the information browsed from
the internet. Chapter three entails the methodology. It highlights the framework used to structure,
plan and control system development. Methodology is an organizing principle underlying development
of information systems. It is a method showing the steps needed to analyze, design and maintain
Information systems.

Chapter four comprises the project management. It breaks down the entire project into smaller tasks,
the amount of time taken by those tasks and the time that will be required to complete the project

The fifth chapter is conclusion and recommendation. It gives a conclusion on the above project and
recommendations .

The final chapter is the bibliography. It entails references.

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1.1 Problem statement.

Timber farming is an ever growing business activity in the western parts of Kenya. It brings together an
array of both small and large scale farmers in the region who are always in hand to track the changes in
the industry as far as the prices and the demand are concerned. Each day numerous construction sites
spring up which requires the use of timber as a basic material. The furniture industry wouldn’t have
grown so much was there no timber. With this glimpse of what timber is used for, let’s declare it a
valuable resource. It’s worth noting that there should be a clear and organized way of keeping records
of the timber and products right from harvesting to sale to the prospective customers. As well as the
returns to every farmer. Its however regrettable to say the least but currently the monitoring is manual
which results in wasting paper, ink, increased work load thus a system that ensures timber harvesting
is carried out in professional and presentable way is required and this is where TIMBER HARVESTING
SYSTEM come in. Essentially, timber is harvested on maturity on both small and large scale. It’s worth
pointing out that there are large firms that have ventured into the business as harvesters suppliers and
are thence duly registered by the government. Basically, TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEM designed to
help such firms to effectively monitor their work. It provides a database to store all data pertaining to
their work and most importantly, the system is online thus orders can be made online where the
purchasers of the timber will place orders on the website formally.

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 1.2 Goals and Objectives of the system

The goal is to come up with a system that will provide the timber suppliers with an effective way of
solving the above problems. The project will result in a very reliable system within reasonable cost and
time. It will also be a relief to the strained employees and customers. TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEM is
designed to be efficient, reliable and accurate.

Objectives

The objectives of the project are:

a) To computerize the timber harvesting and marketing making it faster and efficient.
b) To reduce costs involved in manual system and use of unnecessary stationery, thus reduce the
running cost.
c) To reduce work load on part of employees on the analysis of the sand harvesting business.
d) To have a system that give special attention to the database to produce a system that has minimal
redundancy and high levels of data integrity.
e) To produce a standardized system that is consistent and unambiguous that can easily be
maintained.

1.3Justification of the computerized system

TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEM is computerized and in line with the current technology and is therefore
vital for implementation. It’s not so expensive to implement but rather within the financial scope of
any firm that is a serious player in the industry. It will particularly help reduce the number of
employees which is also a bonus to the employer.

3
TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEM tends to ensure speed and reliability in communication between the
stakeholders as its accessible online regardless of the geographical location the user.

Also importantly, there is a guarantee of security and confidentiality of information through

authentication and authorization.

Well, TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEM is open to reuse by other suppliers as a web application and is a
savior on space as a store for all info on a single database is carried out.

1.4 Constraints affecting my system

 Time-this is a semesters work and there is thus a very limited time allocated for the development
of the system. Well this is a real challenge.
 Financial constraint-am a student but I still have to do this. Funds are certainly limited but I
promise TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEM must be done.
 My system has incorporated the use of many programming languages which will be a problem
by itself due to time factor and also a lot of concentration. For example php, html, javascript,
MySQL among others.
 Technological advancement calls for this product but it certainly will require computer literacy
on the part of the end user. In reality, not computer literate guys are common to come across
in this industry. I promise it will be a challenge.

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 Fig.1 Context model

Employees e.g
Management Drivers and
casual labourers

TIMBER
HARVESTING
Reports SYSTEM

Customers
requests

1.4.1 Solutions strategy

Various solutions such as:-

 Stand alone system

 Database centered system
 Network based system

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1.5 FEASIBILITY STUDY

For the best choice of strategy to be used among the alternatives, a feasibility study was conducted for
each strategy to determine which one was feasible to be implemented. The study included economic
feasibility, operational feasibility, technical feasibility and scheduling.

1.5.1Standalone System

Economic feasibility

A standalone system is a computerized system that is operational within an organization only. It

doesn’t require any network interconnectivity and therefore not connected to the internet. A
particular machine is selected to make use of the system. Its resources are not shared hence making it
to be infeasible.

Operational feasibility

A standalone system is used to deal with the employees in the company. Its operations are restricted
to the organization. A standalone system cannot serve efficiently in cases where there are many
customers. An administrator serves a person at one time.

Schedule feasibility

Since a standalone system is simple, its development will be according to the time frame. Time
feasibility is realized due to the system’s small size and hence the time frame for completing the
project which is one semester is met.

Technical feasibility

Standalone system is technically feasible. With enough knowledge of programming languages and
software engineering processes, the system can be developed.

1.5.2Database Centered System

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Economic Feasibility

Authorized users are the only ones who can have access to the system hence enhancing system
security. The authentication information is stored in a database. All the company’s details are stored in
the database, and thus it is available for reference.

Operational Feasibility

Creation and management of database is not complex thus making the system to be operationally
feasible.

Technical Feasibility

Designing the database is relatively simple and created using XAMPP and MySQL.

Schedule Feasibility

The three months required to develop the system is a short period of time.

1.5.3 Network Based System

Economic Feasibility

Setting up a network in the Company would be expensive since it would require many types of
equipment like network cables, network hubs, servers, clients, switches e.t.c.

Operational Feasibility

A network based system security is crucial as it can be hacked into. Also if one machine fails it can bring
the whole network to stand still depending on the topology used.

Technical Feasibility

Configuring the network can be challenging.

Schedule Feasibility

Since a network based is complex, its development will take much time.

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1.5.4 Feasibility study analysis table

From the feasibility study analyzed the following marks allocated to each strategy

Solution Strategy Database Standalone Network based

centered system system
system

Economic 5 2 2

Operational 8 3 1

Technical 3 2 1

Schedule 2 2 1

Total Marks 18 9 5

1.5.5 CHOICE OF STRATEGY

I decided to take a database centered system strategy since it is the most feasible.

1.6 Input and Output data formats

1.6.1 Inputs
 Names of employees and their ID numbers i.e casual laborers, managers etc
 Quantity of timber harvested per day
 Quantity of fuel consumed by transportation vehicles
 Orders from potential buyers which is done online
 Usernames and passwords for access to the system.
 Names and address of customers.
 Transaction details such as dept. time, Lorry model , invoice no ,source site and status.

1.6.2 Outputs
 Various reports which will retrieved based on queries

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  Quantity of timber transported
 Total cost of Fuel used per transaction and add them to obtain total cost.
 Site/Offices details
 Manager details
 Delivered timber report
 Pending timber report
 Drivers and laborer details report

1.7 Functions of sand harvesting monitoring system

The following are some of the functions of TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEM;

a. Track consignment from departure to delivery.

b. Registration of new offices into the system
c. Registration of staff and users of the system
d. Generate reports as requested by the administrator

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction
Timber products over the years has increased in demand as a result of high growth rate in the
construction industry as every day people are putting up structures which eventually require timber. The
majority of the Kenyan population lives in rural areas and predictably relies on firewood and charcoal as
the major sources of fuel. This makes it almost inevitable to cut down trees regardless of the measures
that the government has put in place in order to curb felling of trees. This has provided almost an
assurance of continuity of business for those wishing to invest in the timber industry. Because of this
demand its right to point out that there has been a need for better management of supplies and locational
tracking of timber products between the suppliyers and the prospective buyers at large which has
brought TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEM in the picture as a reliable solution. In this section we
discuss the past, present and future of the supplies and tracking system of timber products.

2.1 Past system

Timber harvesting is done majorly in forested areas on maturity of the trees. It’s been seen as one of the
methods for management of forest resources. In the past people have involved in ruthless clearing of
forests which has lead to negative changes in the environment as well as extinction of some species of
trees as well as animals. This has led to with time, enforcement of stringent rules controlling the
exploitation of forest reserves by the government through its agencies such as NEMA, KWS, and the
provincial administration. Interestingly there never existed any serious mechanism for management of
supplies and tracking of the supplies proceeds as a result of which it has been practically very difficult to
transact with customers well located far away. This has implied that the bureaucracies that come with
the shipment of timber from one region to another.

2.2 Current System

The following are some of the harhesting methods employed;
Clear cut
Involves clearing of an entire stretch of land. This helps in sustainance of other forms of wild life that
thrive well in well lit areas.

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Shelter wood

Group selection

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Single tree selection

Currently, TIMBER MANAGEMENT MONITORING is based on paper and pen as there is no application
program developed to serve the required purpose. This has made all the work to be done manually which
requires the user to take more time to finish one task. The possibility of making mistakes is high due to
human error.
Therefore this approach demonstrates how the current system operates. Without the aid from the new proposed
system, it is inefficient for both the management and customers. Currently if someone wants to harvest
the timber, he/she goes to local authority for example the office of the chief in the area of jurisdiction
and seeks to be given a permit to allow him/her to continue with the felling of trees scrupulous people
might even go ahead and harvest the timber without the legal permit and mostly without regard to proper
harvesting techniques

2.3 TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEM

The new system should be of assistance to all stakeholders involved i.e. the customers, the management
and staff and government institutions like NEMA.

2.4 Future

In the future the TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEM is expected to incorporate mobile capabilities such
that payments can be done via MPESA services and through USSD the customers can receive instant
phone messages instead of going to the website.

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction This chapter covers the framework used to structure, plan and control system
development. Methodology is an organizing principle underlying development of information systems.
It is a method showing the steps needed to analyze, design and maintain information systems.

3.2 Development Methodology

The system will be developed using the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). This is a structure
imposed on the development of a software product. Synonyms include life cycle and software process.
There are several models of such processes, each describing approaches to a variety of task or activities
that take place during the process.

The waterfall model shows a process where developers are to follow these steps in order:

i. Requirements specification (Verification or Analysis)

ii. Design
iii. Construction (Implementation or Coding )
iv. Integration
v. Testing and debugging (Validation)
vi. Installation (deployment)
vii. Maintenance

After each step is finished, the process proceeds to the next step.

Requirements

Design

Implementation

Verification

Maintenance

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3.3 Description of SDLC Methodology

SDLC can be divided into the following phases.

i. Project Identification & Planning

It identifies the need for a new system due to the view of a problem in the current system. It is
initiated through communication of a need or presence of a problem.

ii. Feasibility Study

It considers problem definition and surveys various alternatives that may exist for the desired system.
It establishes whether the proposed system will be effective as expected.

iii. Requirement Specifications

The requirements are analyzed crucially to ensure that there are no inaccuracies. The requirements are
obtained from end-users or customers.

iv. Software Design

The various components are designed and their interactions are also defined. Software design ensures
that hardware and system requirements are well specified.

v. Implementation and Testing

Coding of the system is done here. The system is first developed in units, and integrated thereafter.
Unit testing is performed whereby set of tests are carried out before the units are integrated into
larger system. The tests include functional, performance, stress, and structural tests.

vi. System integration & Testing

The individual units are integrated to form a larger system. Testing is also performed to check if all
modules interact with each other as a system.

vii. Operation and Maintenance.

The system is put into operation but will be prone to change to suit the organization needs.
Maintenance may take 70% of the total life cycle costs. Maintenance budget will be distributed to
enhancement, adaptation and correction.

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3.4 Reasons for using system development lifecycle.

 Errors are early detected through verification at each stage.

 It produces formed documentation therefore project development can be easily monitored.
 Cost of testing is reduced since the next phase cannot start until the previous phase has been
completed and tested correctly.
 The requirements of the system are well understood therefore waterfall model was the most
appropriate.
 It produces a well-engineered software product
 There was well understanding of stages and activities.

3.5 Schedule timetable

Stage February March April May June

Problem definition
System design

Proposal writing

System development
  

Validation 

System documentation 

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3.6 Deliverables

By the end of the course, I will come up with the following deliverables.

 A working system that will solve its intended task.

 A database that will interact with the system.
 User documentation for using the system.
 A site for fetching data for the system.

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CHAPTER 4: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

4.1 Introduction

-This chapter shows the breakdown of the project into smaller tasks, the amount of time taken by
those tasks and the time that will be required to complete the project

4.2 Project schedule

Activity no Activity Duration Start Finish
1 Problem 8 days 20-feb-14 28-feb-2014
identification,
analysis and
proposal writing
2 Information 20 days 1-march-14 20-march-14
gathering and
research doing
3 System Design. 15days 21-march-14 4-april-14
4 System 31 days 5-april-14 4-may-14
Development.
5 System Testing 5 days 05-may-14 10-may-14
and debugging
6 System 3 days 11-may-14 14-may-14
Verification and
Validation
7 System 25 days 15-may-14 10-june-14
documentation
8 System 1 day 11-june-14 12-june-14
delivery/launching
9 System Several years After Till the
maintenance delivery/launching system is
obsolete

4.3 Gantt chart

This is a graphical representation of the duration of tasks against the progression of time.It is helpful
when monitoring a projects progress.

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TIME IN WEEKS
ACTIVITIES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Analysis of the
current system

Logical system
specification

Requirements
specification

Logical data design

Logical process
design

Physical design

Earliest start time

Latest completion time

4.4 Project Planning

4.4.1 Phase Dependent Tools and Techniques.

Software development tools assists in the development of a system. To develop software requirements
specifications, architectural and detailed design and other source code, automated tools are used.
Automated testing tools may be used to perform unit testing, system testing and acceptance testing.

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Other tools and techniques may be used to track and control progress. They include: PERT charts, Work
breakdown structure (WBS), and personal staffing charts.

4.4.2 Pert Charts

This is program, evaluation and review test. It states the duration and dependencies of activities to be
carried out in the project.

Subtask Duration Dependencies

a. Feasibility study 8 A

b. Requirements 7 A

c. Design 20 B

d. Implementation 70 C

e. Testing 15 D

f. Delivery 10 b, c, d, e

A graph is created which shows dependencies among the tasks.

F B

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E
4.4.3 Architecture and environment

The application will be developed and run in the following hardware and software environments.

Hardware Minimum specification Use

Processor 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster For development purposes

RAM 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 For development purposes

GB (64-bit)

Hard disk space 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64- For development purposes

bit)

Software requirements Minimum specification Use

Operating System Windows XP, Linux For development purposes

Dreamweaver Any version For deployment and testing

Mozilla software. Version 7 For development purposes

Xampp software Version 7.3 For development purposes

Mysql server For making the database.

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4.4.4 Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)

It is a method of breaking down large tasks into small tasks which may involve finding:

 Identifiable parts of tasks.

 Finding deliverables
 Finding milestones

The following are phases used in the development of the system.

a) Project Identification & Planning: It identifies the need for a new system due to the view of a
problem in the current system. It is initiated through communication of a need or presence of a
problem.
b) Feasibility Study: It considers problem definition and surveys various alternatives that may exist for
the desired system. It establishes whether the proposed system will be effective as expected. The
result of feasibility study should either recommend whether the system is viable for development
or not. Conducting out the feasibility study involves information gathering through questionnaires,
interviews and report writing.

c) Requirement Analysis: Analysis categorizes requirements and organizes them into related subsets,
explores each requirement for consistency, omissions, or ambiguity and ranks requirements based
on the needs of the customer/user.
d) System Design: It involves design of system components and how they are going to interact with
each other.
e) Implementation & Unit Testing: Coding of the system is done here. The system is first developed in
units, and integrated thereafter. Unit testing is performed whereby set of tests are carried out
before the units are integrated into larger system. The tests include functional, performance,
stress, and structural tests.
f) System Integration & Testing: The individual units are integrated to form a larger system. Testing is
also performed to check if all modules interact with each other as a system.

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g) Operations & Maintenance: The system is put into operation but will be prone to change to suit
the organization needs. Maintenance may take 70% of the total life cycle costs. Maintenance
budget will be distributed to enhancement, adaptation and correction.

4.5 Software Cost Estimation

It is meant to determine the resources needed to complete a particular project. It is measured in

programmers per month. Costs can be determined during feasibility study, requirements analysis and
design process.

4.5.1Technique for cost estimation

Estimation of lines of code (LOC) method

It is also called expert judgment. It is done by experienced personnel who have enough knowledge and
background in programming.

Each piece estimate the maximum possible size (maxi), minimum possible size (mini) and the best guess
size (best).

The estimate for the project is:

LOC = 1/6 {maxi+ mini + 4besti}

Cost = α*(KLOC)β+ γ

Where:

KLOC: kilo lines of code,

α: marginal cost per KLOC

β: determines the nonlinearity of the relationship,

γ: greater than or equal to zero. It is fixed cost.

When β>0:- Implies diseconomy of scale

β<0:-Economy of scale

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Determining the cost of the project using estimation of lines of code (Loc) method

Max.Lines of code (maxi) = 16,000

Min. lines of code (mini) = 13,000

Best size (besti) = 14,000

LOC = (1/6) {maxi + mini + 4besti}

LOC = (1/6) {16000 + 13000 + 4(14000)} = 14166.7

KLOC = 13216/1000 = 14.1667

Cost = α*(KLOC)β+ γ

Where α = 2.4, β = 0.38, γ = Ksh. 15,000

Cost = 2.4*(14.1667)0.38 + 15000 = 15006.57: the estimated software cost.

4.5.2 Budget
Item No. Description Cost(Kshs)
1 documentation 1500
2 Internet costs 4,000
3 Data collection costs 5,000
4 Travelling costs 1,000
5 Database hosting costs 1,000 PER YEAR
6 Miscellaneous 10,000

TOTAL AMOUNT=Kshs22500

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CHAPTER FIVE : CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.0 CONCLUSION

The designing and writing of this sand harvesting system will be a tough undertaking but its success will
really assist the sand harvesters.

5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS

The system requires a hard disk system with storage capacity of not less than 20 gigabytes.

Local host server to be installed and mysql odbc connector.

Training of users and walkthroughs for a developed system is necessary, however basic the system may
seem.

The developers of systems should adhere to engineering and software laws. Use of open-source
software is recommended so as to minimize costs on development but the maintenance costs increase
and users need some level of expertise to use the system.

The University administration should provide students with basic equipment and material necessary in
developing reasonable projects.

I also recommend that in future the SAND HARVESTING MONITORING SYSTEM will incorporate mobile
technologies such that orders will be made through the phone and customers can even make
payments through M-PESA.and they can be given feedback through mobile phone USSD service.

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CHAPTER 6: REFERENCES

6.1 BIBLIOGRAPHY

References

Software Engineering I Lecture Notes by Dr. Mapelu.

The Internet .
Software Engineering by Ian sommerville.
Daniels, A and Yeates, D (1992) Systems Analysis 3rd Edition, Pitman, UKDavid I. S
French C.S. (2000). Computer Science. (7th Ed). London. Continum
Gustafson A. David (2003) Theory and Problems of Software Engineering, McGraw-hill, New
Delhi
Microsoft Encarta Reference library
Software Engineering: An Engineering Approach by James Peters and Wiltold

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