COM714 Software Design and Development.

Assessment - Estate Management System

Solent Council owns multiple estates that are occupied by local community members in different parts of the country. Each estate consists of thoroughfares and homes occupied by different occupants (owners or tenants). Estate occupants are required to pay yearly service charges to the council, which can be paid as a one-off payment or by instalments. Currently, the council employs a paper-based system where occupants make payments directly to the council staff and a receipt will be manually issued as evidence of payment. This process results in tremendous paperwork for staff, ineffective validation of payment and process and serious complaints from occupants regarding inefficiency.

As the estates grow over time, there is a significant need for an electronic system for the management of these activities.

Requirements

Consider the following features in the development of the system:

(a) Estate

An estate has a name and consists of multiple thoroughfares and properties. Each estate will always have a contact, the estate manager, who is in-charge and manages the estate affairs. The estate will have a location in a specific area of the country among other features.

(b) Thoroughfare

Every estate is made up of multiple thoroughfares with names and properties on one or both sides of a thoroughfare. For this case study, a thoroughfare can be a street, close, avenue, crescent, lane, court or road.

(c) Property

A property is a building on a thoroughfare within an estate. A property type may be in the form of a detached house, semi-detached, terrace or a block of flats. A property may be occupied by single or multiple households. A property will always have an address (usually the building name, number and thoroughfare name), associated owner or custodian, and a completion date among other features. A property may be owned, rented or managed by a body.