Expert System Job Offer Evaluation Software May Abstract The project’s focus is to decide what criteria should be used to determine which job offer is best and how to manage unavailable data. To solve this problem, it shall be necessary to poll other ISU students to see what input they may have. It shall also be necessary to be in contact with Engineering Career Services to see what elements they would like to see in the software. The software shall have the capability for the user to add criteria in the event that an item important to them isn’t included in the final list of criteria. The end product shall be designed on a platform that allows students to enter their job offers and the corresponding data with each job offer that assists evaluation. A large portion of time shall be spent communicating with peers and Engineering Career Services to ensure that the program does the best possible job of comparing a student’s job offers. Introduction General Problem Statement Develop an easily understandable and highly usable program Design a platform independent program Use an extensive list of criteria and a priority-driven system to evaluate offers General Solution Approach Create a formula to produce overall and category scores Use a web-based system will be used to run the program Users will have the option to input their own criteria and establish priorities for criteria Operating Environment The backend hosting server must be protected from power surges, extreme temperatures, and dust The user should be using an up to date browser Intended Users College level students wishing to evaluate multiple job offers Users with basic computer knowledge and internet access Anyone wishing to evaluate two or more jobs Assumptions Program can handle up to 10 users at a time The minimum required browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or equivalents Up to 10 new criteria may be added to the program Limitations Compares up to 5 job offers at the same time Only an Internet browser is required to run the program Program will be multiple operating system compatible Expected End Product and Other Deliverables End-Product Prototype End-User Documentation Maintenance and Support Documentation Project Requirements Design Objectives Provide user with a predefined list of criteria Must allow user to compare multiple job offers at a time Must allow user to enter their own criteria to compare job offers Program must work on multiple operating systems and Internet browsers Functional Requirements Provide a default list of criteria concerning job offers Should allow the user to split up the results into subgroups for comparison between categories Must allow user to enter their own criteria to save and edit saved jobs Shall allow the user to prioritize each item within the list of factors Design Constraints A host server is needed to run the backend of the program The program shall only be available in English No additional software will be needed beyond that of the operating system and Internet browser Measurable Milestones Completion of the product design Completion of product coding and implementation Completion of product testing Completion of documentation Approach and Considerations Proposed Approach Existing software and the evaluation criteria used by those programs shall be researched Engineering Career Services and advisors will be contacted for their input on the product’s structure and criteria used Prospective users from a variety of backgrounds will be asked to help test the product Technologies Considered An Excel-based spreadsheet A web program utilizing a web-based language such as PHP A program using a compiled language such as C++ or Java Testing Considerations Stress testing by the programmers of the system Evaluative testing subjects include: Engineering Students Non-Engineering Students Career services staff and advisors Subjects not attending ISU Resources and Schedule Closing Summary Financial Requirements Poster$65.00 Binding and Copying$25.00 Labor at $10.50/hour$9, Total$9, Personal Effort Requirements (hours) Aaron Neuroth225 Joel Winbigler210 Jeff O’Brien220 Scott Moser220 Total875 Task NameCompletion Date Problem Definition10/10/2004 Technology Considerations and Selection11/7/2004 End-Product Design4/24/2005 End-Product Prototype Implementation1/30/2005 End-Product Testing3/27/2005 End-Product Demonstration4/24/2004 Project Reporting4/24/2004 Team Client: Senior Design Team Advisors: Dr. John Lamont Prof. Ralph Patterson III Design Team: Aaron Neuroth, Electrical Engineering Joel Winbigler, Computer Engineering Jeff O’Brien, Computer Engineering Scott Moser, Computer Engineering FIGURE 2: Software output screen FIGURE 1: User input interface Individuals wishing to effectively evaluate two or more job offers have many factors to consider, and it is necessary for them to have an effective means of performing this evaluation. By utilizing multiple resources, this project shall provide the user with flexible web-based software to perform this evaluation. Upon completion, the Expert System Job Evaluation Software shall not only assist users in determining the strengths and weaknesses of job offers they receive, but also urge the user to consider aspects of a job offer that may not have been considered otherwise.