#My Assistant

##What?
My idea is to create a mobile app that allows you to view you timetable and gather information about your lessons and notifications about your lessons such as if it is cancelled, time has changed, or the lesson is ongoing.  The app will also allow you to notify your teachers if you won’t make it into the lesson.

##Why?
Students are getting annoyed with the poor notifications from colleges and school not notifying them when the lesson has closed. This is an issue because it makes students waste a lot of time and money on coming into college when they could have been working on their assignments etc. This also makes the process of calling in sick etc much easier and more reliable. The current system of messaging in to say when a student is sick is flawed because if the student spells the reason wrong or write it in the wrong format, the system will just ignore the message completely.

##Who?
This application would be targeted at students, schools, parents and colleges to allow them to track lessons, attendance etc and optimise their time management. This will also improve student to teacher communication by reducing the amount of possible human error when messaging in sick etc.

##Pricing Method
This application with use a yearly subscription module for schools and colleges to pay for. The price of the software will change depending on the size of the schools and colleges to make it more affordable to the smaller educational institutions. This should open the market to a large range of potential clients both large and small.

##Promotion Methods
To start off, we will attempt to partner with large educational institutions and give them a discount for partnering with us. This will give us a starting ground so new potential customers will be able to have more trust in the software because other schools/colleges use it. Once we have got a couple of clients using the software, we will proceed to improve the main website's SEO (Search engine optimisation) and optimise the software even more to make it easier to move to the new software. Then we will start to hire more sales representatives to approach more schools and colleges to expand our network of clients.

#MDOffice

##What is this product?
MDOffice is a new custom minimalistic word proccessing software which is designed to help improve concentration and productivity. This application is also design to help people with visual imparements or learning disablities by allowing them to change the background colour, font and text colour without affacting the final pdf page. 

##Why
The current word proccessing applications do not have support for people with learning disablities which puts a lot of people at a disadvantage in college/schools because they will find it harder to use. Most word proccessing software are also very cluttered which makes the software seem very complex and destracting to use which reduces focus. 

##Who
MD office is designed to help people in schools and colleges with learning disadvantages to create a perfect assignment everytime with little to no problems. The main target audience for MDOffice is colleges and schools which will purchase the software for their students. The secondary target audience is parents which would purchase the software for their children. 


##Promotion Method
I will promote MDOffice by showcasing it in a educational enviroment and gather feedback from students and tutors. I will then approach multiple schools and colleges with the software and show them the data and reviews of the students and teachers that had beta tested it to try sway them to partnering with MDOffice.

#Chosen Idea
I have descided to choose the MDOffice idea because it is a project I would personally use and after gathering feedback from my peers, I have determained that it is the project is more worth creating. I gathered feedback from my peers and teachers using Microsoft Forms and have Tested the software



Enterprise

Assignment 2

#Introduction

##Game Summary
Sooty's Adventures is a pixel baised platformer where Sooty (a yellow bear with a magic wand which the player will control) must complete challenges to complete different levels to escape the doungeon. Each level of the doungeon will get progressively harder as the player progresses through the levels. 

##Inspiration
The game was inspired by a popular children's game Fire Boy and Water Girl where the user has to navigate around levels to complete the game. I was also inspired by the children's tv show Sooty and Sweep where a yellow teddy bear called Sooty and a grey dog called Sweep work together to solve issues. 

##Player Experience
In each level the player will have to complete a series of tasked which range in complexitity to gather a key, which they use to move onto the next level. The player must avoid traps, problem solve on the fly and adapt to new enviroments to successfully complete each level.

##Platform
The game will currently only be released on Windows 10+ compters and in the web browser. This is due to the development team being on a budget and having little time to complete the game in. By adding more operating systems and devices, the company will need to spend more in buy multiple devices and paying more developers to develope the game for each device.

##Game Mechanics
Sooty will have a magic wand which will allow the player to move objects to help the player navigate each level and avoid touching lava and other obsticals that may stand in their way. This game mechanic opens up an entirely new level of complexity and unquieness to each level the player completes. 
 
##Target Audience
The main target audience of Sooty's Adventures is 8 - 12 year olds who are looking for a new game to play which is simple while challenging at the same time. This game will have a second target audience of the children's parents who are looking for a child friendly game for their children to play in their freetime.

##Development Software
The game will be developed in Unity because of its simplicity and user friendly design. We also chose to use unity over other game engines because there is a lot of documentation, totorials and a large community behind Unity. This helps the developers to create the software much faster because they can easily pick up the software and get support for common issues they may be faced with when developing the game.

#Feedback
To gather feedback about my gain idea, i presented my game in front of a group of potential players and other game developers. I chose to do this because it gives me a chance to gain critical feedback on things im unsure of and to find new ways to improve the game.

##John's Feedback
John is a lecuturer for games development at a college in the UK and have a vast amount of game development experience. John brought up a lot of important issues with the game which i had not thought of when designing the game. One of these issues was Sooty and Sweep is a TV show that the current 8 - 12 year olds probably havent heard of or watched. This would put my game at a huge disadvantage because children generally want to play as characters they know. John also mentioned a lot of possitive points about my current game. One being he liked the idea of a magic want which moves objects to help the player complete the game. John also liked the idea of using pixel art and vector images because it would allow the game to scale to any resolution.

##Jacob's Feedback
Jacob is a games developer from the UK and in his free time plays a vast amount of computer and console games. Jacob said the game should contrain both Sooty and Sweep like the children's tv show does or make it so you can pick which character you can pick. I like the idea of being able to switch character to use different abilities.

##Implementing Feedback
After reviewing the feedback, i have decided to implement some changes such as adding character switching to the game. I have done this to make the game less repetitive and to increase to possibilities of new levels which would make the game seem more interesting.  While John's feedback about the children's show may be worrying, I dont see this as too large of an issue because children still play alot of game that arent linked to the tv shows they currently watch.
 

#S.W.O.T.

##Strengths
One strength of creating a Fire Boy and Water Girl-styled game is most people aged 8 – 13 have played Fire Boy and Water Girl at school and will understand the basic game mechanics, movement and objective without the need for a tutorial. Another strength of creating a game like this is they are generally have a large speed running community which try to complete the game as fast as they can and will compete to get the fastest time.

##Weaknesses
One weakness of creating a fire boy and water girl-styled game is the game is too common so people’s expectations would be already set. If the player’s expectations aren’t met, then they are more likely to stop playing or become bored easily.  Another weakness of creating this game is creating custom assets would be very time-consuming. This is an issue because it will slow down the production of the game. Another weakness of creating this game is the it may become too repetitive or too hard to complete. This could make players less interested in the game or find the gaming too boring.

##Opportunity
Creating a common game type such as Fire Boy and Water Girl allows me to improve on the current base game and implement common feedback on this type of platformer. This is a great opportunity to create the game that players have been asking for which will make the game have a greater.

##Threats
One threat of creating a game this game is, if there is not enough interest in the game, the game will struggle to gain an active amount of players. This is a problem because without an active player baise the chance of the game reaching to new players is very low.

#Assets



Games Development

#Waterfall

Waterfall is one of the most basic methodologies to use when creating a simple plan. This is good for creating software if the software must be made in order and for creating a quick plan that will work in some cases.

##Advantages of Waterfall

One advantage of using waterfall is it's simple and easily to produce a basic plan to get started really fast. This makes waterfall easy for anyone to pick up and create a simple plan that anyone could follow. This is important for project management because it optimises your time to starting development as soon as possible.

Another advantage of using waterfall is it forces tasks to be completed in a step by step order which can be important for some projects like database development. In data base development if you do not create the database in a step by step mythology, the database is likely to break or you are likely to miss important fields.

##Disadvantages of Waterfall

One disadvantage of using waterfall in development is, it isn't adaptive to problems. This is one of the biggest disadvantages of waterfall because this will slow down development or stop the project as a whole. 

Another disadvantage of using waterfall is it doesn't allow the project to be completed asynchronous which slows down development. This is huge problem for time sensitive projects because if one part of the project is delayed then the entire project is delayed.

#RAD (Rapid Active Development)

RAD is one of the main mythologies to use when developing software which allows swift development to create a high quality product.

##Advantages

One advantage to using RAD is it allow you to rapidly test the product and fix any issues before releasing the product the public. This is important to improving the final product so the customer/end user has a seamless experience when using the software. 

Another advantage of using RAD is it takes little planning due to the plan consistently changing.  This allows the project to start development much faster and improve time efficiency so less time is wasted.  

##Disadvantages

One disadvantage to using RAD is potential confusion. This happens because of a lack of communication between the team which will lead to the team not knowing what they should be working on. This could make the end product less useful and a lower quality.

Another disadvantage to using RAD is it isn't recommended for long term development. RAD isn't used in long term development because it is design to create applications as fast as possible and in the long term, you don't want to have to recreate the entire application again.

#Feasibility Study
For a game development IT project, I have desided to choose to use RAD because Waterfall doesnt allow development to start until the assets are created. Where-as RAD enables you to start developing and testing at the same time which improves the team's efficiency. I have also chosen RAD over waterfall because it allows rapid testing while the game is being develope. RAD also allowed you to go back to a past step to further improve the software which allows the game to get tested.





Project Management

#How has the company currently implemented IT
The company's current personal servers are located at the headquarters, which is beneficial because it allows low-latency file transfers between employees, improving the company's workflow by not needing to wait as long to share documents with others. However, currently, the company's computers at the head office run all its programmes, including order processing, stock control and manufacturing processes which are vital to keep the company running smoothly. The business puts itself in danger of data corruption and malware attacks because it has no mention of any alternative off-site backup. An off-site backup would protect the company's files from corruption because it would be harder to transfer malware to a completely different network. The offsite backup would also be a read-only backup which blocks malware from tampering with the files once they have been written. Another disadvantage to running all of the software locally is the company has to maintain all of the servers and software that is running on these machines while also making sure the servers and software are safe to use with no exploits for hackers to abuse to gain unauthorised access to internal machines. This is also a problem because if the servers aren't maintained correctly the company face long amounts of downtime due to the software or services being down.

#Cloud storage

##Impact
The local files of the business can be safely backed up in the cloud and accessed from any location with an internet connection. This increases flexibility by enabling workers to work from any location. Additionally, it guards against data corruption in files, avoiding irreversible loss. Services that allow the organisation to manage file access, such as Google Drive and OneDrive, improve security. Due to providers' constant enhancement of security protocols, cloud storage further fortifies defences against most threats.

#Positive Impacts

##File Management 
For a fraction of the cost of what it would take to self-host the storage, cloud storage enables the organisation to scale to any limits at any time and reduce the cost of having bulk storage because the company is only paying for the storage they are using. By using cloud storage you also have more control over user files and are able to share files between employees with a single click. This also allows the company to set permissions to files and folders to ensure unauthorised employees can't access them.

##Accessibility
Since cloud storage enables remote work, it increases employee productivity by allowing the company to access its files from any location as long as they have an internet connection. Having the ability to work from anywhere in the world allows the company to reduce the cost of renting offices because the employees can work from home. 

##Backups
The emergency file recovery feature of cloud storage enables an organisation to restore or recover its files in the event of a malware attack or unintentional destruction. This is important to reduce the effectiveness of a malware attack and to get the company back up and operational as fast as possible. By having backups, the company is also protecting itself from human error and miss-clicks which would delete important documents.

#Negative Impacts

##Connection Issues
While the employees will be able to access their work from anywhere in the world, they are limited to places with wifi connection and the connection speed of the wifi to the cloud servers. This is an issue because it will limit where the emoployees can work from and will slow down how fast work can be done if they do not have fast enough internet.

##Privacy concerns
While you have permissions set on files for who can view files etc. The files are also hosted on servers you do not own. This could be a concern if you do not choose a safe and reliable cloud storage company.

#Software as a service

##Impact
Software as a Service, or SaaS, refers to the practice of storing software for client use on business servers. This makes setup easier for new hires and lowers maintenance load. SaaS facilitates remote work as well, which could reduce the cost of office space. Software hosted in the cloud, as opposed to on physical computers, strengthens the firm network's defences against malware attacks. This would be highly beneficial to the company because it reduces the cost of maintaining the software and services their servers would have to run. This also ensures that the company's software has a 100% uptime guarantee to make sure their employees aren't stuck not being able to do their work due to servers or software having downtime. Another reason this is beneficial for the company is it improves latency to remote workers because there are cloud servers everywhere around the world and it wouldn't be limited to just one location (like it currently is). 

#Possitives

##Scalability
Instead of getting slowed down by having to set up the software when the organisation wants to scale, software as a service enables the organisation to rapidly adapt its usage at any moment to scale with the business. This helps the company reduce or increase automatically based on demand. This helps reduce the cost of running the services because you only have to pay for your usage of the service, instead of paying too much for an overkill server to then find out you could have used a less powerful server just fine. 

##Speed
By having the software set up immediately in the cloud and removing the need to wait for apps to download and troubleshoot bugs, software as a service increases the speed of the organisation. Servers are also spread around the world to improve the latency of the service because they aren't forced to connect to one location which could be really far away from the employee. This would help speed up the company's workflow because they aren't waiting for their slow connection to a server that is far away.

##Compatibility
Applications as a Service enhance software compatibility by allowing the organisation to utilise as many devices as necessary. This allows the business to use devices with lower processing power while still using the necessary software.

#Negatives

##Licensing
While Saas offers access to their services from anywhere in the world, if the Saas shuts down, access to the software would be completely lost and the company would be put to a hault. However, hosting the software in house would give you constant access to the software, even if it isnt maintained anymore.

##Internet Connection
Due to all of the software being hosted in the cloud, the software can only be access by computers with an internet connection. This is an issue because it reduces the portability of the software to places where the user can get an internet connection.

#VPN/Proxies

##Impact
Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, or proxies, are a valuable tool for businesses because they forcibly encrypt employees' devices, offering an additional degree of security to their connections. In addition, the organisation can block dangerous links and connections that could compromise an employee's device by using VPNs and proxies. Additionally, to the client is the ability for the business to prohibit non-VPN/proxied connections, adding another line of defence against would-be hackers. This is important because while cloud services are generally secure, people are constantly giving away their login information to phishing websites without knowing they are. With a VPN, even if the hackers gain access to the employee's credentials, they can not access any software/data without being connected to the VPN. This improves the current practices when remotely working because currently there is no protection from man-in-the-middle attacks

#Metting the organisation’s needs

##Security
Proxies and VPNs strengthen the security of the business by encrypting all data leaving a device and preventing unauthorised connections. VPNs and proxies also allow IT administrators to put network rules in place to ensure their employees are safe from malware and phishing websites while the VPN/Proxy is in use.

##Data Protection
Keeping to the most recent data protection procedures is crucial for the organisation while handling sensitive data. Using a VPN or proxy when managing sensitive data while away from the workplace is one of these procedures.

##Remote Working
VPNs/Proxies are vital for remote working due to the employee's connection is not guaranteed to be secure when logging into software, looking at client information or transferring files. Employees are susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks due to the average employee doesn't have an IT team monitoring their home network for hackers etc. By implementing a VPN/Proxy, you are adding extra end-to-end encryption to your network traffic. This ensures that man-in-the-middle attacks are not possible which also decreases the chance of hackers gaining access to sensitive data. 


Cloud

Assignment 1

#Introduction
I was recently tasked with producing a plan and developing a cloud storage collaboration solution for a small team of 5 members. The solution must be able to collaborate with other team members by sharing Word documents, and spreadsheets and setting up meetings on a callender. 

#Microsoft Teams
I highly recommend using Microsoft Teams because of its fast collaboration and its vast amount of communication features such as team text chats, team groups, and voice and video calls. These features enable employees to communicate effortlessly and collaborate effectively on projects, improving the company's productivity. Another reason I suggest using Microsoft Teams is because of its simple integration with Onedrive (a cloud storage service). It is important to make sharing documents as easy as possible with little delay to improve productivity. 

##Justification
I have chosen to use Microsoft Teams over Google Meet because Teams is much easier to manage teams, share documents and plan events on a calendar for a much lower price. I also chose to use Microsoft Teams over Google Meet because Teams has a simplistic app which can be used both in your web browser and on your device as a downloaded application. By allowing the user to have a downloadable app on any device, Teams is ensured to work flawlessly on your device instead of relying on web browsers hopefully working. 

## Testing
TODO

#One drive
Another set of technologies I highly recommend the company implement to improve collaboration is cloud storage. The cloud storage solution I suggest is OneDrive. I recommend using One Drive for its great integration with Microsoft Teams and other Microsoft services like Word and Windows.  Onedrive also enables IT administrators to scale their company's spending usage by only paying for the storage the company uses. This allows the company only to spend the minimum amount.

##Justification
I have decided to choose One Drive over other cloud storage services such as Google Drive due to the high amounts of storage you get per user for a lower price. Another reason i chose to use One Drive over google cloud storage was because of One Drive's great integration into apps like Word and Teams which allows the company to seemlessly share and collaborate on files. 

##Testing
TODO


#Introduction
Recently I was hired by a software development company to manage and oversee a project. The project I was tasked to manage was the development of a computer game for Legend Park. To develop the computer game I had to manage multiple different teams. These teams 

#How I did it
To manage the progression of the project, I decided to create a Trello board which enabled me to track the progress of the team and set deadlines for when targets should be met. To ensure the team was working effectively, I used the RAD project management methodology to create an effective team to produce fast prototypes which allowed us to gather feedback faster. This is important to improving the game's quality because, without testing and feedback, there will be a lot of bugs in the game on launch and will have unbalanced features. If the bugs aren't fixed inside of the game, the users will not be as interested in the game because it isn't playable.

#Skills I used

##Time management
I used time management skills to ensure the team met the set deadlines within a reasonable timeframe. I used time management skills by creating a Trello board and setting deadlines for when tasks should be completed. By using Trello we were able to mark off what work had been completed which showed the team what we needed to do next. This is important for reducing confusion among staff about what they should be working on.

##Communication skills
I used communication skills to ensure that the team was on the same page throughout the project. To do this I used Teams to set meetings every week to let the team know what needs to be done. This also allows me to find out why we are behind on any deadlines and how it can be fixed. The team also was put inside of a team group chat to help the team coordinate with each other so no one on the team would get confused from the rapid development.

##Problem solving skills
I used problem-solving skills to swiftly solve issues with software not working and deadlines not being met. To solve issues with the game engine software not being installed correctly, I contacted the IT team to get the software installed correctly which resolved the issue in half an hour.

##Professionalism
While staying professional is important to creating a productive environment, I believe there is a need for a little less professionalism to keep the team motivated. By being a bit less professional, the team is less likely to be burnt out from development and will be more productive.

#Improvements
To improve the development of the software I believe each team needed a team leader who would ensure the development of each section is meeting deadlines. This also would reduce the amount of people I would need to have meetings with which would allow the team to keep developing instead of having meetings every week to keep me up to date.  This would both improve communication and improve productivity.

Another improvement we could have implemented into the development plan would be pre-planning for software issues so we can find ways to keep the team productive while the software is malfunctioning. Because the plan didn't pre-plan for this scenario, it ended up costing us production time and slowed down the development of the game.  In the future, we will pre-test the software before starting a project and will reallocate the teams to other departments when we are faced with downtime. This way we can keep up the production rate while the software is down.

#Analysis
Overall I believe that the project was a success because we were able to complete the project on time and meet the client's requirements thanks to the Trello board ensuring we were meeting deadlines. However, while we did meet the deadline, the project could have gone a lot smoother if the software we used to develop the game was already installed. This led to a long wait for the software to completely get set up which slowed down the game's development. 

Project Managment

Assignment 3

#What is an enterprise?
An enterprise refers to a company or business that has the aim of making a profit. It involves identifying opportunities, creating services and delivering them to customers. A successful enterprise will create stable revenue for the company. 

#What is involved?
Creating a successful enterprise involves being able to search for a new market or improve on a current market. Then being able to take risks to produce a solution for the selected market and develop the solution. And finally, a successful enterprise must then create demand for the new solution to become profitable. 

#Enterprise Skills
When creating an enterprise there is a specific set of skills that are important to creating a successful enterprise. Without these sets of skills, the enterprise will struggle to become successful. Some of these skills are:

##Leadership
Leadership skills are one of the most important sets of skills an entrepreneur needs to create a successful business. Leadership skills are the ability to organise a team of people to complete a set of tasks. Without Leadership skills, the team would struggle to function and meet deadlines, manage teams of any size and get plans in motion. Leadership skills can be improved by shadowing a mentor or by taking more leadership roles and taking note of where you went wrong and how you could improve later on.

##Communication
Communication skills are the ability to confidently interact with others to organise teams and resolve issues. Communication skills are important to running a successful business because without them, it is harder for people to understand issues and work in teams which causes confusion among employees. You can improve your communication skills by putting yourself in more social situations which will boost your confidence to communicate effectively. While communication skills are vital for an enterprise's success, too much communication can also have a negative effect and could lower productivity. 

##Budgeting
Budgeting is the skill of being able to set a budget and manage money to stick to the budget. Budgeting skills are important to creating a successful because they ensure the enterprise is not overspending on software and hardware that they do not need. Without budgeting skills, the company is likely going to go bankrupt or lose out on great profit margins which could have been used to expand the company. To improve budgeting skills, try to set yourself a budget every week and try not to go over that budget. You will find yourself creating a more cost-effective way of living.

#Enterprise Capabilities
While individual skills are important to creating a successful enterprise, the enterprise must also have a certain set of skills to ensure the company's success. We call these skills "Enterprise Capabilities". A couple of enterprise capabilities that a vital are:

##Analysing Common Issues
A successful company needs to be able to recognise common issues that customers face and either provide original solutions or enhance existing ones. This is essential for running a profitable company since without insight into problems, the company could collapse from being irrelevant in the marketplace. Analyzing common issues is also important to an enterprise internally because it allows the enterprise to see where it can improve and find critical flaws in the enterprise.

##Talent Management
Talent management is the ability to understand what each employee is best at to optimise their skills to improve the enterprise. This ability is important to keep the enterprise working because if the employees aren't doing jobs they are good at, you will generally end up with a bad product. An extreme example of this is hiring a chief to install a server. Yes, they would be able to do it. However, the work wouldn't look professional and would take much longer to complete.

##Innovation
While generally, you don't want to reinvent the wheel, there are some exceptions. We call these perceptions "innovations" This is when you improve something that already exists or creates something new. Innovation is important to to a company's success because without innovating you will have too many competitors which makes it harder to compete in the market.  

#Apple
Apple is one of the largest hardware companies in the world, which was founded by Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak. Apple is known for creating the iPhone and MacBook to create a premium platform which makes millions a year.

##Skills
Apple's success is due to its founders' skills to innovate, lead teams and communicate. These skills combined turned Apple into a great success story. 

Apple's innovation skills allowed them to find flaws in the current IT market and fix common issues that customers were having in the industry. Because of this apple was able to stay as one of the top IT enterprises to this date. Their innovation skills are clearly shown by their constant drive to meet their customer's needs and requirements.

Apple's communication skills were vital to Apple's success in the industry because they enabled the company to work effectively to achieve their goals meet deadlines and create products that their customers want and need.  

##Factors that make enterprises successful

Apple’s success lies in its ability to understand the market’s needs to create a quality product and its effective marketing strategy. Apple has created a strong brand name which is known for its ease of use and user-friendly design to their customers around the world.  

##Attributes of the entrepreneur
Apple’s founders are known for their risk-taking and leadership skills which helped them to adapt and innovate to the markets’ needs/wants. This is one of the reasons why Apple is still one of the top companies in the world.

##Enterprise Planning
Apple’s plan is to expand its influence on different growing markets such as VR (virtual reality). Apple’s recent involvement with VR technology shows its commitment to exploring potential technologies. 

#Microsoft
Microsoft is a software development company founded by Bill Gates that is known for creating the popular operating system Windows and popular software such as the Microsoft Office applications.

#Skills
Microsoft’s current CEO is known for his leadership, adaptability and focus on innovation which is the main reason why Microsoft is still one of the largest technology companies to this day.
 
##Enterprise planning
Microsoft’s current plan for future development involves expanding its cloud computing capabilities and implementing AI into our day-to-day lives. These are some of the largest markets in the current IT industry, so Microsoft is still relevant today.

##New Technologies and Techniques
Microsoft has invested heavily in cloud computing and AI/machine learning to enhance its software to fit more people’s needs. This shows Microsoft’s dedication to innovation and improving its customer experience.

#Conclusion
Success in IT enterprises like Apple and Microsoft is mainly down to innovation, leadership and expertise. These three factors are demonstrated by both Apple and Microsoft which suggest that to create a successful enterprise you must have these set of skills.


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