Problem Description
Computer Science
Problem Definition
The National Water Service provides water usage for fifteen thousand homes. They have been in service for twenty years with the mission of providing excellent service to these homes. The current activities involve meter readers obtaining the meter readings each month. Customer records are stored using paper and pen. Staff then manually subtracts the current reading from last month’s reading to calculate the current usage amount. The water charge, service charge, sewage charge, other factors and the total charge are then calculated using the current usage amount. This information is entered into a computer which prints the bill. This current approach however has led to problems. The current usage amount and total charge are sometimes incorrectly calculated, which leads to customers being over or undercharged. Past information on customers becomes lost at times. Staff sometimes may enter incorrect figures into the computer and it does not allow them to view or make adjustments to the bill before printing it. These problems have horrible implications to the business, as it could lose it customers when they are overcharged or given the wrong bill information. Also, if the customers are undercharged the business will lose well needed revenue. A solution to this problem would involve developing a program to do all the calculations for the bill and allow staff members to view and make adjustments if needed before printing it. It would also keep customers records permanently. This would help the business to maintain a good customer rapport by not over or undercharging them and have a more structured system to identify if any areas need to be addressed quickly and efficiently. This system will need to be easy for its users to understand and access. It will also need to work efficiently and accurately. Finally it will provide a suitable and permanent method of storing the customers’
Problem Definition
The National Water Service provides water usage for fifteen thousand homes. They have been in service for twenty years with the mission of providing excellent service to these homes. The current activities involve meter readers obtaining the meter readings each month. Customer records are stored using paper and pen. Staff then manually subtracts the current reading from last month’s reading to calculate the current usage amount. The water charge, service charge, sewage charge, other factors and the total charge are then calculated using the current usage amount. This information is entered into a computer which prints the bill. This current approach however has led to problems. The current usage amount and total charge are sometimes incorrectly calculated, which leads to customers being over or undercharged. Past information on customers becomes lost at times. Staff sometimes may enter incorrect figures into the computer and it does not allow them to view or make adjustments to the bill before printing it. These problems have horrible implications to the business, as it could lose it customers when they are overcharged or given the wrong bill information. Also, if the customers are undercharged the business will lose well needed revenue. A solution to this problem would involve developing a program to do all the calculations for the bill and allow staff members to view and make adjustments if needed before printing it. It would also keep customers records permanently. This would help the business to maintain a good customer rapport by not over or undercharging them and have a more structured system to identify if any areas need to be addressed quickly and efficiently. This system will need to be easy for its users to understand and access. It will also need to work efficiently and accurately. Finally it will provide a suitable and permanent method of storing the customers’