PRODUCT LOCATOR
Presented
By
Richard Raehl
November 13, 2001
Staff Members
Dennis Ray
 Ali Miamee
 Sadina Little
 David Zhai
 Richard Raehl
Director
Project Manager
Research
Documents/Specifications
Presentations /
Public Relations
 Andrew Ungvarsky
Web Development /
Technical Specs

Problem Description
Physical size of stores
 Increased variety of products available
 Customers can not find products in a timely
manner
 Store associates are using a disproportionate
amount of their time helping customers

Problem Solution

Kiosk with a computer terminal placed near
departments of the store or near the front of
the store. The terminal will allow
customers to access product location
location and a brief description of the
product.
Objectives
Make it easier for customers to find
products
 Provide relevant information about the
product
 Reduce the time store associates spend
helping customers
 Increase productivity of the store associates

Scope

Provide a working, scaleable prototype for
any large store such as a Wal-Mart, Sam’s
Club, or Home Depot
Milestones




FIRST SEMESTER
Presentation II, Feasibility
10/16/01
Presentation III, Rough draft of
specifications completed
11/13/01
Presentation IV, Group Approval 12/11/01
Functional specifications
& web page delivered
12/06/01
Milestones





SECOND SEMESTER
Database chosen, in proper format, fields selected,
and ready for use.
Search accessible and working. Returns correct
hits based on search field.
Software Component completed. Preliminary and
final results pages displayed correctly.
Hardware selected for all aspects of the project.
Testing complete, prototype is ready for delivery.
Milestones




OUT YEARS: Summer 2002+
Product Funded
First Customer Contract
Hardware purchased, full-scale components
available for testing
Final product fully tested and ready for use
Milestones – Gantt Chart
Tasks and Deliverables
Research & Design
 Functional Specifications
 Database
 Software component
 Hardware component

Tasks and Deliverables - Continued
 Prototype simulation testing
 Prototype delivery, detailed product
specifications
 Funding / Project Acceptance
 Production / field testing
 Production Distribution & Delivery
Evaluation Methodology / Plan
Research and Gathering info/data
 Website
 Database
 Software Component
 Hardware
 Demo, run tests
 Integration
 Marketing

10%
5%
20%
20%
5%
10%
10%
20%
Corporate Management Plan
Product Locator Corp. will provide training
during system setup.
 Hardware Management
 Software Management
 Database Management

Test Plan
Run the Product Locator system software
on the central CPU
 Ensure all initializations have occurred
 Upload test database to server
 Test data transfers from the database to the
central CPU
 Test a series of queries and compare output
of the central CPU with the expected results

Marketing
Targeted businesses
 Targeted customers
 Usage surveys
 Endorsement by larger company

Potential Problems
Database
 Software component
 Insufficient resources
 Societal aspects

Risk






Not acquiring a real world database to work with
Acquired database may not have the required
fields
Coupon, location and description information may
become outdated
Database crashes
Customers unfamiliar with the system
Lack of required financial backing and support
Budget

Development Cost

Quarterly Maintenance Cost

Annual Cost Breakdown
Budget Breakdown
Equipment & Software
 Quarterly Development Cost
 Personnel

$59,200
$330,000
$1.1 million
Budget – Personnel











1 Project Manager, Funding & Proposal Writer
2 Software Engineers
4 Client Applications Programmers
1 Field Associate
2 Testers
1 Network Administrator
1 Webmaster/Database Administrator
1 Competitive/Technical/Societal Researcher
2 Marketing Experts
1 Accountant
1 Administrative Assistant
Resource Requirements
Personnel
 Hardware
 Software
 Other

Hardware
Dell Precision Workstation 220
 Web Server/Backup Domain Server
Compaq DL 320
 Mail/DB DL380
 Router Cisco 4700-M

Software
Microsoft Visual Studio
 Microsoft Office
 Microsoft Windows 2000

Other Resources
Utilities
 Office supplies
 Use of Printers and Fax Machines
 Office

Conclusion
Identified societal problem
 Solution: Product Locator
 Identified Milestones and Tasks
 Evaluated Risks and Addressed a
Management Plan
 Identified Preliminary Budget
 Identified Available/Necessary Resources

Contact Information






Web site
http://cs.odu.edu/~aungvars/shoppingasst/
Andrew Ungvarsky pxpx@mindspring.com
Ali Miamee
alimiamee@hotmail.com
Sadina Little
mowtcoofr@aol.com
David Zhai
dzhai@cs.odu.edu
Richard Raehl
rraeh001@odu.edu