Full Thesis
Full Thesis
Full Thesis
By
Md. Shahadot Hossain
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
_______________________________________
1. Dr. Md. Saiful Islam Chairman
Professor
Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT)
BUET, Dhaka-1000
(Supervisor)
_______________________________________
2. Dr. Md. Liakot Ali Member
Professor
Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT)
BUET, Dhaka–1000
_______________________________________
3. Mst. Shamim Ara Shawkat Member
Assistant Professor
Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT)
BUET, Dhaka-1000
i
CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION
It is hereby declared that this project report or any part of it has not been submitted elsewhere
for the award of any degree or diploma.
_________________
Md. Shahadot Hossain
ii
Acknowledgement
First of all, I would like to thank Almighty Allah for giving me the opportunity, strength and
patience for carrying out this work and to complete this project.
I would also like to thank Dr. Md. Saiful Islam, Professor and Director, Institute of
Information and Communication Technology, Bangladesh University of Engineering and
Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh for his valuable suggestions and constant encouragement
throughout the entire period of the work, which encouraged and conducted me in each and
every step of the project. I would also like to thank those who provide me various types of
information to develop this system.
I would like to acknowledge the efforts given by my family members for their continuous
support and inspiration, which helped me to complete the project successfully.
I would also like to reminisce the contributions and support given by my relatives and friends
for completing the project in time.
iii
Abstract
Tendering is widely used in all over the world in all business areas such as, purchasing goods,
seeking service provider, construction business etc. It is one of the fairest means of awarding
contracts. Thousands of industries and business organizations have been established in
Bangladesh in the last decade. Unfortunately these organizations are still working with the
traditional paper based manual tendering system. The existing manual tendering system is
slow, costly and time consuming. Traditional systems do not provide the interlinked
information in precise and usable way. Furthermore, in tendering system there is a question
about security and equal opportunity of participation in bidding.
An e-tendering system manages tenders through a web site. This can be accessed anywhere
globally and has greatly improved the accessibility of tenderers. It also brings lots of
opportunities including reducing costs of goods and services through aggregating purchasing
volume, streamlining procedures and etc. for both the purchaser and the bidder. So definitely
there is a need for a development of a web-based tendering system so that participants can get
equal opportunity to submit bids via Internet. Bangladesh government has also decided to
introduce e-tendering system to put an end to tender manipulation.
In this work, a complete web-based system has been developed which will give the purchaser
to publish all tender notice in the Internet. The bidders have to register with the system. The
bidders will be able to create their bidding profile and can apply for tender online via this
system. The purchaser will examine the submitted bids and make the decision which bid is
responsive/non-responsive or awarded. The awarded bidder will get an e-mail of notification
of awarding. This developed e-tendering system is low cost and can be easily adopted by any
organization who wants to make their tendering system online. Therefore, this web-based
system can play a vital role in removing the existing difficulties of tendering system in
Bangladesh.
iv
Table of Contents
I. Board of Examiners i
II. Candidate’s Declaration ii
III. Acknowledgement iii
IV. Abstract iv
V. Table of Contents v
VI. List of Tables ix
VII. List of Figures x
VIII. List of Abbreviations xiii
Chapter-1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Procurement/Tendering 1
1.3 Procurement Process 1
1.3.1 Business Need 2
1.3.2 Procurement Strategy 3
1.3.3 Supplier Selection and Evaluation 3
1.3.4 Negotiation and Award 4
1.3.5 Induction and Integration 5
1.4 Procurement Methods 6
1.5 Web-based System 7
1.6 E-tendering System 7
1.7 Objectives with Specific Aims and Possible 8
Outcome
1.8 Scopes of the Proposed e-Tendering System 9
1.9 Organization of the Project Report 9
v
1.10 Summary 10
2.1 Introduction 11
2.2 Electronic Government Procurement (E-GP) of 11
Bangladesh
2.3 E-Tendering System of Bangladesh Bank 15
3.1 Introduction 17
3.2 System Development Life Cycles (SDLC) 17
3.3 Outline of Methodology 19
3.3.1 Rapid Application Development (RAD) 19
3.3.2 Effectiveness of RAD Model 20
3.3.3 Phases of RAD 21
3.4 Feasibility Study 22
3.5 Requirement Gathering, Specification and 23
Planning
3.5.1 Identify User 23
3.5.2 Analysis of Main Features 24
3.5.3 Web-based Software Architecture 30
3.5.4 Hardware Interfaces 30
3.5.5 Software Interfaces 30
3.5.6 Security Requirements 33
3.5.7 Easy to Use 33
3.6 Design 33
3.7 Coding and Model Testing 33
vi
3.8 Integration and System Testing 34
3.9 Operational Mode 34
3.10 Modification and Maintenance 34
3.11 Summery 34
4.1 Introduction 36
4.2 E-R Diagram 36
4.3 Entity Diagram 38
4.3.1 Attributes of Entity Bidders 38
4.3.2 Attributes of Entity Content 38
4.3.3 Attributes of Entity Menu 39
4.3.4 Attributes of Entity Tenders 39
4.3.5 Attributes of Entity Tender Bids 40
4.3.6 Attributes of Entity user 40
4.4 Database Tables 41
4.5 Data Dictionary 42
4.6 Database Schema Diagram 47
4.7 Software Design 47
4.8 UML Diagram 48
4.8.1 Use Case Diagram 48
4.8.2 Use Case Diagram of User (Bidder) 49
4.8.3 Use Case Diagram of Administrators 49
4.9 Activity Diagram 50
4.9.1 Activity Diagram of Tendering 51
4.10 Summery 52
vii
Chapter-5: Results and Discussions
5.1 Introduction 53
5.2 Home Page 53
5.3 Sign Up Page 53
5.4 Sign In Page 54
5.5 User (Bidder’s) Home Page 55
5.6 Bidder’s Profile Page 55
5.7 Search New Tender Page 57
5.8 Tender Details Page 57
5.9 Biding Page 58
5.10 My Bids Page 59
5.11 Administrator login Page 60
5.12 Administrator Home Page 60
5.13 User Management Pages 61
5.14 Bidder Management Pages 64
5.15 Tenders Management Pages 68
5.16 View Bids Page 69
5.17 Home Page Menu Management Page 70
5.18 Content Management Page 72
Chapter-6: Conclusion
6.1 Conclusion 76
6.2 Future Works 77
viii
List of Tables
ix
List of Figures
x
Figure 4.8 Schema Diagram 47
xi
Figure 5.13.3 Edit Bidding Category Form 65
xii
List of Abbreviations
Abbreviation Description
xiii
1
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
Tendering is considered to be one of the fairest means of awarding contracts and the method
most likely to secure a favourable outcome for any organization in its spending of money.
The basic principles of the tendering process have been applied to many business areas, such
as purchasing goods, seeking service providers, business consulting, or the selection of main
contractors for construction work. In various industries all over the world, all sorts of
tendering method are used. With an explosive spread of the Internet and a rapid growth of
information technology, tendering activity would be performed electronically through the
Internet as well as other business activities. With the realization of electronic tendering
through the Internet and spreading practice of international electronic tendering, the needs for
international standardization are also necessary. According to such trends, the goal of this
project is to develop an Internet based tendering process.
1.2 Procurement/Tendering
Procurements the overarching function that describes the activities and processes to acquire
goods and services. Importantly, it is distinct from purchasing; it involves the activities for
establishing fundamental requirements, sourcing activities such as market research and
vendor evaluation and negotiation of contracts. It can also include the purchasing activities
required to order and receive goods or services.
The procurement process can be divided into five steps. Figure 1.1 shows the procurement
process.
2
One needs to understand what the fundamental business requirement and it is also important
to understand the difference between a requirement and a solution. For example, the business
requirement is to source some software to help to get information published on the
company’s intranet. An item of software to publish information on the company intranet is a
solution not a requirement. The requirement is to be able to publish information on the
intranet and it may be an outsourced solution is a better option. Figure 1.2 shows the business
needs of an organization.
Depending on the scale of your project, there could be a very wide range of potential
solutions and approaches to your business need and a number of ways of researching the
market and selecting a supplier. Figure 1.3 shows the procurement strategy of an
organization.
After researching the market and establishing organization’s procurement approach, they
need to evaluate the solutions available. This may involve a formal tender process or an on-
line auction. Criteria for comparing different solutions and suppliers are critical. Figure 1.4
shows the supplier selection and evaluation of an organization.
4
When an organization have selected a supplier it is important that detailed negotiations are
undertaken. This is not just about price. It is essential to consider carefully the process by
which the goods or services will be ordered and approved; how they will be delivered and
returned if necessary; how the invoice process will work and on what terms payment will be
made. Figure 1.5 shows the negotiation and award of contract of an organization.
5
No goods or services should be ordered or delivered until the contract is signed. It is vital that
the supplier is properly launched integrated. Figure 1.6 shows induction and integration of an
organization.
6
Procurement methods are the procedures used by the procuring entity to acquire goods,
services and works. These methods can be competitive and non competitive. There’s a
preference for using competitive methods of procurement given that they tend to promote
transparency, economy and efficiency, and limit favoritism.
Procurement methods are many, and they go by different names depending on the
procurement category. Most, with few exceptions, generally fall into the following types:
i) Open Tendering,
ii) Request for Proposals,
iii) Two-stage Tendering,
iv) Request for Quotations, and
v) Single-source Procurement.
7
Of the above procurement methods, open tendering, request for proposals, and two-stage
tendering are considered competitive procurement methods because the solicitation
documents are advertised and open to any qualified firm interested in competing for the
assignment. In contrast, request for quotations and single-source procurement are considered
non-competitive procurement methods because the invitation to submit offers is not
advertised, and it is sent only to firms or individuals specifically invited by the procuring
entity.
Any web-based system is defined as a system that can be accessed via web browsers within a
network [1]. Web-based systems need only to be installed on the server placing minimal
requirements on the end user workstation. This makes maintaining and updating the system
much simpler as it can be done on the server [2]. Most web based applications are far more
compatible across platforms than traditional installed software [3]. Web browsers are
available for a multitude of operating systems. For these reasons, many of the management
systems are now being developed as web-based systems.
Any system that uses information and communication technologies (ICT) in order to do
business can be classified as e-Business system. In fact, e-Business is a broader definition of
e-Commerce because it includes not only the buying and selling of goods and services, but
also servicing customers, collaborating with business partners, conducting electronic
transactions within an organization.
From this point of view, it is possible to make many definitions for e-Procurement. In the
simplest sense, e-Procurement means carrying out procurement decisions of the organization
online through the use of the Internet. In other words, e-Procurement is about transforming
the processes associated with public procurement and refers to automating corresponding
processes of public institutions. [5] In other words, e-Procurement is more than simply
buying online. It is changing the traditional way in which public institutions do business. e-
Procurement involves the use of ICT in each step of the public procurement process from
identification of the need to payment. Implementation of e-Procurement initiates automation
of both internal and external processes associated with public procurement process.
The main goal of this project is to develop an automated e-tendering system. The specific
objectives of this project are as follows:
1. Any particular organization which wants to convert their traditional tendering system
in to e-tendering can use this software.
2. A bidder can have access via any browser within a network.
3. A bidder will be able to know details about a tender.
4. A bidder will get an e-mail notification every time a new tender is published.
5. A bidder will be able to sign in into the system after sign up.
6. After signing in a bidder will be able to
Chapter 5: Results and Discussions: This chapter describes different functional pages and
modules of the project.
Chapter 6: Conclusion: Finally the last chapter of project documentation describes the
conclusions and recommendations for future work and ends with references.
1.10 Summary
All the organizations all over the world need to purchase various types of products or services
to meet their requirement. Tendering is considered to be one of the fairest means of awarding
contracts and this method is using for a long time in all over the worlds.
Now a day’s industries, business and personal worlds are dominated by a wide range of
technologies and e-activities, including: computers, email, internet, web sites, etc, finding it
more and more difficult to function without them. Yet, the success of any profession is
described as going beyond simply exchanging electronic information. Successful
implementation of ICT and innovative web-based e-solutions requires careful consideration
to meet industry needs.
11
2.1 Introduction
The rapid pace of technological advancement over the last three decades has transformed the
traditional business process to an electronic format. Today business and governments are largely
reliant on ICT to communicate and enter into contacts. One aspect of this transformation has
been the adoption of electronic tendering systems or (e-tendering)
E-tendering is increasingly being adopted throughout the world. E-tendering, in its simplest
form, is described as the electronic publishing, communicating, accessing, receiving and
submitting of all tender related information and documentation via the internet, thereby replacing
the traditional paper-based tender processed, and achieving a more efficient and effective
business process for all parties invade .
In this chapter we will describe about some e-tendering systems using in Bangladesh.
Electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) [9] is the application of an efficient high quality
management framework to public sector procurement, facilitated through online information and
processes. e-GP has the potential to strengthen the accountability, transparency, efficiency and
effectiveness of this sensitive high value government function.
For most jurisdictions, it represents both an opportunity for procurement reform and changing
the way procurement is conducted. The development of e-GP depends more on getting the
policy, strategic planning, management and governance components in place, rather than just the
actual application of the technology.
e-GP is usually conducted through a common web site that allows for the registration of
suppliers and buyers, and public access to procurement policy, guidelines, procurement
opportunities, process stages and procurement outcomes (i.e. who won the contracts, cost,
duration etc.). The procurement systems on the website can be accessed by both buyers and
suppliers and allow the procurement process to be conducted online. They usually cover:
There may also be other associated systems to provide information and management support
such as an online procurement library containing policy statements, guidelines, document
templates and procurement advice to assist in the operation of the process. The procurement
systems are usually integrated with government administrative systems so that payments can be
made online, and issues such as asset planning and management information can be linked to the
procurement cycle.
The procurement systems may also be linked to a data warehouse so that procurement trends,
and information and analysis can be undertaken by both government and business to assist
improved decision-making.
14
The e-GP systems are supported by a number of critical key components. For example, having a
viable information and communication infrastructure would provide suppliers and buyers with
good quality, inexpensive access to the Internet.
The introduction of e-tender in the Bangladesh Bank (BB) [10] has made possible fair, free and
fearless participation of tenderers in the bidding process eliminating domination of muscle power
and shortening the procurement cycle. In this system all tender notice of BB will be published
via Internet, after registration bidders will receive email alert for the system, and bidders will
participate the bid online.
16
Figure 2.4 shows the bidder login page of Bangladesh Bank e-tendering system.
Since its introduction in May 2010 Bangladesh Bank has already given 350 contracts out of 400
to winning bidders for procurement of goods through e-tender replacing the cumbersome method
of inviting tender and awarding contract. The practice of e-tender minimizes use of papers on
tendering exercises and reduce hassles involved in communication and administration and reduce
labour intensive tasks of receipt, recording and distribution of tender. In fact, this e-tender tool
transforms a rigid, process driven environment into a flexible, result driven landscape.
4. Participate in bid: a bidder will view all available tenders. Then from the link,
he may select the tender for which he wants to apply. If the tender has a price,
to participate he will have to purchase a security number from tender caller
3.1 Introduction
For development the e-tendering system we perform feasibility study, and gather the
requirements according to the SDLC. In this chapter we also identified the main features of the
developed e-tendering system and users of the system we also find out hardware and software
interface, security interface.
The system development life cycle is the overall process of developing, implementing, and
retiring information systems through a multistep process from initiation, analysis, design,
implementation, and maintenance to disposal. The SDLC aims to produce a high quality system
that meets or exceeds customer expectations, reaches completion within times and cost estimates,
works effectively and efficiently in the current and planned Technology infrastructure, and is
inexpensive to maintain and cost-effective to enhance.
Computer systems are complex and often (especially with the recent rise of service-oriented
architecture) link multiple traditional systems potentially supplied by different software vendors.
To manage this level of complexity, a number of SDLC models or methodologies have been
created, such as "waterfall"; "spiral"; "Agile software development"; "rapid prototyping";
"incremental"; and "synchronize and stabilize".
SDLC is used during the development of an IT project; it describes the different stages involved
in the project from the drawing board, through the completion of the project.
The SDLC framework provides a sequence of activities for system designers and developers to
follow. It consists of a set of steps or phases in which each phase of the SDLC uses the results of
the previous one.
18
A Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) adheres to important phases that are essential for
developers, such as planning, analysis, design, and implementation, and are explained in the
section below. Figure 3.1 shows SDLC Phases.
• Requirement gathering: in this step, the basic requirement of the project is identified
and identify the problems. Describes the costs and benefits.
• Analysis: Defines project goals into defined functions and operation of the intended
application. Analyzes end-user information needs.
• Design: Describes desired features and operations in detail, including screen layouts,
business rules, process diagrams, pseudo code and other documentation.
• Testing: Brings all the pieces together into a special testing environment, then checks for
errors, bugs and interoperability.
• Implementation: The final stage of initial development, where the software is put into
production and runs actual business.
• Maintenance: During the maintenance stage of the Life-Cycle, the system is assessed to
ensure it does not become obsolete. This is also where changes are made to initial
software. It involves continuous evaluation of the system.
There are many different SDLC models and methodologies, but each generally consists of a
series of defined steps or phases. For any SDLC model that is used, information security must be
integrated into the SDLC to ensure appropriate protection for the information that the system will
transmit, process, and store.
Some SDLC models are: waterfall, fountain, spiral, build and fix, rapid prototyping,
incremental, and synchronize and stabilize.
In this project we will followed the “Rapid application development Model”. The brief
overview of the process is depicted below.
Rapid application development was a response to processes developed in the 1970s and 1980s,
such as the Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method and other Waterfall models. One
problem with previous methodologies was that applications took so long to build that
requirements had changed before the system was complete, resulting in inadequate or even
unusable systems. Another problem was the assumption that a methodical requirements analysis
phase alone would identify all the critical requirements. Ample evidence attests to the fact that
this is seldom the case, even for projects with highly experienced professionals at all levels.
Starting with the ideas of Brian Gallagher, Alex Balchin, Barry Boehm and Scott Shultz, James
Martin developed the rapid application development approach during the 1980s at IBM and
finally formalized it by publishing a book in 1991, Rapid Application Development.
The shift from traditional session-based client/server development to open session less and
collaborative development like Web 2.0 has increased the need for faster iterations through the
phases of the software development process. This, coupled with the growing use of open source
frameworks and products in core commercial development, has, for many developers, rekindled
interest in finding a silver bullet RAD methodology.
Although most RAD methodologies foster software re-use, small team structure and distributed
system development, most RAD practitioners recognize that, ultimately, no one “rapid”
methodology can provide an order of magnitude improvement over any other development
methodology.
All types of RAD have the potential for providing a good framework for faster product
development with improved software quality, but successful implementation and benefits often
hinge on project type, schedule, software release cycle and corporate culture. It may also be of
21
interest that some of the largest software vendors such as Microsoft and IBM do not extensively
use RAD in the development of their flagship products and for the most part, they still rely
primarily on traditional waterfall methodologies with some degree of spiraling.
Since rapid application development is an iterative and incremental process, it can lead to a
succession of prototypes that never culminate in a satisfactory production application. Such
failures may be avoided if the application development tools are robust, flexible, and put to
proper use. This is addressed in methods such as the 2080 Development method or other post-
agile variants.
1. Requirements Planning phase – combines elements of the system planning and systems
analysis phases of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Users, managers, and
IT staff members discuss and agree on business needs, project scope, constraints, and
system requirements. It ends when the team agrees on the key issues and obtains
management authorization to continue.
2. User design phase – during this phase, users interact with systems analysts and develop
models and prototypes that represent all system processes, inputs, and outputs. The RAD
groups or subgroups typically use a combination of Joint Application Development
(JAD) techniques and CASE tools to translate user needs into working models. User
Designis a continuous interactive process that allows users to understand, modify, and
eventually approve a working model of the system that meets their needs.
3. Construction phase – focuses on program and application development task similar to
the SDLC. In RAD, however, users continue to participate and can still suggest changes
or improvements as actual screens or reports are developed. Its tasks are programming
and application development, coding, unit-integration and system testing.
4. Cutover phase – resembles the final tasks in the SDLC implementation phase, including
data conversion, testing, changeover to the new system, and user training. Compared with
traditional methods, the entire process is compressed. As a result, the new system is built,
delivered, and placed in operation much sooner.
22
In various industries all over the world, there are all sorts of tendering action being performed
including public procurement of construction works, service and goods. But the existing
procurement process is inefficient and with an explosive spread of the Internet and a rapid
growth of information technology, the conversion of existing tendering process to an e-tendering
is a requirement of time. The electronic transformation of the public procurement processes will
offer the potential for significant savings from its early stages. It also brings lots of opportunities
including reducing costs of goods and services through aggregating purchasing volume,
streamlining procedures and etc. for both the government and the private sector.
E-tendering provides Organizations can access various goods and services from a variety of
vendors whereas vendors can reach all the opportunities easier than ever before. As a result, both
23
Organization and vendors will benefit from a common platform where the former can get all the
information to make a purchase decision.
System Administrator: System administrator can do anything on the site, in all pages. System
administrator is responsible for updating and maintaining the database and codes of the software.
In e-tendering the System Administrator is the Head of Procuring Entity (HOPE).
24
Users (Bidders): The main Users are the registered bidders of the organization who will use this
software. To bid in a tender, a bidder should have the basic computer using ability. By signing in
user can see all general information and can also apply for tender, can update personal
information, bidding profileand change his/her own passwordetc.
Supper
User
(HOPE)
Administrator
Bidders
Guest Users
Guest Users: these users are mainly those who will view the static pages of the website such as
Home, About Us etc. This type of users will not view any other pages until they are registered.
On short we may say the user before registration is a guest user.
E-tendering System
AVATARS
Bidder Administrator
E-tendering System
AVATARS
Bidder Administrator
A Bidder first applies for registration. After successful registration a bidder have to create a
Bidding profile. After approval of the bidding profile by any admin a Bidder can apply for any
tender. A bidder need to go to the tender page and all information about the tender is in there. He
can download these documents. All information of the bidder will be displayed in the bidder
profile page. Bidder can edit/update his profile. Administrator should have to approve a profile
after edited. A bidder will also view the tenders he applied. Figure 3.6 shows the tendering and
bidding system.
AVATARS
Bidder Administrator
Profile Creation
Every bidder have to have a valid biding profile. A bidder will login to the system and submit all
necessary papers and the administrator will approve the bidding profile. Figure 3.7 shows profile
creation process of bidders.
AVATARS
Bidder Administrator
Control Information
After the submission time the super administrators can see how much bid are submitted in a
tender and he will be able to award the tender to someone. Normal administrators or any other
users have no power to view bid information. Users can only view limited information.
29
Download/Print Option
Bidders will be able to download there profile in PDF format. They will also able to download
the tender documents in a PDF format. The administrators also have the privilege to download
any tender information or bidding information with profile of bidder in PDF format. Figure 3.8
shows tender/bid awarding system.
4
E-tendering System Bidder who’s bid get
AWARDED will get an e-mail
of winning the tender
AVATARS
Super Admin
Bidder (HOPE)
Web Browser
The Client Application
(Internet Explorer, Mozilla,
and Client
Google Chrome etc.)
Intranet
Interface: enabling users to efficiently design, develop and maintain standard based
websites and applications.
MySQL: My Structured Query Language
Version number: 5.0.
Source: MySQL.
Purpose: Required as database server.
Definition of the MySQL is the world's most popular open source database software. With
Interface: superior speed, reliability, and ease of use, MySQL has become the
preferred choice of corporate IT Managers because it eliminates the major
problems associated with downtime, maintenance, administration and
support.
JavaScript/ECMAScript
Version number: 1.6.
Source: ECMA organization.
Purpose: For opening or popping up a new window, Validation of web form (input
values to make sure that they will be accepted before they are submitted to
the server) etc.
Definition of the JavaScript is an object-oriented scripting language used to enable
Interface: programmatic access to objects within both the client application and
other applications. It is primarily used in the form of client-side
JavaScript, implemented as an integrated component of the web browser,
allowing the development of enhanced user interfaces and dynamic
websites.
CSS: Cascading Style Sheets
Version number: CSS 2.1.
Source: World Wide Web Consortium.
Purpose: To enable the separation of document content from document
presentation, including elements such as the colours, fonts, and layout.
Definition of the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used to describe
Interface: the presentation semantics (that is, the look and formatting) of a document
written in a markup language.
33
3.6 Design
The design phase describes how the software is constructed so that it fulfills the specifications
agreed upon in the requirements specification document. It explains required features and
operations in detail, including database design, software design, screen layouts and other
documentation. When the design is completed it is recorded in the design specification
document. There are different types of design to develop this software like ERD, UML etc.
Design stage is described in details in Chapter 4.
3.11 Summery
The software development lifecycle (SDLC) is not only a great way to ensure the software to
meet the needs of business and customers, but it is also essential in supporting the software once
it’s published. SDLC is a process used by software industry to design, develop and test high
quality software. The SDLC aims to produce high quality software that meets or exceeds
customer expectations, reaches completion within times and cost estimates. SDLC is a
framework to guide the development to make it more systematic and efficient. Using SDLC we
will be able to tell how long it will take to complete the project, to test and deploy. Not only that,
we'll have an easier time debugging and finding flaws in the software program or make
enhancement to it. We have planed our development according to the standard SDLC.
We have gone through all the steps of SDLC and analyse as details as possible and made our
development decisions.
36
4.1 Introduction
The software system design describes the desired software features in detail, including
database design (ER diagram), software design (UML is produced here), screen layouts and
other documents. In system design, the software's overall structure is defined with a full data
dictionary. These design elements are intended to describe the software in detail that helps to
develop the software with minimal additional input.
description
id
menutyp
title
id path
Content content Featured
Category
Categories
description Tenders
Categories
Parent_id
Enlistment
id rgt
Tenders
title
lft
bidders Tender
bids
User User type
usergroup
map
Bidding
Profile User
User to
User profile
Profile
User_id Profile_value
Profile_key
Figure 4.1: E-R Diagram
38
trade_licence2
description
incorporation
user_id
Bidders income_tax
id
cer_vat
published bank_guar
ordering
alias
introtext
title
id
parentid fulltext
feature state
Content
orderin catid
publish_dow created
publish_up modified
created_by
modified_b
id link
home level
rgt
ordering
lft
description
title
spec
id
ordering
tenders
created
no op_date
catid
published
id
awarde tender_id
bidder_id
title
ref no
Tender_bids
description
published
spec
created
username sendEmail
name lastvisitDate
registerDate
usertype
id activation
user
email
lastResetTime
password
resetCount params
block
1. Bidders Table: The name of this entity set is bidders. This table contents a bidder's
profile information like- Trade-license, TIN etc.
2. Categories: The name of this entity set is categories. This entity will show the
categories of bidder. Id, title, alias, description, published, parent_id, lft, rgt, level,
path, extension are the attributes of this entity set.
3. Bidders Category: The name of this entity set is bidder_categories. id, user_id, catid
and published are the attributes of this entity set.
4. Content: The name of this entity set is content. This table is using for displaying the
html pages of the site.
5. Content in Home page: The name of this entity set is content_frontpage. this table
consists of content_id, ordering.
6. Menu: The name of this entity set is menu. This table is displaying the menu for the
web site.
7. Menu Types: The name of this entity set is menu_types. id, menutype, title and
description are the attributes of this entity set.
8. Tenders: The name of this entity set is tenders. This entity is used for keeping all
tender information.
9. Tenders Bids: The name of this entity set is tender_bids. This table is used for
keeping record about all bids .
10. User Type: The name of this entity set is usergroup. Usergroup entities are consist of
Id, parent_id, left, right and Title.
11. User : The name of this entity set is user. This table is used for keeping the
information about all users of this system.
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12. User Profile information: The name of this entity set is user_profiles. This table will
content user profile details information (such as address, phone no, city, postal_code
etc.). Entities of this tables are: user_id, profile_key and profile_value
13. User to Useertype map: The name of this entity set is user_usergroup_map. Entities
of this table consist of user_id and , group_id etc.
Use Case
Actor
An actor represents a person, organization, or external system that will interact with this
system. The symbols of actors are drawn as stick figures. A use case is an external view of
the system that represents some actions the user might perform in order to complete a task
and is drawn as a horizontal ellipse. Lines are used to represent the relationships between
these elements.
Login
Update
View Personal
Information Delete
Bidder
Bid for tenders (only
registered categories)
Logout
Login
Delete Update
Head of
View/Delete/ Edit tender
Procuring
info Record
entity (HOPE)
Logout
else
Bidder dashboard
Approve by admin
Not accept
Accepted
4.10 Summery
The design of a database is crucial so that the database can function accurately or precisely. A
good design of a database facilitates data managements and valuable information generator.
A poor designed database tends to have errors, data redundancy, inaccuracy, can also be time
consuming etc. proper or good design must be taken into consideration so to avoid
redundancy, inaccuracy , errors etc as users would like to have a more efficient and reliable
database that performs to the best or as expected.
For this project we create a database which contents 13 tables. All tables are well designed
and redundant free. We use strong entity set for most of the tables. Developing a database
without an ERD is as building a house without a building plan. It might be doable because
you think that simply laying a brick one over another is enough to build something.
In this project we build a E-R diagram which contents details entity, entity set, relationship
between entities and key constraints so that the database become more easier and meaningful
to everybody.
5.1 Introduction
The developed E-Tendering System has different essential features. Screen shot of some of the
main features are explained below.
new tenders on this system we will call them ‘Administrator’. On the other hand a HOPE will
get not only all the privilege that an admin user has but also the bid management. HOPE will
be able to view all bids that been submitted in a tender. HOPE will provide the decision of the
bid (Awarded, Responsive and Not-Responsive). In this system we call this type of user as
‘Super admin’. Figure 5.11 shows the home page for both type administrators.
Administrators can also create/update/delete user groups/levels of users. Figure 5.12.4 shows
the user Groups management page for administrator.
Administrators can also create/update/delete user access levels. Figure 5.12.5 shows the user
access level management page for administrator. There are mainly three type of access level.
Firstly public access level is for all who are visiting the system. They will be able to visit only
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the static pages of the system. Second access level is registered this type of users are those
who are registered in this system. This users will be able to visit any pages except that are not
the administrator pages. In this system this users are ‘Bidders’. Finally the third access level is
for the administrators.
Figure 5.13.4 shows the bidder’s profile management page; Figure 5.13.5 shows add new
bidder’s profile form and Figure 5.13.6 shows edit bidder’s profile form. From this page
admin will be able to create/update/delete bidding profiles for any bidder. The most important
part of this page is when ever any bidder create/edit his bidding profile admin must
approve/publish his profile from this page otherwise the bidder will not be able to view there
profile.
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Figure 5.13.7 shows all bidder’s enlisted category page; Figure 5.13.8 shows add new bidder’s
enlisted category form and Figure 5.13.9 shows edit bidder’s category form. From this page
admin will be able to enlisted or remove a bidder to any category. A bidder will only bid on
those categories for which he is enlisted. The organization my take some yearly fee for
enlistment.
The second part of contents is article. An article is that type of content which shows in a page.
To display something in a page we have to create a new article of that and linked with a menu.
Figure 5.17.4 shows the article/content management page from this page admin will be able to
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create, edit, delete, publish and un-publish a article/content. Figure 5.17.5 shows create new
article form and Figure 5.17.6 shows the edit article form.
Chapter 6: Conclusion
6.1 Conclusion
In this study, detailed analysis of tendering process is done and according to the findings
modules has been developmental. The resulting system is a web-based tendering system
designed to connect organization as buyer and businesses as sellers. Among the most
important functionalities of the system are providing immediate responses through e-mail
communication, verification of documents and online tender awarding. In addition, this
system offers the potential for significant savings such as decrease in costs associated with
publishing and getting information, increase in competition, improvements in transparency in
public administration and enhancements in the overall quality of tendering management
throughout savings in terms of cost and time.
The developed e-tendering system is a web-based system which is very user friendly. The
administrators (admin user and the head of procuring entity, HOPE) can create,
approve/reject bidders and there profiles. The administrators can also manage tenders. Only
the HOPE will be able to view the bids submitted on a tender. And HOPE will publish the
decision of TEC (Tender Evaluation Committee). Thus, the security of the system has been
maintained.
E-tendering system is a multi-user system, which can be used by a number of users
simultaneously. Every user has own user id and password. Personal information can be only
accessed by that user. Bidders will be able to view/update their profile and can bid in tenders.
This software will also provides the information about the company and there contact details.
This software is integrated with a dynamic company website.
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References
[1] Powell, T.A., “Web Design: The Complete Reference”, 2nd Edition, 2006.
[2] Ruikar, T., “Towards Secure And Legal E-Tendering”, April 2006.
[3] Pavlov, G., Aleksandrova, V., “E-Tendering-An Approach for Ensuring Transparency in
Budget Management”, Information & Secutity, vol. 11, pp 148-162, 2003.
[4] European Union (EU), “A European Initiative in Electronic Commerce”, pp 2, April
1997.
[5] Institute for public policy research (IPPR), “Report on Public Procurement and
Electronic Services Delivery”, 2003.
[6] http://www.bangladesh-bank.org; Last accessed on 29.09.2013
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/e-procurement; Last accessed on 29.09.2013
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Request_for_quotation; Last accessed on 29.09.2013
[9] e-Procurement of Bangladesh Government http://www.eprocure.gov.bd; Last accessed
on 29.09.2013
[10] e-tendering system of Bangladesh Bank. http://203.76.110.138/etender; Last accessed on
29.09.2013
[11] http://php.net; Last accessed on 29.09.2013
[12] http://www.joomla.org; Last accessed on 29.09.2013
[13] http://www.mysql.com; Last accessed on 29.09.2013
[14] http://www.apache.org; Last accessed on 29.09.2013
[15] http://www.w3school.com; Last accessed on 29.09.2013
Appendix A
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