Features and Benefits of Skype

Features and Benefits of Skype Introduction of Skype (voice unified communication) Skype is the most popular communication tool service in the world. The skype service comes with application software and softphone which suit the application so normally many people think that skype just only provide software which outcome the well service which they provide. The service also provide free or paid service with different kinds of program which can be use in skype as paid service include more features. The free service only provide connect with other skype users while other premium plans include the ability to call from skype to landlines across the worlds as well as own a skype dial-in number so that landline callers can reach us on your computer. Skype has cutout quite a numbers of barriers to the communication system which it is due to poor connection user for the network traffic, while in the early stage we needed to take particular care of the minutes and seconds we spend speaking on international calls which end up is overprice spending, but now we no longer need to worry about it. If you are using pc to pc chatting, you will not paying a single cent in the skype free account more than just your monthly internet service billing. Skype is using the integration of voice and instant messaging service to talk to each other which delivering clear and high quality calls over the internet. Requirement tools for using skype is simple few things, a computer with decent processing speed and memory which must have keyboard and mouse in your system, a high-end speed internet connection like boardband, sound card that speaker or earpieces is in working condition and last thing skype software which is freely downloadable in the main website. People use skype mainly for the high quality of voice it provide and also because it provide free service for pc to pc talk. We around the world use skype for several things such as long-distance communicate with family,friends and loved ones,for business calls or long-distance conferences and also cheaper calls durin g our traveling and ETC The features and strength/weaknesses of skype Skype has a lot of interesting features which can be use like video call or conferencing, SMS, voicemail, instant messaging, call forwarding, skype to skype interface, business control panel, contacts and many others. For free plan skype only include most feature using like instant messaging and skype to skype calls through skype account but for paid plan it cover most features in free plan and plus include call phone and mobile, sending sms to other phone which can be done using either pc or softphone which usable with skype Strength weakness: Nowadays, skype work in the rightness of networks and recent technology which overcome it strength and weakness. For its good point because it let us manage to have a lot more flexibility and more better voices which overcome the problems cause by poor call quality and other interrupting issue which cause by â€Å"noise† in the telephone line and what the weakness about skype because it stops most accounts in skype users from being able to communicate with other open source networks that dealing with communication software And another main reason is that when you are using low-connection internet or keep receiving poor signal while in the skype conference, the application in the skype has some clever programming managing tool to analysis the problem try to prefix it and get your call smoothly through the calls. The program tool has the most important ability to dynamically change and fix in the codec in use to the call to suit the network conditions strength. Sometime we will also encounter packet loss during the sending of information which cause alot of times waiting for the busy line to be stable to send out the data to one and other using skype The problems skype trying to address They need to improving its identity authentication process. This is one of the part skype trying to further expansion into the business market to enhance username authentication for business customers. Skype also encounter security bug that could expose value and useful data to hacker. Most users could let an hacker making a Skype hyperlink which the users clicked on it, it will sends a file from the victims computer to another Skype user. One of the most problem they address is that hackers tend to control a users pc without the admin promission which cause alots of value data being known. An hacker could exploit the user pc by programming or uploading a special link and AD-popup a user to click on it. The hacker can also be exploited when sending some annoying information from a malformed electronic business card or Vcard. Critically evaluate Skype and future trends Scalable Skype PBX/PABX Gateways FEATURES BENEFITS: Company now can talk or chat over on skype for free and Skype-Out for low-cost call without PC cause they provide Skype-In static numbers for local calls to users and Skype-Web calls for user with free plan service . Using Companys phones to make a simple calls by prefix-handle service and smart PhoneBook . . Directly connect to PBX/PABX program using Plug Play format which only took 10 minute, also by using the program Sky-Grid System to upgrade the total capacity storage can save more money and with the better administration Control to make MIS/Call-Management job more easier They also provide Solving the issues of Bandwidth Information Security by independent xDSL and monitor the status by VNC Web-Administration or Telnet Control. Reference from : http://eshop.spin3d.com.tw/images/Scalable%20Skype%20PBX%20Gateway.pdf Open source freeswitch added into skype: This is the new release device which called â€Å"freeswitch†, is the first open source freeswitch will enable user or orgamnisation to intregrate skype into their Voip and platform services. For the first time, developers will have a free usage which include high-performance voice switching platform that can tie Skype clients into nearly every other major VoIP platform on the market today. Aside which we extending high definition voice across the networks, freeswitch will enable developers to build Skype integration into telephone applications, such as VoIP-enabled IVRs. Skype upgrade not only change the platform to freeswitch but also added in support for one of the most popular telephone engines (open phone layer) which gives freeswitch support for 323 clients and devices which also brings another venue for SIP support. Skype also working towards tighter integration with the platforms, the skype for asterisk is a prototype to allows interoperability between skype and asteri sk. Which offer better voice quality, allow users to place and receive calls without any cumbersome workaround, provide caller ID and retrieving skype credit balance information control panel that user can access Reference from : http://blogs.zdnet.com/Greenfield/?p=353

Hacking and Cybercrime Essay

The Symantec Global Internet Security Threat Report noted a shift in malicious activity to be emerging. The growing level of malicious code activity has also resulted in the proposal of a new cybercrime bill. Malicious activity tends to increase in rapid growth in broadband infrastructure and connectivity. In January 2010, reports emerged that dozens of large companies had been compromised by attackers using the Hydra Trojan. Typically, this type of attack begins with some reconnaissance on the part of attackers. Typically, this type of attack begins with some reconnaissance on the part of attackers. This can include publicly available information about the company and its employees, such as from social networking sites. This information is then used to create specifically crafted phishing email messages, often referred to as spear phishing, that target the company or even specific staff members. These email messages often contain attachments that exploit vulnerabilities in client-side application or links to websites that exploit vulnerabilities in web browsers or browser plug-ins. In 2009, 60 percent of identities exposed were compromised by hacking attacks. Which are another form of targeted attack. The hackers gained access to the company payment processing network using an SQL injection attack. The attackers then installed malicious code design to gather sensitive information from the network, which allowed them to easily access the network at their convenience. The attacks resulted in the theft of approximately 130 million credit card numbers. Web-based attacks have replaced the mass mailing worm in this position. Attackers may use social engineering, such as in spam messages, to lure a user to a website that exploit browser and plug-in vulnerabilities. These attacks are then used to install malicious code or other applications such as rogue security software on the victim’s computer. Four of the top five being exploited were client-side vulnerabilities were frequently targeted by web-based attacks. Two of these vulnerabilities were in Adobe Reader, while one was in Microsoft Internet Explorer and the fourth was in an Active X Control. A Crimeware Kit is a toolkit that that allows people to customize a piece of malicious code design to steal data and other person personal information. Crimeware Kits like zues make it easier for unskilled attackers to compromise computers and steal information. These kit allow anyone who buys them to customize them to their own needs. The SpyEye Kit, is addition to stealing information, also has the ability to detect if a computer already has Zues installed and if so, to intercept its communications. Fragus Exploit Kit contains mechanisms to prevent buyers from reselling their copies of it. A side effect of these kits is the creation of tens of thousands of new malicious code variants that may only be seen by a single user. The volume of financial services spam also remained relatively unchanged in 2009, while the levels of financially oriented spam and phishing have remained relatively constant despite the recent economic downturn, attackers have made adjustments in their tactics. Symantec observed more messages advertising refinancing of debts and mortgages along with offers of loans or opportunities to earn money while working from home. This shows that attackers are able to rapidly adapt their social engineering techniques to better take advantage of current events and situations. Symantec expects attacks against web browsers and malicious code variants installed through these attacks to increase. One of the botnets linked to this ISP was Pandex. This botnet was responsible for as much as 35 percent of spam observed globally before dropping to 8 percent after the ISP was shut down. Spam Zombies that lack a critical command system are unable to send out spam. Additionally, a security researcher allegedly attacked and disabled 250,000 computers associated with the Ozdok botnet. The volume of spam sent by both botnets recovered several days afterwards because unaffected zombies were instructed to significantly increase their spam output, indicating that these events may have been a large factor in the decrease of spam zombies in the United States. Symantec advises end users to use antivirus software, antispam software, firewalls, tool bar blockers, and other software- detection methods. Symantec also advises end users to never disclose any confidential personal or financial information unless and until they can confirm that any request for such information is legitimate.

Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure On Toyota Motors Performance - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 22 Words: 6588 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The globalization phenomenon allows companies to internationally expand their sales and production activities. A consequence of this phenomenon, however, is the existence of foreign exchange rate exposure which can impact the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s profitability, net cash flow and market values. In the past years, several academic researches have been developed in order to explain and analyze how foreign exchange risk exposure fluctuations affect a multinational company or a purely domestic company value, and how this risk is influenced by the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s risk management strategy. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure On Toyota Motors Performance" essay for you Create order Consequently, this dissertation aims to find some knowledge on these subjects for a specific company, Toyota Motor Corporation. By applying the capital market approach and analyzing three different periods, it is possible to conclude that Toyota Motor Corporation, in a crisis situation, was able to protect itself against some of the primary exchange rates fluctuations it is exposed to. Thus, the predictability of higher fluctuations allows the company to apply effective risk management strategies. Considering a ten year period, bilateral exchange rate fluctuations are more significant to the company stock returns than for other periods. However, being an exporting company, its coefficient for exposure is not consistent with the competitive advantage an exporter holds when its company home currency depreciates. It is consistent, however, when the broad currency index is considered. Additionally, the impact of foreign exchange risk fluctuations is small for company stock returns. This can thus indicate that exchange rate fluctuations donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have a significant impact on company stock price returns. Since the beginning of the dissertation, it has been a priority, although with the intention of having an equilibrate life, make me establish important daily schedules to develop my work and make me understand that sometimes my dissertation could not be the number one in my priorities. At the moment, I have already finished my dissertation and of course I had invaluable support of several people. For that reason, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all of them. Beginning with my advisor, Professor Dr. Gohar Stepanyan, I would like to give special thanks for her important inputs, helpful guidance as well as her valuable suggestions. Additionally, I would like to thank her for providing me the opportunity to work, in the dissertation, abroad of Portugal and the opportunity to develop my dissertation in an area related with the International Finance course that it have particular interest to me. Since the first class in which we have talked about exchange risk exposure, the subject has awakened in me a desire to put it practice in a real case. I also appreciate the help of Professor Dr. AntÃÆ' ³nio Borges de AssunÃÆ' §ÃƒÆ' £o regarding the type of data to use in my regressions. I also would like to show my gratitude to Professor Dr. Lars Kolte from Copenhagen Business School for his inputs and advices as well as his encouragement. My gratitude is also extended to the EspÃÆ' ­rito Santo Research Sectorial staff members, especially Tiago Lavrador, for their assistance with the data collection. Thanks are extended to the staff members of the Copenhagen Business School Library for their support during my project. Finally, my acknowledgments would not be completed without express my appreciation and gratitude to my family, especially my parents, parents-in-law and to RÃÆ' ºben Murargi, my husband, for their immeasurable support. They have been a constant source of strength and a brilliant help throughout times of adversity while trying to fulfill my goal. Cristina Maria de Jesus Marques Murargi, n º152109037 INTRODUCTION The globalization phenomenon has allowed the integration of national economies into the international economy, giving them easier access to information, goods and services through trade and foreign direct investment around the world. This process has been encouraging an increasing number of companies to start operating on a global scale, expanding their networks worldwide. In recent years, the number of multinational companies has grown in order to respond to the competitiveness experienced in the domestic market and explore new markets to produce or sell new products and services. Multinational companies, or purely domestic companies with a broad network, are exposed to several risks. An important risk that has a significant impact on the management of a company is the foreign exchange risk, due to the fact that it may affect the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cash flows, value and performance. Nevertheless, besides the foreign exchange risk, many other risks affect companies, such as the interest rate risk. Several financial and operating instruments and techniques are being used and developed by multinational companies to handle these risks. However, in order to manage these risks, companies must know exactly what their risks are and how to measure them. With regard to foreign exchange rate exposure, several studies conducted in recent years have presented various risk management approaches in order to understand to what extent its fluctuations affect the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value and performance. However, there is little consensus among the different studies, which indicates that exchange rates are complex and can affect and be affected by different factors. The most traditional approaches are the cash flow approach and the capital market approach. In this study, the capital market approach is used to assess, through quantitative methods, to what extent foreign exchange rate fluctuations affect the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value. It is important t o note that several studies using quantitative methods found no statistical significance when trying to understand the impacts of foreign exchange fluctuations on the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value. Thus, an explanation given for this fact was that the company was able to protect itself against foreign exchange rate fluctuations by means of hedging instruments and techniques. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the foreign exchange risk exposure of a multinational company using the capital market approach, and also to what extent the various assumptions underlying this approach produce different results. The choice of the multinational company was based on the following requirements: it had to be a public company operating in a competitive industry and could not be the subject of any other study in the same area. Accordingly, the Toyota Motor Corporation was chosen. Its main plants are located in Japan; it operates in the Automotive Industry and was the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s largest manufacturer in 2009. Furthermore, 61.4% of total sales to external costumers are overseas, which indicates that the company is likely to face considerable impacts from foreign exchange risk exposure. In order to achieve the main purpose of this study, Toyotaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s foreign operations are analyzed in a first phase to understand to what extent the company is internationalized. Moreover, this initial analysis also envisages the foreign exchange rate fluctuations against the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s stock price returns and their direct impact on its report accounts, as well as the hedging instruments used to handle the foreign exchange risk. In a second phase, the capital market approach is used to suggest that foreign exchange risk exposure could be measured as the sensitivity of stock price returns to exchange rate movements. This approach requires the implementation of statistical regressions. For this purpose, market, stock price and foreign ex change rate data were collected from 1999 to 2009. Considering the studies developed by different authors, regressions involve several hypotheses for the exchange rate variables, such as a Nominal Broad Index that is like a basket of currencies and several bilateral exchange rates, in order to understand which variables affect stock price returns. In this second phase, the quantitative method is applied to three different periods in order to compare how the company handles the foreign exchange risk. As this dissertation takes into account the investorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s point of view, it can help to understand how investors determine and quantify the exposure of their portfolio to the foreign exchange risk. Moreover, this approach allows comparing the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s exposure to foreign exchange rate fluctuations with that of competitors in order to understand the effectiveness of the hedging activities. To complement this study, this dissertation is organized under th e following sections: The first section is a thorough review of the literature on this subject. It explains why it is important that companies know how to handle the foreign exchange risk and presents the findings of past research. In the second section, the traditional categories of foreign exchange risk exposure are described, the effects of hedging the foreign exchange risks are shown and the most used analysis methods are discussed. The third section provides an overview of Toyota and an analysis of its foreign operations. The main purpose of this section is to support the interpretations that emerge from the regression results and this information is used as the basis for selecting the variables for the regression model. In the fourth section, relevant analyses are provided about the variables that may be a source of risk for Toyota and which were chosen for the regression model. In addition to this, it presents the hedging programs undertaken, the designated and un designated financial instruments used and the reasons why the company does not need to have financial instruments to hedge translation and economic exposure. The fifth section describes the methodology used. The reasoning, as well as the issues of each variable included in the model, is expressed in this section. It also presents the study time periods and data sources. In addition to this, it provides an analysis of the descriptive statistics for the data and different periods used in the model. The sixth section contains the regression results and provides an analysis and explanation of the findings. It also presents the limitations of the software used for the regressions and a brief analysis of the foreign exchange risk exposure of Honda and Nissan Motor Corporation. The seventh and last section summarizes the main conclusions of this study and presents some suggestions for further research. LITERATURE REVIEW The goal of creating a global business has, in the past years, been the fundamental reason behind the growth of multinational companies. Such an example is the registered growth in Japanese companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ exports. In 2000 and 2009, exports from Japanese companies amounted to 0.8%  [1]  and 10.8%1 of the GDP, respectively. An annual growth of 32.9% in foreign activity, for a nine year period, is one of many advantages that companies can obtain by opening themselves in many ways. Other advantages include the opportunity to diversify labor force, to enter new markets and sell more, to reduce transport costs and to benefit from economies of scale. This, however, also creates new problems, challenges and demands. A multinational company is either a company with operating subsidiaries, branches or affiliates in more than one country, or a purely domestic company engaged in international activities (imports and exports). Some of the new problems and challenges these co mpanies face include an increased exposure to foreign risks, such as exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices [Miller, 1998]. Moreover, the risks associated to exchange rates appear do to the contact with new currencies  [2]  . Exchange rates constitute one of the most important macroeconomic risks, which can potentially impact, positively or negatively, the companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ profitability, cash-flows and market value, due to exchange rate fluctuations. Consequently, in order to handle exchange risk exposure, companies can adopt several hedging tools. In the past decades, thanks to the increasing number of international trade activities and multinational enterprises, as well as the large currency fluctuations registered, the volume of research that tries to measure and analyze the impact of exchange rate fluctuations in multinational companies and their vulnerability to it has grown. However, produced results/conclusions have a mixed nature due to the com plexity of this subject. The main goal in this section is to understand, through previous researches, what types of companies are most affected by exchange risk exposure, the importance of hedging, several types of foreign exchange risk exposure, types of hedging activities depending on the foreign exchange risk exposure the company is facing and traditional approaches to measure exchange risk exposure. Exchange Risk Exposure of Multinational Companies vs. Domestic Companies Thanks to the phenomenon of globalization, as well as the increase in companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ foreign activities, several researches have been developed in order to give some input on what type of companies show a higher exchange risk exposure: multinational or domestic companies. The results of previous empirical studies suggest that only certain industries and/or companies are exposed to foreign exchange risk  [5]  . In the other hand, even a purely domestic company with importing or exporting activities is impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates. This idea is connected with competitive advantage; for instance, the products an exporting company sells abroad can still affect the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value due to the effect of exchange rate fluctuations in competitors, suppliers and in customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ demands. Muller and Verschoor (2006) concluded in their study that a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s size is also an indicator of its foreign exposure. They found that a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lower dividend payout ratio results in a stronger short-term liquidity position and, consequently, a smaller hedging motivation and a higher exchange risk exposure. Other authors however, such as Choi and Jiang (2009), defend that multinationality is important for a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s exchange exposure, but not in the popular notion that was mentioned. Some authors found evidences that foreign exchange risk exposure is actually higher and more significant in absolute magnitude for domestic companies, when compared to multinational companies. The existing explanation for this finding is the fact that multinational enterprises are more capable to effectively and easily use financial hedging and operational hedging in order to reduce their position against foreign exchange risk, and also to increase their stock returns. Additionally, these companies are more aware of foreign exchange risks. Dominguez and Tesar (2006) agree with this f inding and they also found that small companies, rather than large and medium-sized companies, show a higher exposure due to the same reasons. As a result, companies that donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t engage directly in international business but compete against foreign companies can be affected by exchange rate fluctuations [Dominguez, Tesar, 2006]. Dominguez and Tesar (2006) also found that the industry level may influence exposure. They suggest that exposure increases in highly competitive industries. In more competitive industries, however, an almost perfect pass-through can be expected since they are more aware of their vulnerability and are consequently better motivated to hedge foreign exchange risks, when compared with less competitive industries  [6]  . Regarding purely domestic companies, Pritamani, Some and Singal (2005) found that importing companies are more affected by fluctuations in exchange rates than exporting companies. Therefore, companies with importing activiti es should have more reasons to hedge exchange risk exposure. The Importance of Hedging Exchange Risk Exposure Hedging means taking a position when acquiring a cash-flow, an asset or a contract in order to protect the owner from losses and to eliminate any gain in the position hedged. Several researches indicate that currency risk management is very important to manage earnings and unexpected losses. Consequently, this should be done in order to reduce any impacts on the stockholderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s equity and to prevent value declines for the equity holder due to cash flow changes and unfavorable exchange rate fluctuations, respectively. Hedging currency exposure can therefore reduce some of the expected fluctuations in future cash flows and increase their predictability [Smith and Stulz, 1985]. It is believed that foreign exchange rate fluctuations impact à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“financial decision-making in production, marketing, planning and strategyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? [Moffett and Karlsen, 1994]. It is therefore necessary to make contingent investments or develop long-term strategic plans and man agement perspectives in order to understand the volatility of foreign exchange. Companies can implement hedging tools based on policies that define when and how to hedge against foreign exchange risks. Hedging tools are not static mechanisms, companies are able to dynamically adjust their behavior in response to foreign exchange risks; for instance, a company can decide to hedge only part of their foreign transactions. To undertake these policies, the company needs to determine its risk tolerance and needs to understand the direction that the currency to which it is exposed is likely to take. A value maximization corporation that hedges its exposure to exchange risks can reduce the costs connected to financial distresses and taxes, as well as agency problems existing between shareholders and bondholders [Martin and Mauer, 2005]  [7]  . A possible reduction of financial distress costs allows investors to require lower risk premiums. Consequently, the company value increases [S mith and Stulz, 1985]. Therefore, as mentioned by Smith and Stulz (1985), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“hedging is part of the overall corporate financing policyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Moreover, Dumas and Solnik (1995) concluded that part of the return rate of an assetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s price is influenced by the foreign exchange risk premium. Thus, when a company implements risk management activities that decrease its foreign exchange risk exposure, the cost of capital is reduced. Some authors sustain that exposure management may not reduce total risk. Copeland and Joshi (1996) argued that anticipating hedging strategies is difficult given that so many other economic factors change when foreign exchange rates fluctuate. This is confirmed by Moffett and Karlsen (1994), who argue that the uncertain nature of future cash-flows hinders the implementation of long-term strategic plans and better investment decisions. It is also argued that risks connected to an inefficient hedging activity can increas e exposure [Hagelin and Pramborg, 2004]. Additionally, currency risk management usually consumes some of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s resources, consequently lowering its expected cash-flow [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. Therefore, companies need to know whether their hedging strategies are successful or not, and if they are relevant to shareholders [Hagelin and Pramborg, 2004]. Findings regarding the Vulnerability of Multinational Companies to Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure Hedging tools that handle exposure to foreign exchange risks are not simple and they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t hold only a few complexities, since the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s exchange risk exposure correlates with its à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“size, multinational status, foreign sales, international assets and competitiveness and trade at the industryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? [Dominguez, Tesar, 2006]. Adler and Dumas (1984) suggested that a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s foreign exchange risk exposure can be measured by the stock pricesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ sensitivity to unexpected foreign exchange rate fluctuations. On the other hand, it could also be measured as the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cash flows sensitivity to foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Considering that the main goal of this dissertation is to analyze economic exposure, it is important to note that several authors have developed researches that try to measure and analyze unexpected impacts of exchange rate fluctuations on companiesà ¢Ã¢â €š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ performances, portfolios and Industries. Nevertheless, these researches have produced mixed empirical results. Jorion (1990) found that only 15 of 287 US multinational companies were statistically significant concerning the impacts of exchange rate fluctuations in companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ stock returns. Additionally, the author detected that higher company foreign operations reflected higher exposure to exchange risks. Nevertheless, Bartov and Bodnar (1994) found that 208 of the companies with foreign operations that composed their sample were not statistically significant to the effect of US exchange rate fluctuations on companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ stock price returns. Additionally, other researchers have reached mixed conclusions using different methodologies, samples and alternatives for the main variables. The inconsistency in these results, therefore, doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t allow a sustainable conclusion on this subject. Recent studies, however, found evi dences that exchange rate fluctuations do have an impact in companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ performances. Such an example is the research developed by Dominguez and Teaser (2006), who found exposure to be statistically significant due to the effect of exchange rate movements on stock returns at Industry and country level. Some explanations have been pointed out by several authors for these mixed results. The registered contradiction can be explained by limitations concerning data, variables and methodologies used. Different researches develop different alternatives in order to determine foreign exchange risk factors and company values, which include different samples, the use of companies with less opened economies (USA) or more opened economies and different periods; all of these affect research. Bartram (2008) also explains that the use of stock returns to measure company value reflects the hedging position of companies, and the analysis is thus considering a lower level of risk ex posure. Crabb (2002) also suggests that these mixed results can reflect different financial hedging strategies on data or simply reflect noisy data. Additionally, Bartram and Bodnar (2007) found that operational hedging activities help companies reduce their exposure and, consequently, have no statistical significance over the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ returns. Therefore, as suggested by Crabb (2002), a statistically non significant exposure to exchange rates can result from an efficient hedging strategy set in place by the company. Types of Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure The hedging decision depends essentially on the level of risk exposure, its magnitude and the magnitude of hedging that companies deem necessary. Companies should essentially hedge activities that put them in a position with a high level of uncertainty, i.e., risk exposure in the strategy field (competitive, input supply, market demand and technological risk) and fields of interest to finance and international business scholars (foreign exchange risk), [Miller, 1998]. Before initiating the hedging process, the company has to decide what exchange risk exposure to hedge and how. There are three traditional foreign exchange rate exposure categories  [8]  that impact companies and that have a specific managing method: the transaction exposure, the operating exposure and the translation exposure. Generally, these exchange risk exposures can be hedged through the use of derivatives and financial instruments, such as commodities, futures and forward contracts, options and swaps [Mi ller, 1998]. The main goal of this dissertation is to measure and to analyze how unexpected foreign exchange rate fluctuations affect a multinational company. Notwithstanding it is also important to understand how the other two types of exposure impact companies and the types of hedging mechanisms available to handle exposure, in order to reach a deeper analysis and optimal conclusions. Economic Exposure Economic exposure, also known as operating exposure, is an unexpected change in exchange rates that affects the present value of the company by changing future operating cash flows, arising from inter-company and intra-company activities [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. The unexpected exchange rate fluctuations affect the expected future operating cash-flows changing the volume, price and/or costs of future sales [Moffett and Karlsen, 1994]. Economic exposure approaches the impact of long-term currency exposure and analyzes the health of a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s business in the long run. The changes registered in the expected future cash flows depend of the change in the position the company holds in international competition  [10]  . Managing economic exposure involves all aspects of a company. Before establishing hedging policies, a company needs to measure its economic exposure. In order to do that a company should invest some resources in assessing its exposu re, i.e., identifying the set of environmental contingencies affecting and relevant to the creation of shareholder value [Miller, 1998]. This identification allows the assessment of alternative environmental scenarios and consequent adoption of improved strategic decisions by the company. This is the reason why identifying and measuring economic exposure can be complex and difficult, bearing in mind that environmental contingencies vary across industries and across companies within those industries. Moreover, some authors mention economic exposure as being subjective, since it is based in estimates of future cash flows. Hedging Strategies The main goal of economic exposure management is to anticipate and influence unexpected and unpredictable effects in exchange rates. This can be accomplished if a company diversifies and changes its international operating and/or financing policies. This diversity allows the company to react in an active or passive way. The company can diversify operations through sales, location of production facilities and raw material sources or inputs [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. A company can expand its sales through subsidiaries distributed across different countries, bringing its products or services to new markets and taking advantage of economies of scale, being also capable of diversifying its exposure to foreign exchange risks. Flexible management policies allowing a faster sourcing of raw materials and components can easily mitigate this exposure if this adaptation considers the impact of exchange rate fluctuations in the company costs and revenues. Additionally, RD can also mitigate this exposure, allowing the cutting back of costs and enhancing productivity as well as product differentiation. Choi (1989)  [11]  pointed out that international investment is one of the major instruments in managing economic exposure. In the same line, Miller and Reuer (1998) developed a study that showed this exposure is considerably reduced with a higher and direct foreign investment by the company (foreign market entry mode). Additionally, Smith and Stulz (1985) found that mergers achieve results that are similar to hedging results. Consequently, a company may wish to diversify the location of its production facilities internationally in order to mitigate the effect of exchange rate movements. This mitigation is possible because the company measures its cash flows in different currencies. Thus, exchange rate fluctuations in all currencies the company is exposed to can be naturally offset as can, consequently, the gains or losses while the company still reacts c ompetitively. Diversification in financing is achieved by raising funds in more than one capital market and in more than one currency  [12]  . This method allows the company to reduce future cash-flow variability, to increase capital availability and to reduce costs, as well several risks, such as political risks. Allayannis et. al. (2001) observed that companies with geographical dispersion are more likely to use financial hedging strategies to lower their foreign exchange risk exposure. Accordingly, the use of exclusively operational hedging does not increase the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value. However, if companies combine operational and financial hedging they will improve their value and, consequently, reduce exposure to foreign exchange risks. Companies can also adopt proactive policies (including operating and financing policies) to offset anticipated foreign exchange risk exposures. These policies allow a partial management of this exposure. The most generally employed are  [13]  : matching currency cash flows, risk-sharing agreements, back-to-back loans, currency swaps, leads and lags and reinvoicing centers. [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett (2010)]. Transaction Exposure Transaction exposure measures gains or losses resulting from unexpected changes in future cash flows already contracted in a currency-denominated transaction [Martin and Mauer, 2005]. The uncertainty stems from the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“impact of exchange rate changes on the consolidated financial reportsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? [Friberg and Ganslandt, 2007] and the fact that it is not anticipated in any line item of a financial statement [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. Thus, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“the uncertainty can be the specific quantity of foreign currency or the timing of cash-flowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? [Moffet and Karlsen, 1994]. Transaction exposure approaches foreign exchange risk exposure in the short-term. It is therefore easier to identify and to measure, allowing a greater effectiveness of hedging strategies to be expected. Hedging Strategies The exposure to foreign exchange transactions can be hedged by contractual, natural, operating and financial hedges. The company, however, needs to determine its own risk tolerance and its expectations concerning the direction the exchange rates will assume. Contractual techniques include hedges in forward  [17]  , policies that imply proportional hedging. A natural hedge is basically an unhedged position where the transaction is left uncovered. Crabb (2004) suggests that this is not a very good hedge because it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t control variation over time and, consequently, companies cannot perfectly hedge their exchange rate exposure. An operating hedge means that the company will simply create an off-setting operating cash-flow (account payables, for instance). This hedge can also be implemented through several techniques, such as invoice currency, leads and lags in payment terms and exposure netting [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. Hedging through invoice currency allows the company to shift its foreign exchange risk exposure, invoicing foreign sales in home currency, or share foreign exchange risk exposure  [18]  , pro-rating the invoice currency between foreign and home currencies. Additionally, a company can also diversify its exposure to foreign exchange risks by invoicing sales in a market basket index [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. By hedging with leads and lags companies can accelerate or decelerate the timing of payments (receipts) made (received) in foreign currencies. This hedging strategy is efficient if a currency is expected to appreciate or depreciate against another [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. Finally, the technique of exposure netting suggests that a multinational company should not consider its deals in isolation, focusing rather on hedging the company in a portfolio of currency positions. This means that companies should consider overall payments (receipts) that must be done (received) after taking in account the opposite o perations that naturally hedge each other. To use this technique some companies have re-invoicing centers, separate corporate subsidiaries that serve the parent or related unit in one location and all foreign subsidiaries. The reinvoicing center receives the invoice between the subsidiaries, taking legal title of the good that manufacturing plants sells to distribution subsidiaries of the same company, managing all foreign exchange transaction exposure for intracompany sales [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. Additionally, the reinvoicing centers can guarantee the exchange rate for future orders  and also manage intra-subsidiary cash flows [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett (2010)]. Financial hedging refers to the creation of an off-setting financial cash flow by either borrowing or lending in the currency the company is exposed to. The company can use some type of proactive policies such as back-to-back loans and currency swaps. A back-to-back loan occurs when two companies in differ ent countries coordinate themselves to borrow each otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s currency for a specific period of time. They then return the borrowed currencies at an agreed terminal date. By hedging via currency swap, the company and a swap dealer agree to exchange an equivalent amount in two different currencies (for instance, a company enters a swap paying yens and receiving dollars) for a specified period of time. The swap dealer assumes the role of a middleman. A matching currency cash flow proactive policy can act like a financial hedge or an operational hedge. The first alternative to offset a long-anticipated and continuous exposure to a particular currency (i.e., the Japanese Yen) is to acquire debt in that currency (in Yens). Suppose the following exposure: A US Corporation exports goods to a Japanese corporation. The inflow of the Japanese Yen creates a foreign currency exposure. An hedging technique requires that the debt payments in Japanese Yens, which consist of the principal and the interests paid by the US Corporation to the Japanese Bank, act like a financial hedge by requiring a debt service, an outflow of Japanese Yens. As a second alternative, the US Corporation can seek potential raw material or component suppliers in Japan as a substitute for an American or another foreign company. This alternative grants the US Company both an operational cash inflow (the receivables) and an operational cash outflow (the payables) in Japanese Yens. This alternative is called an operational hedging. In a final alternative, the US Corporation can pay its foreign suppliers in Japanese Yens, if the suppliers have a Japanese Yen shortage in their multinational cash-flow network (currency switching). Translation Exposure Translation exposure, also known as accounting-based exposure, results from the translation of foreign subsidiaries financial statements, stated in their foreign currency, into the parentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s reporting currency in order to prepare consolidated financial statements. This exposure can potentially increase or decrease the ownerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s equity and net income, due to exchange rate fluctuations [Moffet and Karlsen, 1994]. The difference between translation exposure and transaction exposure is that the former doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have direct cash flows effects. Like the transaction exposure, translation exposure is easily identified and hedged [Friberg and Ganslandt, 2007]. However, finance literature suggests that companies shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t worry about this exposure and, consequently, shouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t hedge it, since its gains (losses) tend to be irrelevant, to have little direct impact on companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ cash flows, and to be poor estimators of real changes occurring in companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ value. Nevertheless, the work by Nydahl (1999), Hagelin and Pramborg (2004) found a significant reduction in foreign exchange exposure by hedging translation exposure. A possible explanation offered by the authors is that translation exposure approximates the exposed value of future cash flows from operations in foreign subsidiaries. Thus, reducing translation exposure will reduce economic exposure at the same time. Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett (2010) and Eun and Resnick (2004), however, suggest something different and defend that while reducing translation exposure managers usually change the transaction exposure amount, and vice-versa, being sometimes very difficult for a company to offset both at the same time. Hedging Strategies There are two existing methods to hedge translation exposure: balance sheet hedge and derivatives hedge. Balance sheet hedge is used to remove the mismatch determined between assets and liabilities for same currency. This hedging strategy allows the increase or decrease of assets or liabilities both in the parent company and any of its subsidiaries, in order to remove the exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. A loan can acts as a balance sheet hedge. Derivatives hedge is an action that involves the speculation of foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Such an example is the companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ attempt to hedge in the forward market (the use of forward contracts with maturity of the reporting period to manage accounting numbers). To be successful in this technique, however, a company needs to predict the future exchange rates, and that is a difficult task. Measurement of Exchange Rate Exposure The main goal of this section is to explain two of the primary frameworks used in measuring foreign exchange risk: the capital market approach and the cash flow approach. These are important frameworks since they measure foreign exchange risk and allow its diversification. Both address different questions and have different applications. The capital market approach is applied in order to understand the impact of overall foreign exchange risk exposure on a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value. This framework approaches exposure from a decision makerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s point of view (analysts, investors and portfolio managers), whose primary interest is to maximize value. The cash flow approach is used when there are concerns about specific conditions in a company. In other words, it is used in a corporate point of view (company executives, employees and bondholders), where the sensitivity of different cash flows provides information for risk management and corporate planning purpo ses. Additionally, even though it is less direct, this approach can have implications in assessing a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value  [19]  . Capital Market Approach Adler and Dumas (1984) and Miller (1998) determined the exchange rate exposure as the elasticity of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value with respect to exchange rate fluctuations, which can be obtained by regression, under the assumption that a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s market value is the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“present value of all future cash-flowsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?  [20]  . Therefore, the following regression quantifies the assetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sensitivity of the company to foreign exchange rate fluctuations, net of hedging effects: Where is the total return of the company i at time t, is the total exposure elasticity of the company I, is the change percentage in an exchange rate variable, defined as the price of foreign currency in home currency at time t, and represents the white noise error term. Improvements were made since then. Several researches have included the returns of a market portfolio. This inclusion controls macroeconomic influences and reduces residual var iance in regressions [Bodnar and Wong, 2003]. The precision and definition of the exposure are thus improved, essentially thanks to its natural flexibility characteristic and to looking forward in forming its expectations. Another advantage is that future cash flow implications of foreign exchange rate changes would be rapidly imbedded in stock returns due to readily available information and high level market efficiency, incorporated by this methodology [Martin and Mauer, 2005]. In this approach, the exchange risk exposure affecting a company results from the exchange rateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s volatility effect on the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value when global markets react excessively to foreign exchange rate movements. This is considered the traditional approach to estimate exposures: Where, is the total return on market portfolio, is the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s beta concerning market portfolio and is the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s residual exposure elasticity  [21]   . This residual exposure reflects returnsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ fluctuations that can be explained by exchange rate movements after market returns are taken in consideration [Dominguez and Tesar, 2006]. Residual exposure seems to overcome the disadvantage of total exposure, meaning it allows the distinction between the effect of exchange rate fluctuations and macroeconomic shocks in the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value (stock price returns). The market return variable of the regression implies that different market portfolio constructions have a different impact on exposure estimates, thanks to the size effect in exchange rate exposure. This can represent a problem in this model12. Additionally, considering that this approach allows an understanding of the risk level an investor faces when market returns are incorporated, the investor can optimize his risk level and his returns and, consequently, diversify his portfolio. Cash Flow Approach This approach examines the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on companies by measuring its impact on the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s cash flow. This method is of interest to company managers, who want to understand how foreign exchange risks impact cash flow volatility  [22]  . This cash flow modeling approach, however, is not so flexible because it derives from historic data. This is a past-oriented approach focused on the impact of exchange rate volatility on current cash flows. Therefore, it does not include expectations and it doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t measure the total impact of exchange rate movements on a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value. Besides, it is difficult to incorporate complex data in this model, such as competitive reactions and the impact of market parameters and structure. Moreover, since this method doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have readily available cash flow data  [23]  and doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t easily access information, it is only efficient in det ermining exposure for specific situations. This methodology allows the understanding of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“past exposure patterns and permits a decomposition of exposure into short-term and long-term componentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. This decomposition allows to understand the nature of existing exposures and, consequently, to know the nature of the exposure, and the company is able to evaluate the effectiveness of its hedging programs and efforts [Martin and Mauer, 2005]. This means that it is possible to know if the risk exposure the company faces stems from financial and/or accounting cash flows. Furthermore, it has the advantage of distinguishing between transaction and the hedging for economic exposure [Muller and Verschoor, 2006]. Some authors, such as Martina and Mauer (2005), assume that this approach is a more accurate measure for translation and transaction exposure given that cash flows derive from accounting figures. This cash flow methodology is based on the following regression; several researches add variables for other macroeconomic risks (such as interest rate, inflation and company- and Industry-specific variables): Where represents the cash flow variable. Capital Market Approach vs. Cash Flow Approach Considering all mentioned advantages and disadvantages for each approach, some authors assume that the best one depends on the intended point of view. Consequently, if one intends to have a model that includes expectations and the total impact of exchange rate fluctuations on a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s value, Griffin and Stulz (2001) suggest the capital market approach because it potentially allows the understanding of foreign exchange exposure  [24]  . At least two studies tried to identify the best method. The study developed by Bartram (2007)  [25]  shows that the exposures based on the cash flow approach are similar to the exposures based on the capital market approach. They only differ in about 10% of all cases. Additionally, this study indicated that in the long term accounting measures became worse proxies for economic exposure. Martin and Mauer (2005) achieved two different empirical results. In the first place, the authors found evidences of the capital market approachà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s strength, because in this sample 25% of the banks  [27]  , which means readily-available information may be the most accurate. The authors suggest that greater disclosure can improve statistical significance detection by the capital market. As a conclusion of their study, they support that the main advantage behind the cash flow approach is the ability to reveal the nature of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s exposure and, consequently, the effectiveness of the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hedging strategies. The authors therefore believe that, considering the advantages of the cash flow approach, the capital market participants can benefit from the information achieved through this method.

College announcement notification system - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 33 Words: 9911 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Information Systems Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Abstract The research project is about the College Announcement Notification System, it means the alternate way of notifying students compared to the previous way. Before the members can receive SMS that is sent from the system, users need to register their details to the system. The registration process is very simple, it is similar like register details for new email account but it added a space to enter the member mobile phone number for sending SMS notification purposes. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "College announcement notification system" essay for you Create order The functionality of College Announcement Notification System is hoped give efficient to the members of receiving notification via SMS directly to their mobile phone. The SMS notification content is just a brief explanation about the event that is going to be held, more details about it can refer to the web based system. Introduction This project proposal is created to propose an IT solution to the student of Sunway University. The main point that the author want to highlight is regarding the efficiencies for student in Sunway University. An example, inefficiencies that occur in posting the announcement that is post on the website or in the notice board, it is hard to inform to the student and also the staff may also forget to post the announcement that will inconvenient for the student itself. In order to solve those problems, the author proposed to create a website as a third party for the staff to post the announcement. The author feel that only a website is very simple and common nowadays, so to improve the effectiveness and give more efficiency, a SMS (Short Messaging Service) feature is added to the system. Every announcement is posted by the SCT Staffs in the website, a SMS notification will be sent to the student that already registered to the website. The content of the SMS just a brief notification ab out the title of the event, venue and time, for more brief detail the students can refer to the website. Other way to notify the students is used Email as an instant notifier, but consider using email as an instant notifier is not really effective because students didnt open their email every day but using the SMS as the instant notifier to notify the students are more effective because most of the student is own and bring their own cell phone, therefore the SMS as an instant notifier is more appropriate. Since the advancement of the technology nowadays, using this system will help in reduce the paper usage. Project Objective To give efficiencies for staff of Sunway University who want to post announcement. To use SMS as an instant notifier, for example every announcement post on the website the student will receive a SMS about the annoncement. In long term of view, this system will help in notify student about things that happen in college. Project Scope To become the most useful media for announcement notification. When the system is run it involves the Sunway University students and staffs that want to use the service. The user of the system should be students of Sunway University and staffs. All users that want to use the system have to become member. Methodology Methodology is a formalized approach to implement the SDLC (System Development Life Cycle). There are many different systems development methodologies, and each one is unique based on the order and focus it places on each SDLC phase. Some methodologies are formal standards used y government agencies, while others have been developed by consulting firms to sell to client. Many organizations have internal methodologies that have been honed over the years, and they explain exactly how each phase of the SDLC is to be performed in that company. There are many ways to categorize methodologies. One way is looking at whether they focus on business process or the data that support the business. There are three types of system development methodologies, it is called Structured Design, RAD (Rapid Application Development), and Agile Development. Types of Software Development Methodologies Structured Design This is the first type of system development, it is introduced in 1980s. This methodology adopts the formal step by step approach to the SDLC, it moves logically from one phase to another phase. Waterfall Model This is the original structured design of methodology, with this methodology, the analyst and users proceed in sequence from one phase to the next phase. The key deliverables for each phase are typically very long and are presented to the project sponsor for approval as the project moves from phase to phase. This methodology is referred to as waterfall development because it moves forward from phase to phase in the same manner as a waterfall. Advantages of using waterfall model: It identifies system requirements long before programming begins It minimizes changes to the requirements as the project proceeds. Disadvantages of using waterfall model: The design must be completely specified before programming begins This model required significant rework, if there is a changes in the business environment, in order to going back to the initial phase need to go through each of the subsequent phase in return. Parallel Development This model of methodology attempts to address the problem of long delay between analysis phase and the delivery of the system. Instead of doing design and implementation in sequence, it performs a general design for the whole system and then divides the project into a series of distinct subprojects that can be designed and implemented in parallel. Once all subprojects are complete, there is a final integration of the separate pieces, and the system is delivered. Advantage of using parallel model: It can reduce the schedule time to deliver a system There is less chance of changes in the business environment causing rework Disadvantage of using parallel model: The approach still suffers from problem caused by paper documents It adds new problem, sometimes subprojects arent completely independent; design decisions made in one subproject may affect another subprojects Phased Development In this model, the overall system is divided into a series of version that are developed sequentially. The analysis phase identifies the overall system concept, and the project team, users and system sponsors then categorize the requirement into a series of version. Advantage of using phased model: Quickly getting a useful system into the hands of the users While the system does not perform all the functions the users need at first, it does begin to provide business value sooner than if the system were delivered after completion, as is the case with waterfall or parallel methodology. Disadvantage of using phased model: The users begin to work with the systems that are intentionally incomplete, it is critical to identify the most important and useful feature and include them in the first version, while managing users expectation along the way. Prototyping In this model, it performs the analysis, design and implementation phases concurrently, and all the three phases are performed repeatedly in a cycle until the system is completed. In this methodology, the basics of analysis and design are performed, and work immediately begins on a system prototype, a â€Å"quick and dirty† program that provides a minimal amount of features. Advantage of using prototyping model: It is very quickly provides a system for the users to interact with, even it is not ready for widespread organizational use at first. Reassure the users that the project team is working on the system Helps to more quickly refine real requirements rather than attempting to understand a system specification on paper, the user can interact with the prototype to better understand what it can do and cannot do. Disadvantage of using prototyping model: Its fast paced system releases challenge attempts to conduct careful, methodical analysis. This can cause problems in the development of complex systems because fundamental issues and problems are not recognized until well into the development process. Software Development Methodology Comparison After do research about the types of methodology that is appropriate to be used into the project. The author compared the 4 types of methodology that is compatible with the current development. The following table is the result of using the described methodology to the project. Selecting the appropriate Methodology According to the project objective that the author proposed, author analyze each methodology that is already been researched. The author decides to use the Phased Methodology. The main reason on why the author uses this methodology is because the author would develop this system all by himself and the project will be easier to be built phase by phase. Other considerations in choosing this model are: User Requirement: the requirement of the system is clear, which is to address the problem of inefficiency and ineffectiveness of conventional way in notify the student for announcement. Familiarity with Technology: for designing the website, PHP, VB.Net language technology is going to be used, since it is still in area of the author expertise. System Complexity: the complexity of this project is at medium level, since the author familiar with the technology used in the project so it is not really difficult. However the author still need to do research on certain area of technology, for this case the knowledge of SMS gateway, and how to integrate the web based system with the SMS gateway. Duration: the duration of developing the project is approximately 4 months in order to fully complete the project. Development Method: it is a web based application that is built using the PHP, and VB.NET as the programming language. Area of Research Certain areas that we research for this project are: How to create easy and manageable database system? What is SMS (Short Message Service) portal and SMS (Short Message Service) gateway? How to integrate web based system with SMS portal? How to create easy and manageable database system? This part is one of the crucial parts in order to make a good web based application system. Therefore, creating an easy and manageable database system is really important. The database system that the author used to manage the College Announcement System web based application is MySQL. Several reasons become the consideration of choosing the MySQL software are, first reason is because the main programming language system that the author built is using the PHP technology, and PHP language has an integrated connector that able to connect it to SQL. Second reason, MySQL is open source software so it is free for download, it is will help in determining the project cost development. There is other software which is better than MySQL but looked back at the scope of the project; this is just an undergraduate project, then the author decides that using MySQL software is a wiser choice. The third reason, the author already took the MySQL subject during the study in Sunway University College , which is still in the author expertise. However, if this system wants to be implemented into the real organization, further study to create easy and manageable design is needed. When the project is already on the run, this would be very beneficial in doing maintenance of the application system. How to integrate the Web based System with SMS portal? As most people known that SMS is the most famous service that a mobile phone give. It is a service where the users able to send short text message from a mobile phone to another mobile phone. Basically the SMS would not work with just the mobile phone itself, it I because the Mobile Phone Network Operator that give the service so the SMS can be delivered to the recipient by the help of the mobile phone device as the medium to type the message. The SMS can travel all the way from the sender device to the recipient device must go through a pathway through a network called SMSC (Short Message Service Centre). SMSC works as a hardware that stores the SMS that is sent from a mobile phone then forward it again to the recipient. From the early of 1990s, the era when the first SMS is sent through the network using the mobile phone device. Nowadays with the advancement of the technology, SMS not only can be done through using mobile phone but can be integrated in other application such a s web based application system, using the SMS gateway technology. However, the SMS that is sent still have to go through SMSC, which is still needed to use the SIM Card that is given by the mobile network operator. SMS gateway act as a bridge the platform that cannot use the mobile phone SIM Card to use the mobile service by using the GSM modem, in this case the mobile service is to send the SMS. The mobile SIM Card will be inserted into the GSM modem. GSM modem will act as the third party to connect to the SMSC. The web based application store the message that will be sent into the database, and the GSM will retrieve the data from the database and ready to send the SMS to the destination number. The basic function of SMS and email is the same, for email the sender need to enter the destination email and for SMS the sender need to enter the destination phone number. The difference is why SMS is more popular than email is because it is mobile and user can send and receive SMS whereve r they are. The mobile advantage of using SMS is the reason that makes the author choose the SMS application system to be added into the College Announcement Notification system instead of using email. Another reason the author choose to use SMS is because most of the students in Sunway didnt have mobile phone that can handles in receiving and sending email, but most of the students have mobile phone that enable them to send and receive SMS. Therefore, using the SMS as additional software into College Announcement Notification system is the best choice, and the author also learn to use the GSM modem and the implementation of it into the system. Software / Hardware Requirements In order to make this project successful there are some hardware and software which is required to use in order to complete the project are: Software and Hardware requirement to develop the system. Software: SQL YOG: is the database software that the author chose to be implemented inside the College Announcement Notification system. SQL Yog had the user friendly interface and it is open source software. XAMPP: this software is applied as the localhost to compile the web based application. Adobe Dreamweaver: is the software that makes it easier to edit the coding for PHP, JAVA. Hardware: PC (with mouse, keyboard, monitor) / laptop with minimum specification: Intel Core Duo processor(1.66Hz), 1GB RAM, 60GB 5400 RPM HDD Software and Hardware Requirement to run the system. User Side Hardware Requirement: PC (with mouse, keyboard, monitor) / laptop with minimum specification: Intel Core Duo processor(1.66Hz), 1GB RAM, 60GB 5400 RPM HDD User Side Software Requirement: Web browser: Mozilla Firefox, IE, Google Chrome, etc Server Side Hardware Requirement: PC (with mouse, keyboard, monitor) / laptop with minimum specification: Intel Core Duo processor(1.66Hz), 1GB RAM, 60GB 5400 RPM HDD GSM Modem Server Side Software Requirement: Adobe Dreamweaver SQL Yog Web Browser: Mozilla Firefox, IE, Google Chrome, etc XAMPP Server side software requirement is needed to do the regular maintenance on the system. The development software might be needed to fix error that might be occurred when the system on the run. Literature Review Literature Review is a critical look at the existing research that is significant to the work that is currently undergo. The author currently did a project; College Announcement Notification System is the project. College Announcement Notification System is a web based application system, which is proposed as a solution to Sunway University College regarding the poor information flow in Sunway University College especially School of Computer Technology. The author chose to propose the solution only to School of Computer Technology because of the course that currently taken is under it. College Announcement Notification System is a web based application, it is hoped the system would work perfectly and increasing the information flow within School of Computer Technology (SCT). The users of the system able to access the College Announcement Notification System via laptop or PC, as long there is an internet connection. The author think if it just a normal website, there is no uniquenes s that makes my project different than the others. After doing research, the author decided to add the SMS feature as the instant notification system. Integrate the system with SMS feature; means need to deal with SMS gateway. The author aware that using the SMS feature is almost the same like adding the Email as the instant notification where the system is able to send automatically the posted announcement that is already posted in the website. Email is an electronic mail that worked same like a normal mail, where the users need to write the content of the letter, after that the address of the recipient is a must for the users to add. Email enables users to send and receive electronically over the internet. SMS and Email basically is the same, it contains text and to send it need to know the exact recipient email address for email and phone number for SMS. There are many email server company that is give services for the users to send and receive email such as Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Google Mail, etc. There is also an application that handles email such as Microsoft Outlook. Some advantages that email could give are emails is free for users to use like send and receive mail, it can contains richer message contents than the conventional mail did. However from the advantages that an email, there are also a few disadvantages of emails. With the advancement of the technology nowadays, the previous email only can sent the words but nowadays, users can sent not only words but can attach richer media such as picture, video, file, etc. This advantages of email were misused by some people, it enable them to send virus, malicious software, spam that can harm the recipients PC or laptop. In order to overcome this security issue, the email provider companies try many ways to increase the security but the spammer can overcome the security and still sent the spam email that may contain virus and malicious software. Using the email as an instant notification to the Colle ge Announcement Notification System is a good choice but users may not open their own email daily, usually users open their email whenever the feel like to open it. Therefore, the author proposed to use the SMS system as the instant notification. There are few reasons that become the considerations of choosing SMS to be implemented. First reason, the project is a notification system so SMS is the best choice because after the sender sent it then the recipients received it in instant. Second reason, if using email the recipients of the email need to open their own laptop or PC, and then open the email service web page, it will takes time and not instant. Most of the students nowadays had their own mobile phone and they carry their mobile phone everywhere they go, so it is one of the reason why the author choose to use SMS as an instant notification. Mobile phone user aware that open a SMS is faster than open an Email. Nowadays, many mobile phone producers now produced a new mobile ph one that can handles in send or receive an email. However mobile phone that can handles send and receive email is still too expensive for the most of the mobile phone users only a few that can afford that. But if the SMS only, most of the mobile phone users able to send and receive that because it is the basic function that the mobile phone offer. SMS (Short Messaging Service) As most people known, SMS is a protocol used in communication that gives way to exchange of short message from one mobile phone to another mobile phone (tech-faq.com, 2009). Nowadays mobile phone takes an important part because it provides connections to the others that in the past impossible to do. The main usage of the mobile phone is to enable users to make a phone call wherever and whenever they are, beside used to call others; other main function of mobile phone that is growing rapidly is the usage of SMS service. SMS stands for Short Message Service. It is a technology that enables the sending and receiving of messages between mobile phones. SMS first appeared in Europe in 1992. It was included in the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standards right at the beginning. Later it was ported to wireless technologies like CDMA and TDMA. The GSM and SMS standards were originally developed by ETSI. ETSI is the abbreviation for European Telecommunications Standards Ins titute. Now the3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) is responsible for the development and maintenance of the GSM and SMS standards. As suggested by the name Short Message Service, the data that can be held by an SMS message is very limited. One SMS message can contain at most 140 bytes (1120 bits) of data, so one SMS message can contain up to: 160 characters if 7-bit character encoding is used. (7-bit character encoding is suitable for encoding Latin characters like English alphabets.) 70 characters if 16-bit Unicode UCS2 character encoding is used. (SMS text messages containing non-Latin characters like Chinese characters should use 16-bit character encoding.) SMS text messaging supports languages internationally. It works fine with all languages supported by Unicode, including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Besides text, SMS messages can also carry binary data. It is possible to send ringtones, pictures, operator logos, wallpapers, animations, business cards (e.g. VCards) and WAP configurations to a mobile phone with SMS messages. One major advantage of SMS is that it is supported by 100% GSM mobile phones. Almost all subscription plans provided by wireless carriers include inexpensive SMS messaging service. Unlike SMS, mobile technologies such as WAP and mobile Java are not supported on many old mobile phone models. (developershome.com, 2008) Usage of SMS As the mobile voice communication market approaches saturation, carriers are focusing on messaging as crucial value -added service to garner more mobile subscribers and generate greater market revenue. Specifically, SMS (Short Messaging Service) is emerging as one of the most important asynchronous communication that carriers provide. It is projected that in 2009 U.S subscribers will send over 126 billion messages via their mobile phone device, generating $8.6 billion revenues (Deng, Sun, Turner, Prince, 2008). Nowadays, people are presented with a wide variety of communication media such as email, instant messaging (IM), etc. To date, most researchers have focused on the use of SMS by teenager and young adult. Recently as SMS become the needs in our daily lives, older people also recognized the convenience of using SMS. It has been reported that over 74% of the mobile phone users worldwide is using SMS text messaging (Deng, Sun, Turner, Prince, 2008). How does the SMS works? Even if you are not talking on your cell phone, your phone is constantly sending and receiving information. It is talking to its cell phone tower over a pathway called acontrol channel. The reason for this chatter is so that the cell phone system knows which cell your phone is in, and so that your phone can change cells as you move around. Every so often, your phone and the tower will exchange a packetof data that lets both of them know that everything is OK. Your phone also uses the control channel for call setup. When someone tries to call you, the tower sends your phone a message over the control channel that tells your phone to play itsringtone. The tower also gives your phone a pair of voice channel frequencies to use for the call. The control channel also provides the pathway for SMS messages. When a friend sends you an SMS message, the message flows through the SMSC, then to the tower, and the tower sends the message to your phone as a little packet of data on the cont rol channel. In the same way, when you send a message, your phone sends it to the tower on the control channel and it goes from the tower to the SMSC and from there to its destination. (howstuffworks.com, 2005) The SME (Short Message Entity), which is typically a mobile phone or a GSM modem, can be located in the fixed network or a mobile station, receives and sends short messages. The SME was sent to the SMSC.TheSMSC (Short Message Service Center)is the entity which does the job of store and forward of messages to and from the mobile station. After receiving the SME, then SMSC sent the SME to the SMS GMSC. TheSMS GMSC(SMS gateway MSC (Mobile Switching Center)) is a gateway so that MSC that can also receive short messages. The gateway MSC is a mobile networks point of contact with other networks. On receiving the short message from the short message center, GMSC uses the SS7 network to interrogate the current position of the mobile station form the HLR, the home location regis ter. HLRis the main database in a mobile network. It holds information of the subscription profile of the mobile and also about the routing information for the subscriber, i.e. the area (covered by a MSC) where the mobile is currently situated. The GMSC is thus able to pass on the message to the correct MSC. MSC(Mobile Switching Center) is the entity in a GSM network which does the job of switching connections between mobile stations or between mobile stations and the fixed network. AVLR(Visitor Location Register) corresponds to each MSC and contains temporary information about the mobile, information like mobile identification and the cell (or a group of cells) where the mobile is currently situated. Using information from the VLR the MSC is able to switch the information (short message) to the corresponding BSS (Base Station System, BSC + BTSs), which transmits the short message to the mobile. The BSS consists of transceivers, which send and receive information over the a ir interface, to and from the mobile station. This information is passed over the signaling channels so the mobile can receive messages even if a voice or data call is going on. (logixmobile.com) How to send SMS using a computer? After done some research about how the SMS works, there are several ways in sending SMS using computer, they are (developershome.com, 2008): Connect a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to a computer / PC. Then use the computer / PC and VB commands to instruct the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to send SMS message. Connect the computer / PC to the SMS center (SMSC) or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier or SMS service provider. Then send SMS messages using a protocol / interface supported by the SMSC or SMS gateway. Connection between mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to computer using VB command for sent SMS A GSM/GPRS modem is a wireless modem that works with GSM/GPRS wireless networks. A wireless modem is similar to a dial-up modem. The main difference is that a wireless modem transmits data through a wireless network whereas a dial-up modem transmits data through a copper telephone line. To send SMS messages, first place a valid SIM card from a wireless carrier into a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem, which is then connected to a computer. There are several ways to connect a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to a computer. For example, they can be connected through a serial cable, a USB cable, a Bluetooth link or an infrared link. The actual way to use depends on the capability of the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem. After connecting a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to a computer, you can control the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem by sending instructions to it. The instructions used for controlling the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem are called by using VB commands. The above figure showed the process of sending SMS using the VB application. In this case, the system that the author developed is using PHP that act as the third party to store the announcement data inside the database. After finish with the stored announcement, VB application is used to instruct the GSM modem to send SMS. As shown in the figure above, VB application will retrieve the stored data that will be sent as SMS. Then after retrieving the data, it will be sent to through SMS gateway until it arrived in the hand of the recipient. One of the benefits from using the VB application to send SMS is users will have a very reliable notification system, because before sending SMS intended recipient can be configured so it is received at the intended recipient. Using a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem to send SMS messages has a major drawback, which is the SMS sending rate is too low. Only 6-10 SMS messages can be sent per minute (when the SMS over GSM mode is used). The performance is not affec ted by the connection between the computer and the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem (i.e. the SMS sending rate is about the same no matter the mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem is connected to the computer through a serial cable, USB cable, Bluetooth link or infrared link) and does not depend on whether a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem is used (i.e. the SMS sending rate is about the same no matter a mobile phone or a GSM/GPRS modem is used). The determining factor for the SMS sending rate is the wireless network. (developershome.com, 2008) Send SMS from Computer through SMS Gateway The way for sending SMS messages from a computer through a mobile phone or GSM/GPRS modem has a major limitation, which is the SMS sending rate is too low. If you need a high SMS sending rate, obtaining a direct connection to the SMS center (SMSC) or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier is necessary. It can be difficult for small businesses or individual application developers to obtain a direct connection to the SMSC or SMS gateway of a wireless carrier since a wireless carrier may only provide such service to those who have huge SMS traffic. Buying SMS messages in bulk means the total fee will be very high (although the fee per SMS message will be low). (developershome.com, 2008) Summary The author had gained a lot of knowledge by done research on how the SMS works, how to connect computer with GSM Modem, and how to connect computer with SMS gateway through SMS protocol that will allow the send the SMS. The author chose to use the GSM modem to send SMS, because it is simpler to establish the connection between PC and the GSM modem, and also because send SMS through SMS protocol is difficult to connect to be able to send SMS. System Analysis In this chapter, in order to build a good system requirement analysis is important as the concept to develop the new system. To develop the system, the author needs to gather the requirement activities of to be system. And also, the author determined the functional and non functional requirements. Requirement Gathering Author gathered the requirement that is used to do survey for the user requirement that going to be implemented into the system and to make sure it is clear before started doing the system. Therefore, the author used the questionnaire for the requirement gathering to get the quantitative data for do the system design. Questionnaire Questionnaire is a set of written questions that is design to obtain information from individuals. Therefore, questionnaire is used by the author to do a survey in order to complete the system requirement. The survey is done in Sunway University College environment. The total respondent of this data collection is 30, and the author distributes the survey randomly selected among the SCT students. By using the result of this data collection, the author can make a quantitative data that can be used as an input to develop and design this project. To Be System Analysis From the requirement gathering analysis that is collected in data collection before the To Be System analysis is performed. Therefore, the author determined the functional requirement and non functional requirement for the new system that will be implemented. Functional Requirement: Functional requirement is the requirements that relates directly to a system process. Below are the functional requirements of the system. Summary The requirement analysis and the To Be system analysis are the supportive data that will help the author in determining of how the system will be. After finish with the System Analysis phase, the author moved to the Design phase. Design In this step, the author determined the system design of how the system looked like in order to fulfill the user friendliness from the requirement analysis that already been gathered in the previous section. Design Strategy In this section, the developer of the system needed to determine whether want to develop in house development or outsource development which is ask other developers to build the system. However, this system is a compulsory subject that the author took in order to complete the study in Sunway University College so the author as the developer will develop in house development. This means that the system is developed by the author himself. The author as the developer is responsible with the risk that might come during the system development. The advantage of do the in house development to develop the system, it will help in built the author technical skills and increased the knowledge of the technology that is learnt during the development of the system. Building the in house system helped the author to gain more responsibility, this means to finish the system in a given deadline. In house development method have four phases that need for the author to follow, there are des igning the system architecture, design the system database, design the system interface, and determine the system specification. Design the System Architecture The developed system is a web based application. In order to run the system, it needs a web based environment. Considering the system is a web based system, if it was published online, it increased the development cost because the system is still incomplete and needed to be programmed and numerous of testing. Hence, the author chose to use XAMPP as the software to develop the system, XAMPP software able to handle PHP as the server scripting and MySQL for the database management system. And XAMPP software is open source software so it is free to download. Installing the XAMPP software, the developer now can run the system, which the PHP script using the localhost without publishing the system online for testing. Design the System Interface Interface designs goal is to make the interface pleasing for the eyes and simple to use, while minimizing the efforts the users need to accomplish the works (Dennis, Wixom, Tegarden, 2005).There are several factors that the author must considerate in chose the right design. The factors are layout, content awareness, aesthetics, user experience, consistency and minimal user effort. Layout Layout is the interface that should be a series of areas on the screen that are used consistenly for different purposes. In this phase, the developer must aware about the interface of the system. The placement of the form, navigation and the content is important in order to build a good system. The author divided the design of the layout into four different parts. The first part Header, in this part the author placed the logo of the website and two buttons that is used to go back to the home page and login page. The second part is the body, in this part the author showed the announcement details. The announcement is showed based on the date when the announcement posted and a search button to search the announcement is placed in this part. The third part is sidebar; in this part the author put the posted announcement title in this part. The announcement showed in hyperlink where the users need to click it to see the full details of the announcement. The last part is the footer, it o nly show the name who develop the system and the year of development. The above picture is the draft layout of how the developer will design the web page. Content Awareness Content Awareness is the ability of an interface to make the user aware of the information it contains with the least amount of effort on the users part. (Dennis, Wixom, Tegarden, 2005). In order to fulfill the content awareness requirement, the developer used a basic Cascading Style Sheet (CSS). This CSS is used to make it neat the interface of the system, it also included the configuration of the size of the header should be. It also managed the border and the margin of the layout, so the content wouldnt look like a mess. Aesthetics Aesthetics refers to designing the interfaces that are pleasing to the eye. (Dennis, Wixom, Tegarden, 2005). In this case â€Å"less is more†, it means the simple and minimalist design is the best. The developer tried to avoid the design that is too flashy and colorful. Hence, the developer choices are a light color, soft looking images, slow animation, etc. Users prefer to look at pages in low density, means it only had enough information and more white space. The design of the text is also important. Therefore, all text should be in the same font and same size. User Experience User experience can be divided into two types, novice users and expert users. Novice users usually more concerned with the ease of learning, means how quick is users able to understand the new system. Expert users usually more concerned with the ease of use, means how quick is users able to use the system. In terms of system function, Novice users prefer menu that show all available system function. But expert users prefer fewer menu that is organized and compiled into the most commonly functions. Consistency Consistency in design is probably the single most important factor in making a system simple to use because it enables users to predict what will happen. (Dennis, Wixom, Tegarden, 2005). The usage of the standardize icons, language and style is prefer in this consistency part. Minimize User Effort Interface should be designed to minimize the amount of effort needed to accomplish the task, means using the fewest mouse click or keyboard strokes to move from one part of the system to another. The developer must follow the â€Å"three clicks rules† where not more than three clicks the users can reach the page that they intended to go. Design the Database In this section, the author described the database specification that is involved in this project. The author used SQL Yog Version 5.12 as the primary storage medium to run the system. The system required one primary database to run the system. The database is â€Å"sctportal† that is used to store the member details, announcement data and the SMS messages that going to be sent. The author will describe each table that is used for the system. Package Design Specification Use Case Diagram Use Case diagram is a functional diagram that showed the basic function of the system, what the user can do and how the system should respond to the user action. (Dennis, Wixom, Tegarden, 2005). There are two processes in order to create the use case diagram: First, the developer works is stated in a text based use case diagrams. Second, the project team translates the use case descriptions into the formal use case diagram. The main important function of using use case is to show the flow of events. Writing the flow of events in a manner that is useful for later stages of development generally comes with the experience. These are the guidelines in creating use case description (Dennis, Wixom, Tegarden, 2005): Write each individual step in the form of Subject Verb Direct Object and optionally Preposition Indirect Object, it is to identify the classes and operations. Make clear the initiator of the action and the receiver of the action in the each step. Write the step from perspective of an independent observer, to do this author need to write each step from the perspective of both initiator and the receiver. Write each step at the same level of abstraction, each step should make about the same amount of progress toward completing the use case as each of the other steps in the use case Ensure that the use case contains a sensible set of actions; each use case should represent a transaction. Therefore, each use case should be comprised of four parts (Dennis, Wixom, Tegarden, 2005): The primary actor initiates the execution of the use case by sending a request and a data to the system The system ensure that the request and the data is valid The system processes the request and data and possibly changes its own internal state The system sends the primary actor the result of the processing Follow the Keep It Simple principle, when the use case becomes too complex it should be decomposed into a set of use cases. Use Case Diagram Description Use Case Name Login Actor(s) Admin, Users Description Describe the process of users in entering his/her username and password to the provided login form Precondition The users is already registered to the system Normal Course 1. Users access to the system using web browser software 2. Users enter the username and password 3. The system validate the username and the password entered 4. System redirect the users to the members main page Alternative Course 1a. If the users ticked at the â€Å"remember me† feature during login, the system will automatically redirect the users to the members main page Post Condition The logged in users is maintained until the log out Assumption None Table 4: Login Use Case Description Use Case Name Logout Actor(s) Admin, Users Description Describe the process of users to terminate the session from the system Precondition The users is already logged in to the system Normal Course 1. Users click on the log out button Alternative Course None Post Condition The users session is terminated Assumption None Table 5: Logout Use Case Description Use Case Name Change Password Actor(s) Admin, Users Description Describe the process of users in changing his/her current password with the new password Precondition The users is already registered to the system Normal Course 1. Users on the members main page 2. Users click on the change password link 3. Users enter the current password and the new password 4. System checked and validate the current password is different with the new entered password 5. System redirect the users to the members main page Alternative Course 4a. If the current password entered not the same with the password that is saved in the database, the system ask the users to re enter Post Condition Users password in the database is changed with the new entered password Assumption None Table 6: Change Password Use Case Description Use Case Name Change Email Actor(s) Admin, Users Description Describe the process of users in changing his/her email with the new email Precondition The users is already registered to the system Normal Course 1. Users on the members main page 2. Users click on the change email link 3. Users enter the new email address 4. System checked and validate the current email is different with the new entered email 5. System redirect the users to the members main page Alternative Course None Post Condition Users email in the database is changed with the new entered email Assumption None Table 7: Change Email Use Case Description Use Case Name Set User Level Actor(s) Admin Description Describe the process of admin of changing the users level Precondition The users is admin Normal Course 1. Admin on the admin main page 2. Admin click on the Admin Center Link 3. Admin type the username in set user level section 4. Admin set the new users level 5. Admin click the Update Level button Alternative Course None Post Condition Users level is changed Assumption None Table 8: Set User Level Use Case Description Use Case Name Banned User Actor(s) Admin Description Describe the process of admin to ban user from accessing the web Precondition The users is admin Normal Course 1. Admin on the admin main page 2. Admin click on the Admin Center Link 3. Admin type the username in banned user section 4. Admin click the Banned User button Alternative Course None Post Condition Users is banned Assumption None Table 9: Banned User Use Case Description Use Case Name Delete User Actor(s) Admin Description Describe the process of admin to delete user from the system database Precondition The users is admin Normal Course 1. Admin on the admin main page 2. Admin click on the Admin Center Link 3. Admin type the username in deleted user section 4. Admin click the Delete User button Alternative Course None Post Condition Users is deleted Assumption None Table 10: Delete User Use Case Description Use Case Name Delete Inactive User Actor(s) Admin Description Describe the process of admin to delete user from the system database if inactive for a period of time Precondition The users is admin Normal Course 1. Admin on the admin main page 5. Admin click on the Admin Center Link 6. Admin type the username in delete inactive user section 7. Admin select the days of inactive 8. Admin click on Delete All Inactive button 9. System search the inactive users from the selected days of inactive Alternative Course None Post Condition Users is deleted Assumption If there is inactive users for a period of time Table 11: Delete Inactive User Use Case Description Use Case Name Delete Banned User Actor(s) Admin Description Describe the process of admin to ban user from accessing the web Precondition The users is admin Normal Course 1. Admin on the admin main page 2. Admin click on the Admin Center Link 3. Admin check the list of users in the banned users table 4. Admin type the username in delete banned user section 5. Admin click the Delete Banned User button Alternative Course None Post Condition Users is deleted Assumption If there is a user in banned list table Table 12: Delete Banned User Use Case Description Use Case Name Make New Announcement Actor(s) Admin Description Describe the process of admin to make new announcement Precondition The users is admin Normal Course 1. Admin on the admin page 2. Admin click on the make a new news link 3. Admin enter the details of the announcement 4. Admin click on the Post button Alternative Course None Post Condition New announcement is posted Assumption None Table 13: Make a New Announcement Use Case Description Use Case Name Send SMS Actor(s) Admin Description Describe the process of admin to send SMS Precondition The user is admin Normal Course 1. Admin connect the GSM Modem 2. Admin start VB.NET application 3. Admin click on send SMS 4. System retrieve the announcement details and recipient mobile phone number from database 5. Admin choose the course that want to receive the message Alternative Course None Post Condition New SMS message details is added in the database and sent Assumption None Activity Diagram Login Activity In order to access the personal information, user login is required. The login activity starts with the system identify whether the users click on the â€Å"remember me† to store the user session, if they click it the system will recognize the users and direct the users to the member page automatically. If they did not click on the remember me, they need to enter their details in the login form provided. If the users did not tick the â€Å"remember me†, the system will automatically destroy the session. Change Password Activity In order to change the password, first users need to login with their username and password. After login, users will be directed to the member page. To change the password, users must click on the change password link in the member page. Then enter the current password and the new password and click on the submit button, the system will verify whether the entered password and the current password is different. If the system did not found any problem, the current password inside the database will be changed with the new password that the users saved. Logout Activity Logout activity is quite straight forward; it is used to terminate the user logged in session. Users just simply click on the logout link to do that, and it will automatically direct users back to the main page. Make a New Announcement Activity This activity diagram showed the step taken in order to make announcement. This activity can be done by admin only. First, user need to login and the system will validate whether the user is admin or normal user. If it is admin, the system will direct the user to the admin main page. The admin need to click on make a new news link. Then the admin need to fill in the detail of the announcement, after complete then click the submit button to store the announcement details. After complete, the admin can see the announcement that already saved, if they want to edit the announcement just click the edit link. Send SMS Activity Diagram In order to send SMS, the admin need to connect the computer to the GSM modem. Then start the VB application to give instruction to the GSM Modem to send SMS. The message that will be sent is retrieve using the VB application. After decide the message content, admin will have to choose the course that will receive the SMS. The SMS message must not more than 160 characters in order to send SMS. After that click on send SMS button to send the SMS. Sequence Diagram Sequence Diagram is a diagram that shows the sequence of action that passed in an interaction. Here is the sequence diagram for each use case description. Implementation In this chapter, the previous process of analyzing the requirement, making the simple draft of the design of the system will be combined to produce the actual system. The author combined all the programming language that already been learnt either from college or from books or online tutorial. In order to build the web page, PHP programming language is used as the core to build the system, then followed by MySQL, HTML, and VB. PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) PHP is an open source general purposes scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. The main areas where PHP is mainly used: Server side Scripting Command line Scripting Writing desktop application MySQL MySQL is open source software that widely used to handle database in the system. MySQL software is able to integrate with the PHP programming. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) HTML is a computer programming language that is used to create a webpage. Since the project is web based system, HTML is used to build the website. VB (Visual Basic) VB is a programming language that is developed by Microsoft. VB is one of the programming languages that are used to develop the interface of the system. In this case, the author used VB programming language System Explanation Homepage This is the home page of the system, the body of the system contains Login The page where the registered user can logged into the system, there are two types of login: Users Login is where the members login to the system and can see the announcement posted and allowed to give comment about the announcement posted Admin Login is where the admin login to the system with the special privilege in accessing the system. In this case, the admin can post the new announcement, delete users, change user level, ban user. Above figures is the error message that will happen if wrong data is entered. Figure 31 showed, if the data entered just the password only it will show error message. Figure 32 showed, if just simply click on the login button without filled the required data it will show error message. Figure 33 showed, if the data entered just the username only it will show error message. Figure 34 showed, if already entered the username and password into the required field but the data not exist in the database it will show error message. Logout The function of logout is quite clear, it is to terminate the user session after finish using the system and delete the cookies that are stored inside the browsers. Make New Announcement This part is where admin can make new announcement; the content of this is event, date, venue, time and the details of the announcement. After finish fill in the detail, admin press the submit button to store all details into the database. Send SMS This part where the admin can send SMS message to the members, in order to send SMS, VB Application must be started to instruct the GSM modem to send SMS. The VB Application is able to connect to the database in order to retrieve the data that is going to be sent to the recipient. Testing In this section, the author did numerous of testing to make sure the system is worked and meets with the system requirement. The author would explain the testing description and listed the result of the testing as a report. Unit Testing In this testing section, the author selected the black box testing where the author performed the testing using the data that is inputted by the author himself. The black box testing is the most commonly used test method, since the present skillful or experience programmer is not needed to do the testing. The author focused on the system meet the requirement as stated in the program design section. Test ID Module Input Desired Output Test Result 1 Login Entered username and password that did not exist Show error username and password did not exist Successful 2 Login User tick on remember me when login Username and password cookies are saved in the user machine Successful 3 Change Password Entered wrong current password Show error message that the user entered wrong password Successful 4 Banned User Entered the desired username to ban from using the system The typed banned user is banned and moved the data into banned_user table Successful 5 Delete User Entered the desired username to delete from the database The typed delete user is deleted and not exist anymore in the database Successful 6 Delete Inactive User Select the desire number of days, if the member inactive for a period of time The user that inactive for a period of time is deleted from the database Successful 7 Delete banned user Select the desire username from banned_user table The selected username from the banned_user table is deleted from the database Successful 8 Add new announcement Admin fill up the required details The announcement details is saved in the database Successful Integration Testing Integration testing is performed to make sure the integration between modules. It is to ensure that the system is work correctly. Test ID Modules Test Description Expected Result Test Result 1 VB Application and send SMS This is the integration to connect VB Application and GSM Modem to send SMS The VB Application used to instruct the GSM Modem to send SMS, the VB Application will retrieve the message details from the database before it is sent to the recipient Successful Compatibility Testing The final testing that showed that the system is accessible using any internet tools, means can be opened by using other web browser software. Author did numerous of testing to make sure it is compatible with any browsers. Test ID Web Browser Operating System Remarks 1 Mozilla Firefox version 3.5.5 Windows XP with Service Pack 2 System worked as expected, it is the main browser that used in development phase 2 Google Chrome version 3.0.195.33 Windows XP with Service Pack 2 System worked as expected 3 Internet Explorer version 6 Windows XP with Service Pack 2 System worked as expected Summary The major functionalities of the system are tested. However, due to time constraint several problems that is occurred during the development of the system is solved, but unresolved problems are proposed in the future system enhancement. Summary and Critical Review The project that the author done is a basic web based application which the function as the announcement system. The main idea in this project is just the way to notify the students in a different way, in this term is sent SMS to the students. And to replace the conventional way to inform the announcement that is believe not really effective. Therefore, the author proposed solution to overcome the problem to notify the students. Author created a web based system as the solution, where the web based system act as the third party to connect it to the SMS system. Critical Evaluation of Project The College Announcement Notification System has been implemented to School of Computer of Technology. The SMS system integration has been implemented as well and the web system portal has been implemented with basic simple interface. The system provides: Admin user feature to do changes in the system, post new announcement, delete users. SMS features to send SMS that contained the details of the announcement. There are some limitations in this project. The feature of this system is too simple, but it is hoped to solve the information flow around School of Computer Technology. The system is a web based system where users can access it through internet connection, and a SMS feature is implemented in the system. Time is the main problem when developing this project. Before the author started to develop the system, the proposal is needed for the project committee to approve. Since the proposal is approved in the middle of September, the author started late to develop the project. Low SMS sending rate, if the staff send too many SMS the recipient may receive it a bit delayed because of the SMS traffic in the network. And the system will send the SMS based on the queue order inside the database. The system is not available for the users to access it through their mobile devices. Hence, users can only access it via Personal Computer (PC) or laptop using web browser software. Various program ming language, especially PHP and MySQL, and VB. NET is learnt during the development of the project. The author also learnt to use the project management skills especially the time management skill, where the author able to manage the time and time scheduling for every part of the project. The project was able to meet the deadline and achieved the objective. Future Enhancement Due of needed to finish the project on time, there are many part of the system that havent been added. However, several ideas of enhancement are in mind for added to the system later. The enhancements are: The SMS notification not only covered the area of School of Computer Technology , but it will be implemented to all department of Sunway University Technology Build a mobile version of the web based system for the mobile devices such as mobile phone, so users can see perfectly the content of the website from their mobile devices.