1. Gracie Glamour boutique needs a new system to better organize customer information, staff schedules, and store operations as the current paper-based system is inefficient and time-consuming for the manager. 2. Key issues with the current system include disorganized customer forms, difficulty producing reports, and a lack of a digital presence like a website. 3. The new system aims to address these problems through sub-projects like designing a store logo, creating digital customer forms, developing a database to store customer and product information, and generating personalized letters.

1. Gracie Glamour 2008 – Project Analysis
Analysis
The Problem
Gracie Glamour is a high classed boutique, which sells high street
fashion for all ages. Both head office and shop is located on
Manchester’s Deansgate, where they receive all customer information.
We have created a wide range of special offers in every department,
and just this year we have introduced membership. Members who join
receive catalogues showing all of the store’s products, so customers
can order by post or phone. Customers would also receive gift
vouchers and other promotions.
Gracie Glamour employs a number of personnel that work in various
departments; they also help with customer care, and with handling all
products, before they are put on the rails. Sometimes special
promotions are held within the store, such as around Christmas time
and in the summer, where the shop may require more staff, and new
products.
The Manager Mrs G. Wolfe is the founder of Gracie Glamour. Her task
is to ensure the smooth running of the store - from new designs,
products and stock to staff well-being and customer membership. She
needs to keep accurate records of all members in order to issue them
with their membership cards. She also needs to keep all staff content
and working, and to ensure members are happy to by their products.
She also writes and sends out letters to customers telling them about
customer membership.
The head office is also trying to improve their image, as there are a lot
of similar stores within the area. Gracie Glamour would like to attract
many new customers and members but competition is fierce from the
other shops; Mrs Wolfe has noted that similar shops have a logo that
is included on all their documents, and that they have a web site to
attract new customers and provide information to existing customers
or members.
Mrs Wolfe feels that she can improve the running of the store, and can
make her job easier and less time consuming.
The Current Situation
Mrs. G. Wolfe keeps all her documents involving customer details and
purchases in a filing cabinet. Each customer would have to fill in a
form if they are willing to join the membership mailing lists, and to
receive the catalogues including special offers. This form for new
customers has been photocopied many times and is difficult to fill in,
lacking clear instructions and proving difficult to read. A change are
constantly being made on to the form, so they get rather messy over
time, looking very unprofessional and gives the impression to
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2. Gracie Glamour 2008 – Project Analysis
customers that it is not very professional nor organised. It takes her a
long time to identify and write the list of members whose payments
are overdue, or how many orders each customer has, and even longer
to write to them all individually. Forms sometimes go missing for
example when new customers join, or when customers order
products, and special offers. Mrs. Wolfe tries to file them in
alphabetical order but this does not really help the organisation.
The store currently advertises by placing adverts in the newspapers
and the occasional television advert. They pay a local printer to
produce these adverts, into the papers – this can be quite expensive,
and also appeals to a television studio that could help sponsor the
organisation.
All promotional letters are sent to all members rather than just a
target group – Mrs. Wolfe realises that this is rather a waste of money
for example writing to all customers to promote the many offers in
store today. However she does not have the time to search her files
for particular members, and new comers. One letter is produced, then
photocopied and mailed. Envelopes have to be written by hand, which
takes a long time and there are frequently mistakes.
The store does not currently have a logo, and do not have a web site.
Gracie Glamour does not currently own a computer, and Mrs. Wolfe
does not have any experience in ICT.
Staff timetables and notices are produced on a typewriter and hung
on the office wall. Changes are scribbled over the original in pen.
Staff shifts are difficult to alter as each department keeps their own
registers – this causes problems if a member of staff leaves or are off
sick.
Reusability
Mrs Wolfe specified that any new system must be reusable – she must
be able to use it again the next week and for the next few years.
Therefore she should be able to add and delete customers and staff
and different stock within each department. Also update any forms or
letters, and any solution must be a system.
Sub-problems
From the analysis above the following sub-problems can be seen:
1. Design a product/store logo.
2. Design a new form for customers to fill in giving personal
details, and opinions on stores management.
3. Develop a new system for storing customer data, staff data and
stock data. This system should then be able to produce various
Management reports.
4. Produce personalised letters to inform customers about the
Analysis – Page 2 of 7

3. Gracie Glamour 2008 – Project Analysis
seasonal stock and offers.
Links between problems
The following diagram illustrates the links between the problems.
heets searched an
Promote Store,
Logo for
and attract
Store
new customers
-Members Details
Stored.
-Department
stock Details
Stored.
-Employee’s
Personalised
New
letters to
Letters to customer
customers.
stock forms
And offers to
existing members suppliers
Details of each sub-problem
1. Design a store logo.
Possible Solution 1: Deign a store logo by hand.
Advantages: Not limited by the software and can meet any
design easily.
Disadvantages: May not look as neat or look as professional
as if it was done on a computer.
Possible Solution 2: Design a store logo on computer.
Advantages: The logo would look professional, and would be
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4. Gracie Glamour 2008 – Project Analysis
easy to edit and print.
Disadvantages: May be expensive due to software required for
designing logo, and it may be difficult to use the
software.
Chosen Solution: The best solution is to produce the logo on
the computer. This would be much more
professional and will be easy to meet the
performance criteria. The logo would have to be eye
catching and attractive so that it would be easily
noticed and recognised. Although it may be
expensive to print the logo, it will be worth the logo
looking professional.
Outputs: Store logo that is attractive and recognisable to the
shop.
Inputs: The name of the store and maybe a small picture or
font that would represent the style of clothing
theme and products.
Desired Outcomes: -Logo will contain an attractive style of writing,
and a matching colour scheme
-Must be clear to read.
-Must contain remembered picture of the store.
Performance Criteria: Must be attractive and would it be easily
recognised by customers?
2. Design a new form for new coming members to fill in when
giving personal details.
Possible Solution 1: To deign a new form for customers to fill in
when giving personal details on the computer.
Advantages: Looks professional and would have logo of the
shop on top, and would be easy to edit.
Disadvantages: Expensive to print, programme may be hard
to use.
Possible Solution 2: To design a new form for customers to fill in
when giving personal information by hand.
Advantages: Would be cheap.
Disadvantages: Unprofessional, harder to edit.
Chosen Solution: The best solution is to produce a data capture
form by computer. Although It may cost more to
produce, it would look much more professional to
the customers and gives the store a good
impression to the customers.
Outputs: Professional looking and easy to make.
Inputs: Details of the customers such as name, address,
Analysis – Page 4 of 7

5. Gracie Glamour 2008 – Project Analysis
and Date of birth.
Desired Outcomes: To have a personal information sheet, which
requires all information needed to become a
member of the store.
Performance Criteria: Is the personal details information sheet
professional looking and useful?
3. Design a reusable system that can store and gather
information about guests and members and can then be
used to send letters to those people.
Possible Solution 1: To deign a new form for customers to fill in
when giving personal details on the computer.
Advantages: Looks professional and would have logo of the
shop on top, and would be easy to edit.
Disadvantages: Expensive to print, programme may be hard
to use.
Possible Solution 2: To design a new form for customers to fill in
when giving personal information by hand.
Advantages: Would be cheap.
Disadvantages: Unprofessional, harder to edit.
Chosen Solution: The best solution is to produce a data capture
form by computer. Although It may cost more to
produce, it would look much more professional to
the customers and gives the store a good
impression to the customers.
Outputs: Professional looking and easy to make.
Inputs: Details of the customers such as name, address,
and Date of birth.
Desired Outcomes: To have a personal information sheet, which
requires all information needed to become a
member of the store.
Performance Criteria: Is the personal details information sheet
professional looking and useful?
4. Develop a new system to store all of the important information. I
will develop a system on a database to store all of the details and
information.
Advantages: Easy to access for the staff.
Disadvantages: Information uneasy to collect by the store, and may
get lost travelling around the store to different staff
and through the manager.
Chosen Solution: The best solution to use for storing information is
developing a system on a database to store
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6. Gracie Glamour 2008 – Project Analysis
information on the computer, this way it’s easier to
access by all the staff in the store, and information
and details will not get lost.
Outputs: An easy to use system
Inputs: New customers, current customers, amount
of supplies
Desired Outcomes: Correct information dent to correct customers. All
details stored correctly without any mistakes.
Names and addresses transferred between the store
and office accurately
Performance criteria: Is the system easy to use, saves, adds and
deletes records?
5 Produce a personalised information letter to inform customers
about sales in store, and any outstanding payments
Possible Solution 1: The first possible solution to use would be to
produce a personalised letter on the computer
Advantages: Would look professional, important and will
make the job easier.
Disadvantages: Would be expensive to print.
Possible Solution 2: To create a letter by hand.
Advantages: Would be cheap.
Disadvantages: Unprofessional, harder to edit, and wouldn’t look
important/ sophisticated.
Chosen Solution: I have decided to choose solution 1, so that
the letters would look untidy, and knowing that it
was made on computer, automatically makes it
professional.
Outputs: A letter produced to look professional and showing
its important to the customers about their
outstanding payments and new sale in store.
Inputs: Store logo, and information about how to book an
appointment and when.
Desired Outcomes: A letter, which informs customers and new
members about the store.
Performance Criteria: Does the letter look professional?
Performance Criteria for the whole system
 The system should make Mrs G Wolfe’s job easier.
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7. Gracie Glamour 2008 – Project Analysis
 The system should be reusable
 The system should be a friendly system
 It should be easy to transfer information between different parts
of the system.
 It should be easy to access
 It should be easy for the staff to find in formation the need for
the appointments they have throughout the week.
 It should be easy to find information on what the customers
like, and whether they have any outstanding payment.
 The system should be easy to find out what is in stock, and
when the store needs more stock.
Analysis – Page 7 of 7