Clay Schumacher Josh Weisskopf Cory Simon
Advisor: Tien Nguyen
Reiman Gardens Plant Database
Dec 08-06
Planning
Reiman Gardens◦ Occupies 14 acres on the ISU campus◦ Indoor and outdoor gardens, five greenhouses◦ Keep detailed records of all plants in the gardens
Existing Database System◦ Difficult to use ◦ Isolated from other software and equipment◦ Inaccessible to the public
Problem Statement
Create a new plant database for Reiman Gardens:
◦ Primary: Plant record management Friendly user interface Low Cost
◦ Secondary: Create files for label making machines Allow public access Print forms for use in the gardens
Project Goal
The product shall store nine types of records: Accession, Genus, Species, Supplier, Location, Reference, Family, Photo, and Propagation
The product shall allow users to create, edit, view, and search records
The product shall have three user groups: administrator, staff, and public
The product shall export files containing plant information to be printed by label makers
Basic Requirements
Market SurveyBG-Base
Market SurveyKE EMu
Shared Drive Database◦ Similar to existing system, host database on the
existing shared drive at Reiman Gardens
Local Server◦ Use a web based approach hosted on a new
server at Reiman Gardens.
Design Alternatives
Web based system hosted off site◦ Capable of satisfying all requirements◦ Familiar interface for users◦ Tested and supported design
LAMP server solution stack◦ Linux operating system◦ Apache web server◦ MySQL database management system◦ PHP scripting language
Final Design Concept
Positive Plant record management Relatively low cost Customized user interface Public access Customized file output
Negative- Cost: previous system was free- Capability: commercial systems have more
functionality
Design vs. Goals
Basic Diagram
HTTP Server PHP
Database
Queries Responses
Server
Web Browser
ClientLabel Makers
Public User
Registered User
Schedule Initially had four members – scheduled 135
hours for each 1st Semester, 90 hours for each 2nd semester
Created WBS for each semester and assigned tasks to each group member◦ Major headings:
Project Plan Design Document Implementation User Manual Testing
Schedule After First Semester We had produced a basic system design
◦ Ready for development
Total hours to this point:◦ 538 (out of 540 scheduled)◦ Rolando: 123◦ Clay: 134◦ Cory: 135◦ Josh: 146
Planned to finish implementation by Thanksgiving
System Design
Input/Output Specification
Input: HTTP Page Requests Output: HTML, CSS, JavaScript,
and Labelmaker Files
User Interface Specification
Login Page
Welcome Page
Help Page
Search Results Page
Model Index Page
Add Record Page
View Record Page
Edit Record Page
Software SpecificationModel-View-Controller
CakePHP is a rapid development framework for PHP◦ Based on Model-View-Controller
architecture pattern◦ Easy installation and no configuration
required◦ Active community with useful forums◦ Object oriented design
Software SpecificationCakePHP
Software SpecificationModels
Species
Genera
Families
Suppliers
GardensUsers
Nativities
Accessions
Alternative Names
Removals
Propagations
References
All Models inherit from AppModel class◦ Defines defaults that can be overridden
Each class defines key fields and methods◦ Validation rules and error messages◦ Identifying field for auto complete◦ Input Cues◦ Related models◦ Visible fields and related models◦ Get display name function – for special names
CakePHP provides functions through model classes for retrieving/saving info from the DB
Software SpecificationModels
AppController Superclass◦ Contains index, add, edit, and view◦ Contains search and autocomplete functions◦ Verifies authentication, access control
Additional Actions:◦ Accessions and Gardens: Export to Excel◦ Species: Upload Image, Remove Image, Full Image◦ Users: Login, Logout, Register, Reset Password
Unique Controllers◦ Species: Overwrites add, edit, view◦ Genus: Overwrites add, edit
Software SpecificationControllers
Classes containing useful functions for controllers
Prebuilt components◦ Email: used by users controller◦ Auth, Session, Cookie: used for authentication
Custom components◦ Upload: used for uploading images
Software SpecificationComponents
Views are the interface Layout
◦ Defined in one file and used everywhere◦ Header
Navigation, Search, Breadcrumbs◦ Footer
Content◦ Individually defined for each controller and action◦ Sandwiched between header and footer
CSS◦ Defined in one file and used everywhere◦ Dictates cosmetics (positioning, color scheme, etc.)
Software SpecificationViews
Helpers◦ Classes that provide presentation logic◦ Standard CakePHP helpers:
HTML, Javascript, Form, Ajax, and Pagination◦ Additional helpers
Breadcrumbs and Excel .xls generation◦ Custom helpers
Add, edit, view forms and cosmetic markup Elements
◦ Reusable chunks of markup (mini-views)◦ Custom element standardizes search results,
indices
Software SpecificationHelpers and elements
Label maker software accepts Excel files containing data
Fields:◦ Accession Number◦ Common Name, Genus, Specific Epithet◦ Variety, Subspecies, or Forma◦ Cultivar, Family◦ Nativity◦ Quantity, Size◦ Source, Date Planted, Notes
Software SpecificationExternal Interface
Implementation and Testing
Subversion◦ Version Control
Trac◦ Project management
Wiki Issue tracking Activity log
Development Tools Apache
◦ Web Server
Samba◦ File Sharing
A basic process was followed for each team member to accomplish a task
Development Strategy
Alpha Release – November 9◦ Basic functionality
Beta Release – December 3◦ Feature complete
Final Release – December 15
Release Strategy
Imported taxa from USDA database to create a large load on the system
Over 400 families, 4000 genera, 38000 species
Highlighted deficiencies in code◦ Areas that weren’t limiting query results
Beneficial side-effect: system is pre-populated with taxa
Stress Testing
Public users cannot edit any database information
Users must be registered by an administrator
Authenticated users use SSL for all data transfers
Authentication verified before any controller action is executed
Data Sanitization – CakePHP Component◦ Remove any HTML, PHP, Javascript, or SQL in input
Key ChallengesSecurity
One of the most important functions for the database is the search
CakePHP provides model functions to search the database◦ Powerful, but unfamiliar – learning curve
A challenge to search for records of one model that are related to another
Key ChallengesSearch
Basic search strings match as “and” terms delimited by spaces◦ To match a record must contain a match for each term (in
any field)
Which related models to search for each model is specified in the model class
User has finer grain control over results displayed – still refining
Code is modular for search and index◦ Search uses index of each model being searched◦ Use a common view element to display results
Key ChallengesSearch
Individual Accession or all Accessions from a garden can be exported to an .xls file
File serves dual purpose◦ It can be printed and serve as a hardcopy report◦ It is compatible with label-making software
Key ChallengesExcel Files
Conclusion
Currently all requirements are met
The project is very nearly complete◦ Finish Search ◦ Create Help Page◦ Visual touch-ups
Expect to be finished by next week
Status
Evaluated progress, reduced scope with client approval on November 13
Redesigned photo requirements◦ Previous requirement:
Independent model containing pictures associated with Gardens, Species, and Accessions
◦ Reduced requirement Photo field in Species model only
Scope Reduction
Ticket Activity
9/14-9/20
9/20-9/27
9/28-10/4
10/5-10/11
10/12-
10/18
10/19-
10/25
10/26-11/1
11/2-11/8
11/9-11/15
11/16-
11/22
11/23-
11/29
11/30-12/6
12/7-12/13
0
5
10
15
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25
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45
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Tickets CreatedTickets ClosedTotal Open Tickets
Subversion Commit Activity
Spring: 538
Project Hours Fall: 658
311.5
226.5
467.5
82.5
Hours per Phase
PlanDesignImplementTest
330
352
391
123
Hours per Person
Clay
Cory
Josh
Rolando
BCWS: 900 hours @ $10/hour = $9,000 ACWP: 1,196 @ $10/hour = $11,960 BCWP: $9000 x 95% = $8,550
Cost Variance: 9,000 – 11,960 = -2,960 Schedule Variance: 8,550 – 9,000 = -450 Cost Performance: 9,000/11,960 = 0.753 Schedule Performance: 8,550/9,000 = 0.95
Evaluation
Lost team member prior to implementation phase◦ Chose to proceed as planned
Significantly more hours ◦ Should have reassessed requirements and reduced project scope
Could have dropped public access and used a single log on system
Selected CakePHP during design phase◦ This was the right decision◦ Should have created CakePHP prototype during design phase
Would have helped the team understand capabilities and limitations CakePHP is complicated, would have jumpstarted our development
Lessons Learned
Demo