Design and Implementation of an Online Event Management System

Design and Implementation of an Online Event Management System

Abstract

Event management system is used to manage all the activity related to event. In any event many service providers work simultaneously and it is very hard to manage these providers. It is also important for event organizer that he has all the contacts details of these service providers so that he can contact them any time to plan an event at given time. To manage all these activity we have developed this software.  To get success in the event management business, user should have strong network contacts of service provider. These contacts are essentially providers of specific services who can be mobilized quickly to participate in any given event. To make an event successful event manager needs different service provider like Sound systems services, Lighting providers, Canteen services, stage construction and so on. In present system event company have to do all management work manually. They keep all payment information on papers. There is no system to check the past expenses on any event. To do this they have to check payment register and this task is very time consuming and tiresome. Keeping all these problem in mind we have developed this system. This system helps the event management company to manage their paper work online and they can also retrieve report of last event they have completed.

Following are the main module in this system.

• Customer Module – It is  customer who has to take initiative for inputting the values for any event.
• Event management – The events needs to be entered for the company to organize.
• Sponsors management – Some events cannot do without sponsors so their arrangement and management has to be done.
• Service Providers management – These are care taker of the event so work has to be allotted.

1.Title:- “Event Management”

2. Introduction and Objectives of Event Management :-

NC Techsoft is an Event Management agency established in 2000 to cater to  growing potential of events in brand-awareness building.  Huge universe of Events falls under different categories. Large technology firms may hold events, which are essentially seminars, and workshops that popularize or spread awareness on their products. An automobile company may hold an event to launch a new model of a car. A soft drink company may hold a series of events across many cities to get attention on their specific brand of soft drink and so on.

NC Techsoft realized that one of  key ingredients of success in this business was the extent of networked contacts the company had at any point in time. These contacts are essentially providers of specific services who can be mobilized quickly to participate in any given event. For example, in a Rock Show event to popularize a brand of soft drink, several key service providers are required – Sound systems, Lighting providers, Canteen services, stage construction and so on. And since NC Techsoft  was interested in carrying out operations in all  metros in India, it was important to develop these contacts across the country and make it all available for NC Techsoft  agents on the touch of a button.

NC Techsoft saw itself as a company completely backed by Information Technology. Although its main office was in Mumbai, its Account Managers would travel to all the metro locations, interacting with clients and soliciting their business. NC Techsoft decided to create an extremely efficient Information System in the backend and make their Account Managers use this system wherever they are through the Internet.

• An Event is characterized by several elements coordinated together for a period of time. When NC Techsoft  undertakes an event contract for a client, it usually is characterized by  following:

• • Objective of the event
  • Target audience who will visit the event.
  • Period of the event.
  • Manner of inviting the audience (Exclusive invitation, public advert etc.)
  • Type of Event
  • Date(s) of the event
  • Venue(s) of the event. (May even be in multiple cities/towns).
  • Hospitality
  • Performances

NC Techsoft  sits with  client to get details on all of the above parameters. NC Techsoft maintains an exhaustive list of Service Providers (or Vendors) who provide a specialized service, which forms part of the overall event. For example, there are more than 5-6 service providers in the category of Audio Systems providers, almost 3-4 entries each in every city for caterers, 10-12 entries for Disc Jockeys, 10 entries for stage lighting and so on. As you would observe, there are several categories of services under which vendors are classified. There are many vendors who may provide the same service and  selection would be based on appropriate criteria for the event.

Another important entity in the Events business is Sponsors. Sponsors are either companies or specific departments within companies who have specific event budgets, which may be solicited for to host certain kinds of events. For example, as part of a Rock Festival event, 3 to 4 sponsors may be involved to cover specific areas of expenditure. A particular readymade Jeans brand company may sponsor ticket printing and sales, another company may sponsor  lighting  and so on. NC Techsoft  is well networked with sponsors across the country. By bringing appropriate sponsors to events,  event gets funded adequately and decisions are also taken in a speedy manner. Lack of funds often delay events, which means revenue losses for NC Techsoft.

After initial interactions happen with a client, the first thing to do is to create an estimate for the event for which NC Techsoft is responsible. Based on the requirements for the event, the various services needed are listed down and based on the rates of a specific service provider, the rates are quoted. Different services would have different specifications and units for quoting rate. For example, in the case of Sound Systems, the exact type and power of sound systems need to be specified and  rates would be on a per-day basis. Catering would be on number of people with rate quoted per person.

The Estimate/proposal should also reflect the specific scheduling of tasks within the event. The overall event would have specific dates with a description of what would happen and when. The detailed proposal would also outline when a specific service would be delivered and in place. For example, in a Rock Show event slated for, say, November 10th, setting up the multi-layer stage would finish by 8^th November, Sound systems would be in place by 9th November and so on. The proposal would schedule all required services and elements for  event. One of the items in the estimate would be NC Techsoft Professional charges which would be a fixed amount depending on the event and its complexity.

After negotiations, a contract is signed after firming up the rates and the schedules. NC Techsoft assigns an Event Coordinator for the event who would have complete responsibility  for the successful conduct of the event. The primary responsibility of the Event Coordinator is to ensure that the Service Providers are contacted, briefed and purchase orders generated for availing their service. Thereafter, there should be a strict monitoring of dates and  the quality of service provided by the vendors. Delays should be trapped in time so that there is scope for corrective action. With events, the final event dates can never be changed and therefore Event Coordinators need information of every specific detail all the time. That is the role of Information Systems.

Currently, there is no formal system by which orders are generated to service providers or for recording when such services were delivered and if the services were of  the right quality. So information is passed around verbally and this has caused considerable problems. Events often relied on the memory capacity of the Coordinators to remember every bit of what needs to be done, based on notes made on diaries and notes. Moreover, if services for an event were provided from a different city or if  the event itself was conducted in multiple cities, it was extremely difficult to coordinate   various activities and telephone calls were the only means of sharing information.

3. Category –  RDBMS

This project can be purely considered for the RDBMS category. Why? Well there are many reasons in support.

• This deals in keeping record of all the events organized.
• It deals with  maintenance of the rights for each level of hierarchy of the users in the company.
• Keeps track of all the sponsors and service providers.

Software Engineering Paradigm of Event management system

Spiral Model

This model has many cycles. The radial dimension represents the cumulative cost incurred in accomplishing the steps done so far, and angular dimension represents the progress made in completing each cycle of the spiral.

A spiral model is divided into a number of framework activities, also called task regions. Typically, there are between three and six task regions.

• Customer communication – Tasks required to establish effective communication between developer and customer.
• Planning – Tasks required to define resources, timelines and other project related information.
• Risk analysis Of  event management system – Tasks required to assess both technical and management risks.
• Engineering – Tasks required to build one more representations of the application.
• Construction and release – Tasks required to construct. Test, install and provide user support (e.g. documentation and training).
• Customer evaluation – Tasks required to obtain customer feedback based on evaluation of  software representations created during the engineering stage and implemented during the installation stage.

The spiral model is a realistic approach to the development of large-scale systems and software. Because software evolves as  process progresses, the developer and customer better understand and react to risks at each evolutionary level. The spiral model uses prototyping as a risk reduction mechanism but more important enables the developer, to apply the prototyping approach at any stage in the evolution of the product. It maintains the systematic stepwise approach suggested by the classic lifecycle but incorporates it into an iterative framework that more realistically reflects the real world. The spiral model demands a direct consideration of technical risks at all stages of the project and, if properly applied, should reduce risks before they become problematic.

4. Tools/Platform, Hardware and Software Requirement Specification:

Tools/Platform:-

Technology and Environment

· Servers – SQL Server 2008, Microsoft Windows 2000

· Clients – Microsoft Internet Explorer

· Tools – Visual Studio 2010

· Services – Payment Gateway Web Services from Bank

5. Hardware Interface of Event management system:

1. Processor: Core2 Duo.
2. Primary Memory: 1 GB or Higher RAM.
3. Secondary Memory: 50 GB of Hard Disk Space (including Oracle installation).
4. Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Server 2003.
5. A Modem and Internet connection and LAN card.

Software Interface:-

Client End – Internet Explorer, Operating System(Any)

Development End – Visual Studio 2010, Operating System.

Servers – Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft SQL Server 2000

Services – ASP.NET XML Web Services

Problem Definition:-

• NC Techsoft needs an electronic system.
•  system should be robust and supports multiple actions.
• It should be able take input from any user for any requirement respect of gathering.
• The estimation system should be able to prepare the estimates of the events.

PLANNING AND SCHEDULING:- GANTT CHART

Which uses a calendar–oriented chart to represent the project schedule. Each activity is represented as a bar in the calendar, starting from the starting date of activity and ending at the ending date for that activity. The start and end of each activity become milestones (or check points) for the project. Coloring each milestone when completed can represent progress. The milestone or checkpoints are usually at the completion of each task.

Let us draw the Gantt chart for each task identified in these project .the horizontal bars indicates the duration of each task and all project tasks are listed in the left handed column. We estimate the no. of days for each task as follows: -Selection of Organization-10 days, Selection of problem-7days,Collection of information –25 days ,Analysis of information –10 days ,Designing  application –  40 days ,Coding for the application -45 days , Review the specification –7days, Verification/Validation – 7 days, Testing -18 days , Dummy activity –5 days , Implementation and follow-up –10 days, user training –7 days.

Drawback of GANTT Chart: The main drawback of Gantt chart is that it does not depict the dependency relationships among the different activity.

PERT chart of  Event management system

The success of any large-scale project is very much dependent upon the quality of planning, scheduling and controlling of the various phase of the project. Unless some type of planning and coordinating tool is used,  number of phases does not to be very large before management starts losing controls. One such OR tool used on large-scale project to aid management in expanding and controlling the utilization of personnel, material, facilities, and time is  program evaluation and review technique (PERT). This technique is used to pinpoint critical areas in a project necessary adjustments can be made in order to meet the schedule completion date the project.

Project scheduling by PERT consist of four main steps:-

Planning

Scheduling

Allocating of resources

Controlling

The Pert chart of the overall implementation is shown in following figures:-

NODE	DESCRIPTION	UTILIZE THE NO. OF DAYS
1.	Selection of organization	10 Days
2.	Selection of problem	7 Days
3.	Collecting the information	25 Days
4.	Analysis of information	10 Days
5.	Designing of the Application	40 Days
6.	Coding for  Application	45 Days
7.	Review the specification	7 Days
8.	Validation / Verification	7 Days
9.	Testing	18 Days
10.	Dummy activity	5 Days

THE PERT Chart is representing the interdependencies among tasks. The PERT provides quantitative tools that allow  software planner to determine the critical path. The PERT Chart use is justified in large projects.

6. Solution Scope:-

The entire application needs to be a web-based application running on the Internet with security-based access for NC Techsoft Coordinators and staff.

Significant time was currently being spent in  very first stages itself of client interactions – namely Estimate preparation. Since a lot of the work that NC Techsoft carries out is similar for a particular type of event, there was the scope to create Event Templates based on the type of event. For example, if an Educational Seminar Event were to be conducted for an IT Training Institute, then the list of things to be done under such an event would be more or less the same all the time. The dates may change and the specific service provider may change. The content of what needs to be delivered will change. But essentially, from an estimation perspective, the checklist remains the same. Therefore, it should be possible to create Event Templates for different kinds of events which will include all known important services under with a default vendor (which can be changed from time to time) for each service. Thus, selecting an Event Template and modifying its dates and service selections can arrive at  Estimation at almost immediately. These templates are likely to be very detailed based on the extensive experience of handling such events in the past.

The Event Worksheet is a full statement of Costs and Revenues for the event. One source of revenue for the event is through Sponsors. Such sponsor funds may come in the form of cash or sometimes through a specific deliverable. For example, a Garment company would sponsor all hoardings for an event. The amount set aside for that would now be considered as a revenue source and also as an expense under Advertising hoardings. Ticket sales , for example, would figure as a Revenue source. While estimating an Event, all sources of Revenues need to be identified and recorded indicating either cash inflows or service-sponsorship. The Event Worksheet is approved by  client and signed when the contract is signed after making necessary changes.

It should be possible to generate an Estimate from an event template for a specified Client. The Estimate, when approved, would become the contract.

The system should enable generation of Purchase Order based on the inclusions in the Contract for specific Service Providers. Each Purchase order would have multiple service descriptions, dates for delivery, units, rates and total amounts with provisions for taxes and other charges. The Purchase Order would also have a section to include terms of purchase. Each term specifies a condition under which  service should be delivered and there can be multiple terms in a Purchase Order. There should be a facility to store all commonly used terms and conditions so that they can be quickly entered in the PO.

Whenever a Service is delivered, there should be a Service Delivery transaction that should be entered with the authorization of the Coordinator who would check for the quality of the service delivered. Service Acceptance slips are generated and signed for by the Coordinator to indicate that the delivery was according to the requirements. Payments are released only after acceptance and according to  payment terms agreed upon with the Service Provider.

The Solution Provider is expected to make recommendations in designing processes within NC Techsoft that can capture the necessary kinds of data so that critical monitoring information would be made available.

7. Analysis (Data Models like 0, 1 and 2 level DFDs, Complete ER Diagrams with cardinality, Class Diagrams etc. as per the  requirement):-

Data modeling:

Data modeling is a method used to define and analyze data requirements needed to support the business processes of an organization. The data requirements are recorded as a conceptual data model with associated data definitions. Actual implementation of the conceptual model is called a logical data model. To implement one conceptual data model may require multiple logical data models. Data modeling defines the relationships between data elements and structures.^[2] Data modeling techniques are used to model data in a standard, consistent, predictable manner in order to manage it as a resource.  use of this standard is strongly recommended for all projects requiring a standard means of defining and analyzing the data resources within an organization.

Functional Model:

The functional model shows how output values in an computation are derived from input values, without regard for the order in which the values are computed. The functional model consists of multiple data flow diagrams which show the flow from external inputs, through operations and internal data stores, to external outputs. The functional model also includes constraints among values within an object model.

Data Dictionary

A data dictionary is a “centralized repository of information about data such as meaning, relationships to other data, origin, usage, and format.”  term may have one of several closely related meanings pertaining to databases and database management systems (DBMS):

• a document describing a database or collection of databases
• an integral component of a DBMS that is required to determine its structure
• a piece of middleware that extends or supplants the native data dictionary of a DBMS

DFD (Data flow diagram) of  event management system

A  DFD is a graphical representation that depicts information flow and  the transforms that are applied as data move from input to output. The  DFD may be used to represent a system or software at any level of abstraction DFD’s may be partitioned into levels that represent increasing information flow and functional details. The DFD provides a mechanism for functional modeling as well as information flow modeling.

A level “O” DFD, also called a fundamental system model or a context model , represents the entire software  element as single bubble with input and output data indicated by incoming and outgoing arrows respectively.

A level “1” DFD contain five or six bubbles with interconnecting arrows. Each of the processes represented at level 1 is a sub function  of the overall system.

Similarly DFD level 1 can be refined into next level 2 .The information flow continuity has been maintained between each levels.

8. A Complete Database and tables detail with Primary and Foreign Keys, and proper Constraints in fields:

Database Design and RDBMS

The general theme behind database design is to handle information as on integrated whole. There is none of the artificiality that is normally embedded in separate files or applications. A database is a collection of interrelated data stored with minimum redundancy to serve many users quickly and efficiently. The general objective is to make information access easy, quick, inexpensive and flexible for the user. In database design of this project several objectives were considered.

1. Controlled redundancy: Redundant data occupies space and therefore is wasteful. If versions of the same data are in different phase of updating, the system gives conflict information. A unique aspect of database design is strong a data only once, which control redundancy and improves system performance.
2. Ease of learning and use: A major feature of user-friendly database package is how easy it to learn and use. Related to this point is that a database can be modified without interfering with established way of using  data.
3. Data independence: An important database objective is changing hardware and store procedures or adding new data without having to rewrite application programs.
4. Performance: This objective emphasizes response time to inquiries suitable to use of the data. How satisfactory the response time is depends on the nature of the user database dialogue.

* The database tables that have been identified for storing data are:

1. Staff

Attribute Name	Datatype	Feature
EmpId	Varchar(50)	Primary Key
Password	Varchar(30)
Designation	Varchar(30)

2. Client

Attribute Name	Datatype	Feature
ClientId	Varchar(50)	Primary Key
Password	Varchar(30)
ContactPerson	Varchar(50)
ContactNo	Varchar(11)
Address	Varchar(100)
CompanyName	Varchar(80)

3. Expenditure

Attribute Name	Datatype	Feature
TransId	Numeric(10)	Primary Key
EventId	Numeric(10)	Foreign Key
ProviderId	Numeric(10)	Foreign Key
EmpId	Varchar(50)	Foreign Key
Amount	Numeric(10)
DateExp	Datetime

4. EventDesc

Attribute Name		Datatype	Feature
EventId	Numeric(10)		Primary Key
ClientId	Varchar(50)		Foreign Key
Objective	Varchar(300)
Audience	Varchar(50)
TimePeriod	Varchar(10)
Invitation	Varchar(50)
TypeEvent	Varchar(30)
DateEvent	DateTime
Venue	Varchar(100)
Hospitality	Varchar(100)
Performance	Varchar(100)

5. Estimate

Attribute Name	Datatype	Feature
EventId	Numeric(10)	Foreign Key
EmpId	Varchar(50)
Rate	Numeric(6)
ApproveStatus	Boolean

6. ServiceProvider

Attribute Name	Datatype	Feature
ProviderId	Numeric(10)	Primary Key
CompanyName	Varchar(100)
Contact	Varchar(50)
ContactNo	Varchar(11)
ServiceType	Varchar(100)
ServiceRate	Numeric(6)
ServiceUnit	Varchar(20)

7. EventService

Attribute Name	Datatype	Feature
EventId	Numeric(10)	Foreign Key
ProviderId	Numeric(10)	Foreign Key
Expenses	Numeric(10)

8. Sponsors

Attribute Name	Datatype	Feature
SponsorId	Numeric(10)	Primary Key
SponsorName	Varchar(100)
Product	Varchar(100)

9. EventSponsor

Attribute Name	Datatype	Feature
EventId	Numeric(10)	Foreign Key
SponsorId	Numeric(10)	Foreign Key
SponsorType	Varchar(15)
SponsorService	Varchar(50)
Revenue	Numeric(10)

10. PurchaseOrder

Attribute Name	Datatype	Feature
EventId	Numeric(10)	Foreign Key
ProviderId	Numeric(10)	Foreign Key
Description	Varchar(300)
DateDelivery	Datetime
Units	Numeric(10)
Rate	Numeric(10)
Taxes	Numeric(10)
Others	Varchar(20)
OtherRate	Numeric(10)

11. DeliveryChallan

Attribute Name	Datatype	Feature
ChallanNo	Numeric(10)	Primary Key
EventId	Numeric(10)	Foreign Key
ProviderId	Numeric(10)	Foreign Key
EmpId	Varchar(50)	Foreign Key
ChallanDate	Datetime
Quality	Boolean
Amount	Numeric(10)
AcceptStatus	Boolean

9. Structure of  Event management system

* Modular Structure

• Customer Module – It is customer who has to take initiative for inputting the values for any event.
• Event management – The events needs to be entered for the company to organize.
• Sponsors management – Some events cannot do without sponsors so their arrangement and management has to be done.
• Service Providers management – These are care taker of the event so work has to be allotted.

Implementation Methodology of Event Management system

C# .NET

C# is an elegant and type-safe object-oriented language that enables developers to build a wide range of secure and robust applications that run on  .NET Framework. You can use C# to create traditional Windows client applications, XML Web services, distributed components, client-server applications, database applications, and much, much more. Microsoft Visual C# 2005 provides an advanced code editor, convenient user interface designers, integrated debugger, and many other tools to facilitate rapid application development based on version 2.0 of the C# language and the .NET Framework.

C# LANGUAGE

C# syntax is highly expressive, yet with less than 90 keywords, it is also simple and easy to learn. The curly-brace syntax of C# will be instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with C, C++ or Java. Developers who know any of these languages are typically able to begin working productively in C# within a very short time. C# syntax simplifies many of the complexities of C++ while providing powerful features such as null able value types, enumerations, delegates, anonymous methods and direct memory access, which are not found in Java. C# also supports generic methods and types, which provide increased type safety and performance, and iterations , which enable implementers of collection classes to define custom iteration behaviors that are simple to use by client code.

C# build process is simple compared to C and C++ and more flexible than in Java. There are no separate header files, and no requirement that methods and types be declared in a particular order. A C# source file may define any number of classes, structs, interfaces, and events.

.NET FRAMEWORK PLATFORM ARCHITECTURE USE IN  EVENT MANAGEMENT

C# programs run on the .NET Framework, an integral component of Windows that includes a virtual execution system called the common language runtime (CLR) and a unified set of class libraries. The CLR is Microsoft’s commercial implementation of the common language infrastructure (CLI), an international standard that is the basis for creating execution and development environments in which languages and libraries work together seamlessly.

Source code written in C# is compiled into an intermediate language (IL) that conforms to  CLI specification. The IL code, along with resources such as bitmaps and strings, is stored on disk in an executable file called an assembly, typically with an extension of .exe or .dll. An assembly contains a manifest that provides information on the assembly’s types, version, culture, and security requirements..

SQL SERVER

SQL Server is a client/server database system. The server runs the SQL Server database software, which processes requests submitted by the database client software and sends the results back to the client. The SQL Executive and the SQL Server Database Engine service are examples of database services performed by SQL Server. The SQL Server software is arranged in multiple layers. The Net-Library layer, which accepts connections from clients, hides the network connectivity details when a client communicates with a server running SQL Server. Net-Libraries use interprocess communication (IPC) mechanisms such as named pipes, remote procedure calls (RPCs), and Windows Sockets. Several Net-Libraries are included with SQL Server for both the server and the client. Net-Libraries on  server listen for client connection attempts.

REPORT STRUCTURE

• The System should answer the following questions in the form of reports or queries:

• • What are the pending activities in a specific Event, when are they expected to be completed  and by whom ?
  • What is the comparison between the budget for a specific event and actual amounts already spent ?
  • What are the pending service deliverables from a specific Service Provider across all events that purchased from that provider ?
  • What is the Revenue Vs Expenditure summary of a specific event ? To what extent has revenue sources supplemented total Event expenditure ?
  • Which Service Provider has been contracted the maximum number of times previously for a particular kind of service? (Across all locations and in a specific location)
  • Which Service provider, under a given category of service, has been always punctual with delivery and quality of delivery?
  • Which service provider is consistently delaying delivery over the specified period? (Eg. Upto 10% of the time, 20 – 30%, more than 40 % and so on).
  • Summary and details of NC Techsoft earnings:
    • Across all Events
    • Across events of a specific Event type
    • Across events for a specific Client
    • Across events for a specific Location (where possible)
    • Across events of a  specific Event Coordinator

Implementation of Security Mechanism

• Login Process has proper check for  authentic user to login.
• No login process shall happen until unless username and password are provided.
• Users after login shall be able to view the proposal available for their events only.
• No staff member unless authenticate shall be able to login.

Future Scope and further enhancement

The future is quite bright for the system. It has to reach all of the people on their mobile sets.

So the system will became more popular.