COOP

REPORT

2018
Department: Computer Information Systems

Student ID: 2140010662

Name: Ahmed Shawkat Helmi
COOP-Title: Activity data warehouse project
Company: Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal university- continuing Education
Center

College of Computer Science and Information

Technology Imam Abdulrahman i
Bin Faisal University
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Ministry of Higher Education
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University
College of Computer Sciences & Information Technology

Activity Datawarehouse Project

by
Ahmed Shawkat Ahmed Helmi (2140010662)

Supervised by
Dr. Saqib Saeed
Dr. Abdullah Almurayh

June 2018

ii
 ABSTRACT

My cooperative training at continuing education center was a very beneficial

experience. My work mainly revolved around coding and IT support. I had a previous
experience with scripting using PHP and it was even enriched more by working on the project
“Activity Datawarehouse Project” as a Laravel backend developer. This project aims to keep
a comprehensive information about activities that are provided by the center. It is not
finalized yet and I am still working on it. Of that project we -as a team- tried to figure out ways
to withstand the organizational change within the center. Moreover, I developed a skill
troubleshooting systems problems working on the maintenance of the labs in the center. In
conclusion, I learned with a real life example, that proper design and requirements analysis
can lead to a better solutions to organization even though it takes a bit too long to work out.

iii
 Abbreviations Table

Abbreviations Detail

SQL Structured Query Language

PHP Preprocessor Hypertext

BI Business Intelligence

MS Microsoft

SPMP Software Project Management Plan

SRS Software Requirement Specification

SDS Software Design Specification

MVC Model View Controller Design Pattern

API Application Programming Interface

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Content Page

Abstract ………………………………………………………………………… ii
List of Abbreviations …………………………………………………………... iv
1. Chapter 01: Introduction
1.1 Introduction……...……………………………………….... vi

2. Chapter 02: COOP Training ……………………………………………… 2

Project Tasks
2.1. Task # 1: ………………………………………………………………... 2
2.2. Task # 2: ……………………………………………………………….... 4
2.3. Task # 3: …………………………………………………………………. 5
2.4. Task # 4: ……………………………………………………………….... 6
2.5. Task # 5: …………………………………………………………………. 7
2.6. Task # 6: ……………………………………………………………….... 8
2.7. Task # 7: …………………………………………………………………. 9
2.8. Task # 8: ……………………………………………………………….... 10
2.9. Task # 9: …………………………………………………………………. 11
IT Support Tasks
2.10.1. Task # 1: ……………………………………………………………….... 12

3. Chapter 03: Conclusion …………………………………………………… 13

4. Reference …………………………………………………………………… 14
4.1 figure # 1 …………………………………………... 15
4.2 figure # 2 ………………….……………………………... 16
4.3 figure # 3 …………………………………………... 17
4.4 figure # 4 ………………….……………………………... 18

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 Chapter – 01: Introduction

Continuing Education Center based on Dammam follows Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal
University. It was established at 1996. It aims to provide knowledge and help to educate the
society. With Hundreds of Beneficiaries every year, it plays an active role in education
within the eastern province. However, it has a problem with the documentation of their stats
and data. Many data get lost every year without proper storage or statistical study. So I was a
part of a team to help regarding this concern with our solution that will help this institution
keep analysis and enter data convincedly. Also I helped with their IT operations. This
document explains in details with some extent of conciseness the tasks I was Assigned to.

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 Chapter – 02: COOP Training

Data warehouse Project Tasks

Task #: 1
Task description
Introductory phase: We were
assigned a project. The project aims
to archive and automate the
different procedures required to
conduct an activity by the center in
the center’s data warehouse.
Moreover, it helps giving a 360-
degree view of the information and
data collected using data warehouse
technology and business
intelligence. This Task is the
introductory phase to the project.
Tools applied
Internet sources:
1- What is a flat file?
https://searchsqlserver.techtarget.com/definition/flat-
file
Books:
1- Datamining Concepts and Techniques
J. Han, M. Kamber and J. Pei, Data Mining:
Concepts and Techniques. (3rd;3; ed.) Burlington,
MA: Elsevier, 2012.
2- Papers and other files aided by the center to
record
activities and manage them. Including, excel sheets
word files and more.

Task process

First I had to read more about the data warehousing. Then we looked on papers provided
by the center. After that I wrote down some notes for discussion with my teammates.

Challenges faced Lessons learned

 Lack the knowledge 360-  Meetings should have a clear agenda with
view data and some data all the details. As, some points of our
warehousing principles, agenda were missing.
like, data extraction from
flat files techniques.
 The overwhelming number
of resources available in a
hard copy form.
 The difficulty of making a
solution that suites every
case.

2
Supporting academic courses Suggestions

 Technical reports.
 System analysis and
design.

Task accomplished ☒ Task partially accomplished☐ Task unaccomplished☐

Self-evaluation and Reasoning

I involved with the team in a discussion I -like everyone in the team- were giving ideas of
mine and assessing others’.

3
Task #: 2
Task description Tools applied
Initial environment setup: - SQL server installation.
In this phase we made an initial decision - SQL Studio Management system
based on requirement collected and the installation.
center’s preferences. We initialized SQL - Installation of my preferred editor ( visual
server for data warehouse management studio code).
and installed IDEs and text editors. - The installation of Composer package
manager.
- The installation and setup of Laravel
project.
Task process

 The installation of the different tools required for the project.

 I started teaching my teammates how to use Laravel framework.
 I helped with the initial low fidelity wireframing.

Challenges faced Lessons learned

 Time management in meetings is so
 Some errors occurred while important. We managed this time to
installing the most current version prepare an agenda and get
of MS SQL Studio Management everything setup on time.
system and MS server on my
computer so I had to down grade it
to a previous version.

Supporting academic courses Suggestions

 Database Management Systems.

Task accomplished ☒ Task partially accomplished☐ Task unaccomplished☐

Self-evaluation and Reasoning

I tried to overseer this process and make sure everything is setup.

4
Task #: 3
Task description Tools applied
Database data design: In this stage we 1- Papers and other files aided by the
could make an initial database design. At center to record activities and manage them.
this stage we aimed to finalize our version Including, excel sheets word files and more.
of ER and database design as per the
requirement documented agreed upon.

Task process
We were able to conduct meetings with the Decision support unit in the university and
with our supervisor Dr. Abdullah to get more information and get some assistance. Then
each one of us took note. Then we prepared a meeting were we can discuss our findings.
Challenges faced Lessons learned

 The misunderstanding of how does  It is so crucial that we find as many

business intelligence technology information as possible about the
work. business model to get a better
understanding off the system.
 Requirement engineering phase
 The unclarity of the placement of takes lots of time and efforts.
some attributes.

 Even though we worked on

collecting a lot of information, we
realized that there were many
aspects went uncovered or
underestimated.

Supporting academic courses Suggestions

 Database fundamentals.
 Technical writing.

Task accomplished ☒ Task partially accomplished☐ Task unaccomplished☐

Self-evaluation and Reasoning

I involved in with the team in making the initial versions of the data design. It was purely a
team driven task.

5
Task #: 4
Task description Tools applied
Software Project management 1- SPMP template IEEE standard for
document writing and refinement: I software project management plans. New
helped the team to get started making our York, NY: Institute of Electrical and
SPMP following Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 1998.
Electronics Engineers IEEE standards.
Task process

 We divided the document into manageable parts we made sure everything

required by this project is included. Then we made sure that we all understand the
parts completely. After that we distributed the work among the team.
 From this point on we assigned our teammate Waleed Al Halabia as a leader for
the team.

Challenges faced Lessons learned

 We had to make more meetings to  Divide and conquer technique is very

get the document done properly in useful when working on a big task.
time. However, there are some
considerations to look after when
applying it. Like, progression and
understanding.
 The existence of the team leader is
always important.

Supporting academic courses Suggestions

 Technical Writing.
 Project management.

Task accomplished ☒ Task partially accomplished☐ Task unaccomplished☐

Self-evaluation and Reasoning

I wrote a part of the document. Moreover, I did some revision for the document as an
overall work.

6
Task #: 5
Task description
Software Requirement Specification
document writing and refinement: I
helped the team to get started making our
SRS following Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers IEEE standards.
Task process
Tools applied
1- Ieeexplore.ieee.org. (2017). 24748-5-2017
- ISO/IEC/IEEE International Standard -
Systems and Software Engineering--Life
Cycle Management--Part 5: Software
Development Planning - IEEE Standard.
[online] Available at:
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7955095/

 We divided the document into manageable parts we made sure everything

required by this project is included. Then we made sure that we all understand the
parts completely. After that we distributed the work among the team.

Challenges faced Lessons learned

 Some parts of this document  We learned from our experience with

needed more time than others so the SPMP how to manage document
time limitation of this file were creation time.
adjusted in the SPMP a little to be
more realistic.

Supporting academic courses Suggestions

 Technical Writing.
 Project management.

Task accomplished ☒ Task partially accomplished☐ Task unaccomplished☐

Self-evaluation and Reasoning

I wrote a part of the document. Moreover, I did some revision for the document as an
overall work.

7
Task #: 6
Task description
Software Design Specification
document writing and refinement: I
helped the team to get started making our
SDS following Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers IEEE standards.
Task process
Tools applied
1- Ieeexplore.ieee.org. (2017). 24748-5-2017
- ISO/IEC/IEEE International Standard -
Systems and Software Engineering--Life
Cycle Management--Part 5: Software
Development Planning - IEEE Standard.
[online] Available at:
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7955095/

 We divided the document into manageable parts we made sure everything

required by this project is included. Then we made sure that we all understand the
parts completely. After that we distributed the work among the team.
 Some parts of this document needed graphing so we made the them in paper
before hand so it becomes easy for the team member to make it.

Challenges faced Lessons learned

 Choosing the best diagramming  Choosing alternatives must be based

tool, so we chose draw.io and lucid on the requirement and the limitation.
charts because the provide the
ability to work and team and the
ability of versioning.

Supporting academic courses Suggestions

 Technical Writing.
 Project management.

Task accomplished ☒ Task partially accomplished☐ Task unaccomplished☐

Self-evaluation and Reasoning

I wrote a part of the document. Moreover, I did some revision for the document as an
overall work. Also, I did some diagraming.

8
Task #: 7
Task description Tools applied
Front end development  Google Material design guide at
https://Material.io/

 JQuery documentation
 W3schools materials at
https://w3schools.com

Task process

We divided the frontend work between us as per an agreement. I designed the landing
page and helped in the dashboards.

Challenges faced Lessons learned

 We had to meet more to see the  We learned that there is a difference

progression. between User Experience UX and
User Interface UI.
 It is important to consider UX/UI in
any web design.
Supporting academic courses Suggestions

 Web based systems.

 Human computer interaction.

Task accomplished ☒ Task partially accomplished☐ Task unaccomplished☐

Self-evaluation and Reasoning

Designs are completed as per the current stage of the development. Some front end stuff
I added to help making considerations in the future, like, full screen feature.

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Task #: 8
Task description Tools applied
Flat files preparation:  MS office Excel
I and my colleagues specially Zaki Hani
were responsible for preparing the
required by the system.

Task process
I did the redesign of the files in order the employee enters less data with the most
information.
Challenges faced Lessons learned
 Some fields of the excel files were
incompatible or missing.

Supporting academic courses Suggestions

 Datamining.
 Data base fundamentals.

Task accomplished ☒ Task partially accomplished☐ Task unaccomplished☐

Self-evaluation and Reasoning

The redesign took in consideration time to fill and the intiuitiveness.

10
Task #: 9
Task description Tools applied
Backend development:  Laravel documentation.
I choose the PHP framework Laravel as it  Maatwebsite/excel library
works with the MVC models which will documentation.
make it much easier to maintain in the  Excel files enhanced by me and the
future. Moreover, it provide very easy team.
ways to implement APIs and their calls.
Task process

I started with implementing the website using Laravel routes and APIs. Then, I moved to
prepare the ETL system. I haven’t finished some parts due to time restrictions. However, I
had an offer of the center to stay and continue working on the system.

Challenges faced Lessons learned

 Problems with the support of
Arabic in the excel files libraries.  Time is so important to implement
 Problems with the support of MS any project.
SQL server in the excel files
library.
 Time limitation due to the fact that
the vacation was shifted few days
earlier. Moreover, I attended Hajj
Hackathon in Jeddah which made
me take a day or two off.

Supporting academic courses Suggestions

 Fundamentals of programming.
 Web based systems.

Task accomplished ☐ Task partially accomplished☒ Task unaccomplished☐

Self-evaluation and Reasoning

I am doing the best I can to get this project finished.

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 IT Support Tasks:

Task #: 1
Task description Tools applied
Portable lab and labs maintenance Windows installation media guide
Task process

This task required us to prepare a portable lab consisting of 20 laptops. We were asked to
install windows and other software. Then we were required to fix a 50 computer in the
labs. I did a fresh windows installations and some setup for other application required by
the center.

Challenges faced Lessons learned

In the beginning we were preparing to I learned some techniques backing

install everything of a Symantec Ghost up and restoring Images
image. However their was a problem doing
so.

Supporting academic courses Suggestions

 Technical writing for writing that in
the status report.

Task accomplished ☒ Task partially accomplished☐ Task unaccomplished☐

Self-evaluation and Reasoning

I did a fresh windows installations and some setup for other application required by the
center.

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 Chapter – 03: Conclusion

I would like to conclude this report by saying that I am so grateful for having the opportunity
of dealing with new people and with real life problems. People were so friendly and helpful. I
learned more interpersonal skills more than technical skills. Like, negotiation,
communication skills and situation assessment. I cant neglect the fact that my skills in some
technical aspects were improved. Like, requirement engineering and front end web design.
Finally, I would like to show my sincere appreciation to my supervisors and my teammate
whom without I wouldn’t make it this far.

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 References

1- Ieeexplore.ieee.org. (2017). 24748-5-2017 - ISO/IEC/IEEE International Standard -

Systems and Software Engineering--Life Cycle Management--Part 5: Software
Development Planning - IEEE Standard. [online] Available at:
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7955095/

2- SPMP template IEEE standard for software project management plans. New York,
NY: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 1998.
3- University Observatory https://www.iau.edu.sa/en/about-us/university-observatory
4- Symantec Ghost tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTsGk6uP2k8
5- Datamining Concepts and Techniques J. Han, M. Kamber and J. Pei, Data Mining:
Concepts and Techniques. (3rd;3; ed.) Burlington, MA: Elsevier, 2012;2011
6- SQL server: https://www.microsoft.com/en-sa/sql-server/sql- server-downloads
7- What is a flat file? https://searchsqlserver.techtarget.com/definition/flat-file
8- Fundemental of Database Systems:
R. Elmasri and S. Navathe, Fundamentals of Database Systems. (Global;Seventh;
ed.) Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson, 2017.
9- ER diagram tutorial for revision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_xDqBa5w-s

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 Appendix

Screen Short of the Code and Graphical User Interfaces you developed during the
COOP training.

Figure 1 The GitHub repository the project

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Figure 2 a snippet of the code responsible of the ETL

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Figure 3 a screenshot of the landing page I designed

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Figure 4 a screenshot of the dashboard I helped in designing

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