THE 2 EXISTING COMPUTER SYSTEMS - DATA INPUT, DATA STORAGE AND DATA PROCESSING
The Dar system (like the MDB Dar Crop Price Monitoring System) is composed of a Lotus Symphony spreadsheet system; the Moshi system is composed of a database-type of system using the little-known Enable database product.
Both have a programming element in that 'macros' are used to build a system. The Dar system was built by Jim Airey and the Moshi system by Martin Doran.
In general terms, the following weaknesses exist:
- Data Storage is the weakest area - each month's data for each location is kept in its own quirkily-named file (this is true for both systems). The effect of this is to render comparison of data between sites and within sites over time extremely difficult.
- Data Entry Editing - there is some control but not very much over the kind of numbers and other information which can be input to the system; as a result, when I translated the data over, I had to do some data cleaning.
- User Friendliness - reporting in particular with the Symphony system was quite complicated. In particular the effect is (with both systems) that a skilled operator is required in order to run the system, and also to ensure that no errors are made or no wrong buttons are pressed. The effect is that system security and integrity are low. I always believe that any computer system should be 'idiot-proof', and should be able to be used by any secretary or even by a Managing Director with minimal training.
- Documentation - neither system had any documentation to speak of. Thus there is no transparency as to how the internal calculations are performed. For example the 'Marker' system was discovered almost by mistake when the embryonic Clipper system was run through the same data against the Symphony system, and it was found that the numbers being output were quite different.