Process Modeling: Prototyping an Event-Driven IT Application

Pets-R-Us is a retail store that sells pet supplies at both brick-and-mortar stores across the United States and through its on-line store. The following describes the sales/collection process of the on-line store, which is similar to other on-line retail stores like Amazon.com.

Description of Online Sales/Collection Process Procedures

Pets-R-Us online sales/collection process begins when a customer places an order on the company website. Note that the customer must have an account in order to place an order. The customer pays for the order with a third-party credit card at the time of the order. Note also that backorders are permitted, but paid for at the time of the order.

Each morning, a warehouse employee checks the computer system for orders placed the previous day. He prints out one copy of each order to be used as a stock release. For each order, he picks the goods, scans them with a handheld device, and places the goods and the stock release in a bin on a conveyor belt. The bin travels along the conveyor belt to the shipping department. The shipping clerk manually compares the contents of the cart to the stock release and the pick data. If deficiencies exist, a manager helps to resolve the differences. If no differences exist, the shipping clerk packages the goods. The shipping clerk then keys in the shipping information to update the customer shipment transaction file and prepares three copies of the shipping notice and one return authorization document. One copy of the shipping notice is filed in the shipping department. One copy is included in the shipment to the customer along with the return authorization, and the last copy is for the accounting department. UPS arrives every day at 5:00 PM to pick up all shipments. After the shipping clerk knows the goods are on their way to the customer, the stock release and a copy of the shipping notice are stapled together and sent to the accounting department.

Customers are permitted to make returns. Customer returns are received in the warehouse. The warehouse clerk manually prepares a receiving report and inspects and reconciles the returned goods to the return authorization included in the shipment by the customer. The warehouse clerk places the returned goods on the warehouse shelves. The receiving report and return authorization are stapled together and sent to the accounting department.

Required:

Conceptual model: Draw an REA model with cardinalities for the operating events in the sales/collection process described above. Make sure you differentiate between the operating and the information events. The REA model can be hand-drawn.

Logical model: List each database table required, complete with key attributes (primary keys), foreign keys, and non-key attributes. Use proper notation as described in lectures. This part of the requirement needs to be typewritten. You will not use Microsoft Access for this assignment