Mobile Access for a large Holiday Resort Complex

1. The Scenario

You have been asked to make a feasibility study and an initial design to enable the large Holiday Resort Complex located on the small island in the Indian Ocean to use mobile technologies to improve resort’s effectiveness and provide electronic services for the guests.
Island and resort are exclusively owned by a shipping company - Island Cruise. Each Saturday the Island Cruise ship – Odysseus – calls at an island bringing guests to stay at a resort and weekly supplies from the mainland.

Complex consists of the storehouse to provide the complex and an administrative building – both of which are sited some distance from the main complex.  The main complex consists of three bars, two swimming pools, two restaurants, a small gymnasium, a health and beauty centre and small shop catering for the guests. Guests are accommodated in three hundred and fifty detached chalets dispersed over the island.

The resort’s management have recognized various key areas where they will like to see benefits from the proposed system.

• Baggage processing of guest’s luggage (ship/chalet - chalet/ship).

• Check in times (at present large numbers of guests disembark at the same time, causing long delays at check in to the resort).

• Automated tally system of guest’s consumables such as drinks, meals, snacks etc. (at present guests sign for their consumables using a paper chit system).

There are four categories of user: -

• Resort guests

• Resort managers – like  staffing, facilities, entrainment, resources etc.

• Resort staff – like the staff required to cater for the guests needs such as bar staff, chefs, waiters, porters, chamber maids etc

• Administrative staff that look after accounts, stock, billing etc.

All categories of user should be able to access email and Internet services.

Suitable levels of security should be provided.

2. Coursework stages

Stage 1 Cost-Benefits Analysis

• Identify the several costs associated with deployment, operation and maintenance of a mobile-access system.

• Identify benefits to a variety of categories of user, arising from the addition of a mobile-access facility.

Stage 2 Technical Requirements

• Identify technical requirements of the system. This must relate to the usage requirements of the various types of user, and number of users in each category.

For ex, what is the total bandwidth requirement? What level of security is needed? How many concurrent users required to be expected? What proportion of the complex needs coverage? etc.

• Discuss any conflicts which arise between the several technical requirements.

Stage 3 Design

• Produce a cellular design map showing geographical aspects of the cellular network, including cell size, cell overlap and coverage.

• Produce a topological design, showing how the wireless part of the network would be integrated into the wired backbone network.

Stage 4 Devices

• What devices would be needed to construct the network?

• What devices would users connect to the network?

• What are the technical capabilities and limitations of users’ devices, and how do these issues affect the design requirements?

Note. You are not expected to actually implement the system.

Stage 5 Critical Evaluation

You must summarise the outcome of your coursework, concentrating on:

• Conclusions which can be drawn from the work you have performed.

• A critical evaluation of the design process and the final design, like discussion about the design and development processes and how the product and process quality were ensured at each stage. Make clear what you will do differently if you were to repeat thecoursework again.

• A reflection of your learning experience. You must be specific and not just say ‘I learned a lot about this or that …’ but say exactly what you did learn. Include other points such as time management issues and technical issues. .

3. Deliverables

The focus of this exercise should be on the specific issues arising from the provision of mobile access, including communications systems hardware and software requirements.

Cost/Benefits Analysis

Technical Requirements

Design

Devices

Critical Evaluation

Your report should be structured as follows:

• You must include the whole of this coursework specification

• Title page

• Contents page

• List of illustrations or diagrams

• Abstract

• A statement of assumptions

• Body of report.

• Appendices (Including program code)

• Reference List, Citations and Additional References (Harvard System)