Universiti Teknologi MARA

Online Evaluation System for Student's Project

Khairil Izwani bin Ismail

Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for Bachelor of Science (Hons) Information Technology Faculty of Information Technology And Quantitative Science

May 2007

DECLARATION
I certify that this thesis and the research which it refers to are the product of my own work and that any ideas or quotation from the work of other people, published or otherwise are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referring practices of the discipline

MAY 15, 2007

KHAIRIL IZWANl BIN ISMAIL

2004220277

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim

All praises to the Almighty Allah S.W.T for His blessings which has giving me wisdom, patience, strength and ability to complete this project and all the thankfullness of giving me the opportunity to breathe until this moment.

First and foremost, i would like to express my highest gratitude to my family for being supportive and understanding. To my supervisor Madam Nor Shahniza Kamal Bashah and co-supervisor Dr Aziinah Mohamed for the idea of this project and their willingness to spend precious time to help and guide me to get the best result for this project. Not forgetting a big thanks to Madam Rozianawaty Osman, my thesis coordinator for her technical support of report writing for this thesis. Mister Adzhar Abdul Kadir for always giving me comments and suggesstions to improve my project. Mister Amir Hasyim Jaafar for his willingness to spend his time explaining to help me how his online system works and Mister Azizian Sapawi for introducing and teaching me the PHP language. Without the help from them, this project may not become a reality.

Other than that i would like to thank all my friends who always be supportive and help me when i am in trouble through the tangible or non tangible ways. Last but not least, thank you to those who know me and have helped me indirectly in the completion of this project.Thank you to all of you.

Thank you.

Ill

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ABSTRACT The conventional way of using paper to evaluate students' project is time consuming. This is because the evaluators have to fill in several forms and the data need to be assembled in order to calculate the overall marks from each evaluator. This process seems tedious and cannot be done at the evaluators convenience.Centralizing data to databases is more efficient for storing data. The database must be integrated with a system that can capture data, performing calculation and store them to the database.This is where the development of an online evaluation system is needed for this task. On the other hand, other issues arise such as type of software should be used in the development process, the realibility of free software (open source) for software development,

enhancements from the current evaluation system if exist and the realibility of the evaluation system itself if it is implemented in the real situation. The solutions to all these problems are among the objectives of this project. The development of the system follows the sofware engineering methodology called software process model that cover every aspect of software development of this system from identifying requirements until the maintenance part. Beta testing is one of the requirements of this system to measure the capability of the evaluation system itself as well as the open source sofware used for the development process. As a result from the activities which have been through, the feedback from users towards the system are gathered and a final product of working prototype is obtained from this project called 'Electronic Evaluation System for Student Project' or e-EvaSP. As it is called prototype, the system is continually refined and rebuilt.

IV

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Problem Statement 1.2 Aim of Project 1.3 Project Objectives 1.4 Project Scope 1.5 Project Significance

ii iii iv v viii ix

1 2 2 3 3 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction 2.1 Software Development by Utilizing Open Source Software 2.1.1 PHP: PHP Hypertext Preprocessor 2.1.1.1 PHP versus JSP
2.1.1.2 PHP Gains Popularity

5 5 5 6
7

2.1.2 MySQL 2.1.2.1 MySQL Comparison to Other Databases 2.1.3 Apache Server 2.2 Software Testing 2.2.1 Techniques of Software Testing 2.2.2 Issues of Operational Testing and Solutions

8 8 9 12 12 13

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2.2.3 Issues of Synthetic Testing and Solutions 2.3 Prototyping Tools and Techniques 2.3.1 Rapid Prototyping 2.3.2 Object Oriented Design by the Prototyping Methodology 2.4 Related Work 2.4.1 Project Evaluation Support System

13 14 14 15 16 16

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction 3.1 Data Collection Procedure 3.2 Software Process Model 3.2.1 Process Activities 3.2.1.1 Software Elements Analysis and Specification 3.2.1.2 Software Architecture 3.2.1.3 Design and Implementation 3.2.1.3.1 Context Models 3.2.1.3.2 Use Case Diagram 3.2.1.3.3 Activity Diagrams 3.2.1.3.4 Data Dictionaries 3.2.1.3.5 Entity Relationship Diagram 3.2.1.4 Testing 3.2.1.5 Documentation 3.2.1.6 Maintenance 3.2.2 Software Development Method 17 17 18 18 18 22 22 23 23 24 30 35 36 37 37 37

CHAPTER 4: RESULT AND FINDINGS 4.0 Introduction

4. i Prototype Construction

39
39

4.1.1 Registration Process 4.1.2 User Accounts

39 43

VI

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4.1.2.1 Student 4.1.2.2 Lecturer 4.1.2.2.1 Proposal Coordinator 4.1.2.2.2 Project Coordinator 4.1.2.2.3 Supervisor, Examiner and SIG Member 4.1.2.2.4 System Administrator 4.2 Users Feedback towards e-EvaSP 4.3 Modification and Enhancement CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Conclusion 5.2 Recommendations

43 45 48 49 52 53 55 57

59 60

REFERENCES

62

APPENDICES

64

VII

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Table 3.1 Table 3.2 Table 3.3 Table 3.4 Table 3.5 Table 3.6 Table 3.7 Table 3.8 Table 3.9 Table 3.10 Table 3.11 Table 3.12 Table 4.1

Web Server Comparison Chart Data Dictionary for archive Data Dictionary for authentication Data Dictionary for course Data Dictionary for deliverystatus Data Dictionary for project Data Dictionary for proposedproject Data Dictionary for projectdescription Data Dictionary for staff Data Dictionary for student Data Dictionary for supervisorform Data Dictionary for examinerform Data Dictionary for sigform Users Feedback towards the User Interface Design and Web Page Usability

12 30 31 31 31 32 32 33 33 33 34 35 36

57

Vlll

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Figure 3.1 Figure 3.2 Figure 3.3 Figure 3.4 Figure 3.5 Figure 3.6 Figure 3.7 Figure 3.8 Figure 3.9 Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2 Figure 4.3 Figure 4.4 Figure 4.5 Figure 4.6 Figure 4.7 Figure 4.8 Figure 4.9 Figure 4.10 Figure 4.11 Figure 4.12 Figure 4.13 Figure 4.14 Figure 4.15

Project Evaluation Support System Marks Computation of Final Year Project Evaluation System's Context Model Use Case Diagram for e-EvaSP Activity Diagram for System Administrator Activity Diagram for Student Activity Diagram for Supervisor, Examiner and SIG Member Activity Diagram for Proposal Coordinator Activity Diagram for Project Coordinator Entity Relational Diagram for e-EvaSP Login Page for E-EvaSP Registration Page Password Creation Password Creation Successful Student's Main Page Proposal Creation Page Lecturer's Main Page My Role Menu Tasks under Proposal Coordinator Tasks Under Project Coordinator View All Project Menu Moderation Mode Evaluation Form for Supervisor and Examiner Evaluation Form for SIG Member Main Function of System Administrator

16 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 36 39 40 41 42 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

The development of evaluation system whether it is built on stand-alone platforms or web-based has given a lot of benefits to its users or more specific; the evaiuators and the people to be evaluated. Obviously, it saves more time and energy compared to the old way of using papers. The idea for this project is to assemble different evaluation schemes which come from different sources, becoming a single reference point and the best possible way to perform this thing is by using online system through the use of internet technology.

It is undeniable that the development of evaluation system is not an easy job. It can be a challenging task for the programmer and database designer to develop or re-develop from one evaluation system to another because the structure of the system will never be the same and might not be suitable to be used in other architecture. For example, in college or university the evaluation format to grade student's marks might be different from one course to other courses or from one university to another university. Developing 30 different evaluation schemes for each course that stores the data in central or distributed database requires a highly skilled person to do the job.

In Fakulti Teknologi Maklumat dan Sains Kuantitatif (FTMSK), the lecturers that have been assigned as proposal coordinator, project coordinator, supervisor, examiner, and Special Interest Group (SIG) member are still using the conventional way to

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evaluate students who are taking the final year project course due to the unavailability of evaluation system that cater their requirements. The utilization of online system or specifically called Electronic Evaluation System for Student Project (e-EvaSP) to evaluate student's marks will give benefits to the lecturers as the time needed in assessing student's marks can be reduced and provides a comfortable paperless environment.

1.1 Problem Statement

There is an online evaluation system in grading student's project that had been developed, but the capability in real-world situation is unknown due to lack of system testing process such as beta testing to verify the usability of the system. Due to this matter, the performance of the system cannot be measured which reduces user confidence in using the system. Implementation on physical server could not be done because the system was developed by using a different platform from the one that are used by the FTMSK's server. In addition, the limited functions of the system do not really help the evaluator in evaluating students' projects.

1.2 Aim of Project

The main aim of this project is to demonstrate an implementation of online

evaluation system for final year project in the real-world environment by using the open source software whether it can really helps the lecturers in evaluate students' project or vise versa.

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1.3 Project Objectives

The objectives of this project are: I. To develop an online evaluation system by using open source software. II. To evaluate the prototype of online evaluation system in term of its capability to perform in real-world situation by conducting a beta testing. III. To expand the capability of the existing online evaluation system by re-designing its system structure.

1.4 Project Scope

The scope of this project will focus on the FTMSK lecturers appointed as proposal coordinator, project coordinator, supervisor, co-supervisor, examiner and Special Interest Group (SIG) member and the FTMSK students who are taking proposal or thesis subject for the program of Bachelor Of Science (Hons) Information Technology (CS220), Bachelor Of Science (Hons) Intelligent System (CS223) and Bachelor Of Science (Hons) Data Communication e Networking (CS225). f

1.5 Project Significance

The importance of this project would have contributed in:

I. Determining whether the beta version prototype of online evaluation system meets the user requirements in assisting lecturer to evaluate the student's final year project.

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II. Determining whether the performance and reliability of the beta version of online evaluation system reaches user expectation or vise versa, ill. Comparing the advantages and the weaknesses between the existing online evaluation system and the beta version prototype in terms of their structure and functionalities. IV. Improving the current evaluation method based on the weaknesses and limitations identified in the existing evaluation project.

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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0. Introduction

This chapter explains in detail upon the information retrieved in selecting the open source software available on the Internet for software development, understanding of the appropriate approaches available to conduct software testing, issues regarding testing processes, system development process and the activities involved in re-designing software structure.

2.1 Software Development by Utilizing Open Source Software

According to Allen (2004), Netcraft reported that although Apache is one of the recent web servers, it has more market share than other web servers. Linux is also increasing in numbers; it is estimated as the fastest growing operating system. While exact numbers are indeed difficult to ascertain, most researchers estimate around 8 to 10 million Linux installations. Among the millions of installations, the number of exact users may even exceed this figure, as Linux is a multi-user system. This number is growing at around 40% per year. With such rising figures, it should be admitted that Open Source Software does have its advantages over closed software.

2.1.1 PHP Hypertext Preprocessor

PHP stands for PHP Hypertext Preprocessor and it is a server-side language in web programming for creating dynamic web pages. The PHP itself means 'Personal Home

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Page'. According to Sklar and Trachtenberg (2003), unlike ASP or ColdFusion, PHP is open source and cross-platform. It runs on Windows NT and many UNIX versions, and it can be built as an Apache module and as a binary that can run as a CGI. Moreover, PHP is lightweight and speedy when it is built as an Apache module. It offers excellent connectivity to many databases (and ODBC), and integration with various external libraries.

2.1,1.1 PHP versus JSP PHP is an established server-side scripting language for creating dynamic Web pages. As a language that has been designed expressly for the Web, it brings many features that commercial entities are looking for such as exceptionally short learning curve, quick development time and very high performance. It is essential for companies who are faced with scarce skilled programming resources and ever-tighter time to market deadlines. In addition, PHP supports all major platforms (UNIX, Windows and even mainframes), and features native support for most popular databases. All these factors make it a very good choice for Web development. It has reported that by using PHP, companies being able to hire non-programmers and have them producing usable code within days. Programmers familiar with languages such as C, C++ or Java frequently find that they can begin programming in PHP within a few hours (Orzech, 2001). Orzech (2001) stated that Java began its life as a programming language and was initially aimed at running client-side applications inside of Web browsers. Over the last few years, the problems associated with these "applets", have led Sun and many other Java developers to use the language in other ways. One of the most prominent ways is in server-side programming by allowing Web sites to connect to databases and produce other server-side applications, or "servlets". Sun came out with Java Server Pages (JSP) as a means of writing servlets. JSP, like PHP, is free and highly portable across different

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platforms (even though PHP supports any 32-bit or better platform, whereas JSP supports only platforms that have a Java virtual machine available). However, a beginner with no programming background will find it exceptionally difficult to begin working with servlets, because of the complexity of the language as well as the complicated JSP system design. Orzech (2001) also pointed out that JSP is just one language with which Java objects can be accessed. PHP, on the other hand, can be integrated with Java, which means that it can be used as the scripting language for activating Java logic, just as much as JSP can. Unlike JSP, however, PHP also integrates with other component models, such as Microsoft's COM, and adding support for new object models is extremely easy. This means PHP's extensibility is infinite. JSP, on the other hand, is completely dependent on Java.

2.1.1.2 PHP Gains Popularity

According to Orzech (2001), despite the lack of any publicity campaign, PHP's popularity is growing at a monthly rate of 8 to 11%, a percentage far greater than the Internet's 4% monthly growth; as the demand for server-based applications has risen. More than 6.5 million sites use PHP (Netcraft May 2001 survey). PHP is used on 39% of Apache servers; Perl trails fourth, with 11% of the market. Apache maintains 59% of the Web server market; Microsoft US is second, with 28% of market share (E-Soft Inc. /SecuritySpace's May 2001 report).

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2.1.2 MySQL
According to Wikipedia, MySQL is a multithreaded, multi-user SQL database management system (DBMS) which has, according to MySQL AB, more than 10 million installations and MySQL is owned and sponsored by a single for-profit firm, the Swedish company MySQL AB, which holds the copyright to most of the code base.

2.1.2.1 MySQL Comparison to Other Databases Allen (2004) mentioned that it is not true that MS SQL is better than MySQL or vice versa. Both products can be used to build stable and efficient systems. The stability and effectiveness of the databases vitally depends on the user experience rather than the database itself. Both of databases have their own advantages over another. When deciding which server to use, it truly depends on the needs and Allen (2004) added that despite the fact that MS SQL and MySQL both have their own strengths, a significant number of businesses have shifted their databases to MySQL because they keep finding good reasons to take advantage of MySQL's openness. MySQL includes a business strength database server that runs under either Windows, Linux, or Unix which features InnoDB, the table type that provides performance and reliability enhancements such as row-level locking, transaction support, and automatic crash recovery (Bois, 2003). Bois (2003) also mentioned that people can use the data through the standard MySQL client programs or from GUIbased applications that make the database becomes more accessible over the Web. Microsoft Access provides some capabilities for making a database available on the Web, but with MySQL it is a wider range of options because MySQL integrates easily with Web servers like Apache through any of a number of languages, such as Perl, PHP, Python, Java, and Ruby. Although Microsoft Access provides some data sharing capabilities, it is not really its strength. It has the feel of a single-user data manager

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designed for local use but MySQL, on the other hand, easily handles many simultaneous users because it was designed from the ground up to run in a networked environment and to be a multiple-user system that is capable of servicing large numbers of clients (Bois, 2003). According to Hunter (2002) we need to consider the needs of the applications in terms of database requirements. If the performance is an issue, MySQL will be the choice because it is fast and designed to work well with Web-based servers. However, if it is to create an application that demands transactions and foreign key references, PostgreSQL is the choice. Hunter (2002) added among the advantages of MySQL over PostgreSQL are MySQL is relatively faster than PostgreSQL, simpler database design, MySQL's replication has been thoroughly tested and it is no need for cleanups in MySQL (Vacuum).

2.1.3 Apache Server Janu (2007) mentioned that Apache is a public domain Web server. Public domain refers to any program that is not copyrighted. Public-domain software is free and can be used without restrictions. The term public-domain software is often used incorrectly to include freeware, free software that is nevertheless copyrighted. The first version of Apache, based on the NCSA httpd Web server, was developed in 1995. It was developed from existing NCSA code plus various patches and was called a patchy server; hence it has been called Apache Server ever since. The core development of the Apache Web server is performed by a group of about 20 volunteer programmers, called the Apache Group. However, because the source code is freely available, anyone can adapt the server for specific needs, and there is a large public library of Apache add-ons. Add-on refers to a product designed to complement another product (Janu, 2007).

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Janu (2007) also added that it is estimated that more that 50% of web sites in the world are hosted by using Apache server or runs over 25 million Internet servers (as of December 2006). A more precise survey from Netcraft reported Apache leads 59 % market share. In the latest survey of April 2007, Netcraft received responses from 113,658,468 sites, an increase of 3.2 million sites from last month's survey which showed Apache continues to be the most widely-used web server, powering more than 66.9 million sites, compared to 35.3 million sites using Microsoft server software. It has been tested thoroughly by both developers and users and Apache has been shown to be substantially faster, more stable, and more feature-full than many other web servers. The Apache httpd server is a powerful, flexible, HTTP/I.I compliant web server. It implements the latest protocols, including HTTP/I. 1 (RFC2616) and is highly configurable and extensible with third-party modules. It can be customized by writing 'modules' using the Apache module API provides full source code and comes with an unrestrictive license runs on Windows NT/9x, Netware 5.x and above, OS/2, and most versions of Unix (Janu, 2007). Table 2.1: Web Server Comparison Chart Source from http://www.macronimous.com/resources/web_servers_demystifyed.asp web server Version ACME thttpd Amiga Web Server Operating System FreeBSD, SunOS 4, Solaris 2, BSD/OS, Linux, OSF Amiga NetBSD, Digital UNIX, AIX, OS/2, Windows 3.x, SCO, HPUX, Novell NetWare, Macintosh, Be OS, 1.3.17 Windows NT, Linux, VMS, AS/400, Windows 95, FreeBSD, IRIX, Solaris l.OD AS/400 0.991 Windows NT Price(Approx.)/Remarks Free Free

Apache

Free

CERNHttpd Commerce Server/400 EMWAC HTTP Server

$4995 (suggested retail) Free

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GoAhead Webserver Hawkeye Internet Information Server Jigsaw Lotus Domino Go Webserver Netscape Enterprise (AOL) Webserver 6.0 RapidControl for Web(tm)

2.1

HPUX, Embedded, Windows NT, Linux, Windows CE, QNX, Windows 95, Windows 98, IRIX

Free, embedded web server Private/educational use free Free with Win2000 server

1.3.5 Linux 5.0 Windows 2000

Win95, WinNT and Solaris 2.x. 2.1.2 OS/2, MacOS, BeOS, Linux, AS400 and AIX with JDKl .2 and above Digital UNIX, AIX, OS/2, HPUX, 4.6.1 Windows NT, Windows 95, IRIX, Solaris Solaris 2.6, 7, 8 &Windows NT 4 SP6a, 2000 Server SPI or later NetBSD, Digital UNIX, BSDI, Windows 3.x, SCO, HPUX, 3.01 Windows NT, Linux, MS-DOS, Windows 95, FreeBSD, IRIX, Solaris Windows NT, Windows 95, 2.1 Windows 98 3.0 Windows NT, Windows 95 Embedded, Windows NT, Linux, 2.0 Solaris NetBSD, Digital UNIX, BSDI, AIX, 3.0 SCO, HPUX, Linux, FreeBSD, IRIX, Solaris Sun Solaris[tm] 8, 7, and 2.6,Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 SP6a, Microsoft Windows 2000 SPI or later. Red Hat Linux, HewlettPackard HP-UX, Compaq Tru64 UNIX 5.0a Sun Solaris[tm] 8, 7, and 2.6 (SPARC platform),Microsoft Windows NT and 2000,AIX 4.3.3,HP-UX1I.0 Windows NT, Windows 95, 1.06 Windows 98

Free, W3 license

$495; free demo

N/A

Write to sales@rapidlogic.com

Savant Spinnaker Spyglass MicroServer Stronghold Secure Web Server

Free $249 contact Spyglass Contact c2.net

Sun ONE web Server

$1495

SunChililSoft ASP Server Viking

Plug-In/ $495

$100 for 90-day trial

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4.5 NT 4, 95, 98, 2000 WebBase WebSTAR 5.0 5.0 MacOS X Windows NT, Windows 95, Website 2.5.8 Windows 98 Pro3.l.l3.0 2.1 Macintosh WebTen NetBSD, Digital UNIX, BSDI, AIX, OS/2, Windows 3.x, SCO, HPUX, Windows NT, Linux, VMS, QNX, Xitami 2.4d9 Windows 95, FreeBSD, IRIX, Solaris NetBSD, Digital UNIX, BSDI, AIX, Zeus Web SCO, HPUX, Linux, FreeBSD, 4.0 Server IRIX, Solaris

$995-$1795 $399 $299-$1999 $495

free/ $250

$1700

2.2 Software Testing

Before conducting a testing for the intended evaluation system, it is important to understand each technique of software testing and select the appropriate method of testing to be used as there are many ways of doing software testing

2.2.1 Techniques of Software Testing

There are two types of technique of software testing called synthetic technique and operational technique. Synthetic testing involves selecting test data systematically, based on an analysis of a program or its specification. Operational testing or beta testing involves having the intended users of software employ it in the field as they see fit. Synthetic testing and operational testing are complementary: synthetic testing is not a good predictor of operational reliability, but it may help to make software reliable enough for beta testing (Podgurski et all 1999).

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2.2.2 Issues of Operational Testing and Solutions

To conduct a beta testing, the appropriate sampling technique must be selected. One of the problems with conventional beta testing is that it does not provide objective estimates of software reliability. Such estimates are necessary for making informed decisions about a software product's fitness for general release. Another problem with conventional beta testing is its reliance on ordinary users to detect and report failures in the software being tested (Podgurski et all 1999).According to Podgurski et all (1999), even though the users provide an essential feedback but the accuracy of the feedback can be doubted. Stratified sampling increases the estimation's efficiency and accuracy because it partitioning population into sub populations known as strata. Strata are formed by grouping elements having similar values of one or more auxiliary variables, called stratification variables, whose values for each population element are already known or easily determined (Podgurski and Yang, 1993).The size of sample must be taken into account as well. More testers do not mean more accurate feedback. Only if the beta testers filling out survey forms have more of the characteristics of the average user. Otherwise bigger would not automatically be better (Krull, 2000).

2.2.3 Issues of Synthetic Testing and Solutions

There are quite a number of tools have been developed and approaches proposed in web application validation technique that focus more on validation such as load testing, broken link detection, protocol conformance and static analyses but do not validating the functional requirements directly. To cater the need of validating functional requirements, formal approaches by using white box testing, code inspection, identifying test requirement and human participation to generate test cases to fulfill user requirement. But according to Elbaum et all (2003) the approaches also have drawbacks, in part due to differences between web applications and the normal system application because of

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the rapid change in web application usage, frequent maintenance and complex architecture.

2.3 Prototyping Tools and Techniques

One of the popular software development approaches is the rapid prototyping.

2.3.1 Rapid Prototyping

According to Thompson and Wishbow (1992) Goals for rapid prototyping include:

1. Conducting iterative testing and revision early in the product development cycle, as suggested by Gould (1988). This approach allows user testing to be an integral part of product design. II. Using measurable objectives (benchmarks) for user performance and attitude. Whites! (1988) argues that benchmarks provide an objective way to assess the quality of the prototype. Empirical measures prevent the endless debate that can sometimes follow user testing. If subject behavior falls below the benchmark there is little doubt among team members that something must be done. III. Using simple, proven testing techniques. The think-aloud protocol method advocated by Newell and Simon (1972), and discussed frequently in the technical communication literature, for instance, by Dieli (1989), Sullivan (1989), and Schriver (1989) allows for efficient data collection. If the coding scheme is kept simple, reviewing data and reporting results can be accomplished in a matter of a few days. Protocol analysis also has the virtue of requiring only a small subject sample. One of the examples of

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rapid prototyping is OODPM;object oriented methodology.

design by a prototype

2.3.2 Object Oriented Design by the Prototype Methodology

OODPM - object oriented design using the prototype methodology is a method enabling system planning and design, integrating the two approaches appearing in its title (Drori, 1996). According to Drori (1996), the prototype methodology states that system planning and design are based on building a prototype at various levels, whereby the prototype constitutes a tool for examining, demonstrating and evaluating the system. The OODPM approach uses a combination of system planning and is performed by defining the objects in the new system while the graphic design will be performed using the prototype method. Drori (1996) stated the advantages of OOPDM are the ability to reduce planning time; to better define user requirements, to plan an enhanced information system and to bridge the gap between the design of the required solution and its development.

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