Design And Development Of A Database Management System For Student Registration

CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM
3.1    THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
For us to achieve all these stated above, we made use of the internationally accepted software engineering model, which are Structured System Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM). Structured System Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM) is a systems approach to the analysis and design of information systems. SSADM method involves the application of a sequence of analysis, documentation and design tasks concerned with analysis of the current system, logical data design, logical process design etc. the steps involved are;
3.2    METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION
A thorough investigation of the current system was made in order to obtain detailed fact about the application area to be re-designed. Investigation also covered looking at the functional requirement of the present system and finding out whether the requirements and objective of the present system are being achieved. In the investigation proper, several methods of data collection were employed which includes interviewing of office representatives, evaluation/inspection of forms and direct observation. These methods were adopted to ensure the validity of data collected and relevance of the result after processing the data.
3.2.1    INTERVIEWING
In view to investigation, office representatives were interviewed such as the lecturers, HOD and faculty officers. This method yields the most profitable result as it is obtained by physical contacts, hence a first hand knowledge of the various processes involved is obtained by speaking to the operator of the system. The essential element of the interview is obtained directly and in a short time than when other methods are employed since the interviewer is with the interviewed. This immediate feedback gives the opportunity to ask ambiguous questions and hence, obtain detailed responses.
3.2.2    OBSERVATION
The method of data collection enables the researchers to witness a firsthand operation of the old system or manual system. Direct observation is the surest method of learning as a scientist and this method was richly employed. During the observation, we had a feel of:
•    The volume of work carried out
•    The student registration number and student course registration processing
•    The school filling system
3.2.3    EVALUATION AND INSPECTION OF DOCUMENTS
Close examination of some documents was carried out and it proved to be an important method in the student course of the investigation. Through the inspection, some deductions and inference, which are of immense benefit to this research, were drawn.
3.3    ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM
When a student is admitted, he/she has to undergo some registration processes. The current student registration system and student course registration system of the university is a manual one. This makes the system so tedious and time consuming. Here, students have to visit all the registration offices with a form for them to sign. Once these forms are signed, it proves that the student has been registered. This process takes some months to be completed and posses a lot of stress to both staff and students involved.
In the manual system, the registration forms are documented in a file cabinet. Each time the student form is needed, a search operation is conducted on the file cabinets to locate a particular student’s details and course registration form. So, after the semester examination, results are processed and entered into the students file.
3.4    PROBLEMS OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM
Due to the manual means being used by the University, in keeping information about student’s examination processing, a lot of problems are encountered which includes:
a.    Students overtly or covertly register more credits units
b.    Results hardly come out on time for students to know the student courses to register for the next semester in case of any carry-over.
c.    There is no uniformity in the mode of student details and course registration.
d.    Loss of vital documents as the filing system is manual
e.    Illegal removal of forms by fraudulent staff leading to insecurity.
f.    Takes a lot of time to retrieve a particular student’s results.