Project Introduction

Overview
As a member of Thornaby Indoor Bowls Club I am aware of some of the problems that the bowls club currently has, specifically relating to league fixtures. At the start of each season league fixtures for the upcoming season (September – April) are distributed as paper-based hand-outs to members when they pay their annual subscription fee. Using a website to act as a repository for league fixtures will mitigate the need for distributing hand-outs, and reduce the risk of lost fixture sheets. As league fixtures are played, the results from matches are currently added to a Microsoft Excel spread sheet and printed out (30 per week). Furthermore, multiple print-outs are produced at each social night, used to show the results of social events (e.g. Bonus Ball results, Find the Joker results, Tote results). The main concept of this project solution is to reduce the need for printing out approximately 5000 of copies of fixtures and results by incorporating information into a website.

Project Idea

The project that I plan to research, design and implement is an iterative web-based project, primarily designed to develop a prototype website for members of Thornaby Indoor Bowls Club in Thornaby (Stockton-On-Tees). The purpose of the website is to allow members of the bowls club to search for the time and location of their personal upcoming league fixtures, using search functions. By developing the project solution, members won’t have to refer to hard-copy league fixtures, which are often misplaced. Members will be able to search for their personal match fixtures via the website, and print out fixtures accordingly.

Committee staff members at Thornaby Indoor Bowls Club, they would also like the website to be secure by containing multiple log-in sections (section for playing members and for admin/staff members), a function that allows members to pay their annual membership subscription fee online, and also a blog where members can communicate with each other.ff

I aim to develop the project using a combination of HTML5, PHP, XML, CSS3, and a link to a SQL Server Database. Based on research I have completed thus far, I am going to develop my solution using Notepad ++, and occasionally refer to Adobe Dreamweaver for styling clarification. In terms of developing graphics, I plan to use Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Adobe Flash CS5.

Core Project Objectives

I aim to achieve the following core objectives by developing the project solution:

• The website will need to communicate with a SQL Server Database to insert, update and delete table records, so that league fixtures can be read (for the benefit of members), added, modified (based on the result of a fixture), and deleted (when the league is finished).
• Generate outputs from the SQL Server Database to show current league tables, based on the results that are inputted through the website.
• The SQL Server Database must be able to manipulate the table data, and provide an output (upcoming league fixtures) based on a search query performed by a user.
• Mitigate the process of physically handing out league fixtures at the start of each season.
• Allow website members to print out league fixtures. This will save money for the bowls club, as they currently print out fixtures.
• Allow members to pay for their membership subscriptions using the website and PayPal.
• Allow members to communicate with other members, through the use of a blog.
• Encourage website visitors to return to the website in the future, by using a professional layout, appropriate colour scheme, and basic navigational hierarchy.

As a member of Thornaby Indoor Bowls Club, I am currently aware that the club struggles to interact with its members via the notice boards (used to display league tables, results from social events etc.). People frequently walk straight past notice boards without reading the content. Developing a website will improve the chances of the bowls club communicating with the members.