Case Study
The Phoenix Theatre Group is an organisation that manages a group of theatres in the UK. The group owns 75 theatres across the country, all the theatres are more than 100 years old and have capacities ranging from 500 seats to 2000, with a combined annual attendance of more than 2 million. The head office is based in London, with a team of nearly 100 permanent staff. There are a number of key departments at the head office: senior management, sales and marketing, customer service, finance, IT support and HR. Each department has its own manager. Staff in the head office are technically literate in the main, the sales and marketing team are predominantly graduates in their 20’s.
Each theatre employs a team comprising box office staff, technicians, a local marketing team, administrators, a theatre manager and security and cleaning staff. Many of these staff have been with the theatre for a number of years. The box office staff tend to be older and not technical and when the current system was introduced there was resistance from many of the box office team due to concerns about using unfamiliar technology. The system was implemented with little consultation and staff were trained in its use once it had been implemented. They are now comfortable with the system, even with its flaws. Staff complain about the flaws but have implemented workarounds where they can.
Bookings can be made either in person at the relevant box office, or via the telephone. Currently, there is an existing system in place for booking at each theatre that was installed more than 15 years ago and is considered no longer fit for purpose. This system connects to a central database at head office in order to obtain live data in terms of seats available at each venue. Booking details go to a separate database which is accessed by the sales team in order to process payments. Bookings made in person at the box office are entered directly into the system. Bookings made via the telephone are to a central number and handled by the sales team in the head office, who connect to the same systems used by the theatre staff to view seating information but use a different, more recent system to make bookings. This system was only implemented in the London headquarters, but the cost was prohibitive to push it out to all theatres. If staff at multiple locations are accessing the booking system it slows down, there can be delays in committing changes to the databases so sometimes overbooking happens because the system has not picked up that certain shows or performances are fully booked.
The senior management team, through consultation with the sales, marketing and IT teams, have decided to commission a mobile app that allows customers to make bookings at any of their chosen theatres within the app. Based on initial research, they recognise that they have a diverse group of customers, but they are predominantly middle class, own a smartphone and are comfortable with using the Internet. The mobile app will be aimed at these customers, giving other customers the option to continue calling the sales line to book tickets.
The app will also be used to promote upcoming events and to send customers offers and discounts. Alongside the mobile app they have made the decision to update the booking system currently in use across the theatres so that it connects to the same databases used by the mobile app. Once implemented, staff in head office and across all theatres will use a single system that allows them to see live seat availability and customer information. The customer information will be used by marketing, customer service and sales teams in order to build a profile of their customers, target them with promotions and understand how their theatres are performing.
Tasks
With reference to the case study and the new system under proposal:
Task 1 – (500 words) (20 marks)
• Analyse the business environment stating its current market, services and problems as well as the benefits the new system will bring. Recommend an SDLC model for the new development clearly stating, in relation to the case study, why this was chosen over the other models.
Task 2 – (1000 words) (30 marks)
Present a requirements analysis to identify functional and non-functional requirements and any constraints/regulatory or compliance factors for the proposed system.
Task 3 – (Equivalent 1200 words) (40 marks)
• Using your requirements analysis and the case study, design the proposed system to include the following:
• Data Flow Diagrams to represent level 0, 1 and 2
• Use cases for app users and theatre staff
Task 4 – (300 words) (10 marks)
• Recommend an implementation plan which should also outline any testing and training that may be required. Identify how these should be communicated to stakeholders taking into consideration that different communication channels and methods may be required based on stakeholder experience, knowledge, and relevancy (400 words)
Ensure to underpin your critical evaluation with relevant and appropriate literature.