Project Context - Exercise

Review both the problem statement and user statements below. Which of the user statements helps you define the context of the course project system?

As you read the user statements, keep these questions in mind:

1. Who will interact with the system?
2. Which other systems or devices will interact with the system?
3. How will the users communicate with the system? That is, what information do they need from the system and what information does the system need from them?

If a statement below answers one of the questions above, you can be reasonably assured that the statement will help you define the context of the project system.

Our company needs a system to support the sales of tickets for shows at our venue. The venue is a single auditorium facility. The seats are arranged within the venue in sections, rows, and seat numbers so that we can uniquely identify each seat. We present a wide variety of events such as plays, concerts, and sporting events. Some of our events are long running with multiple shows each week. Some events have only one show, such as a sporting event. We use what we call a pricing strategy for each show. A show pricing strategy is made up of one or more price tiers or pricing levels. Each price tier defines a price for each price type that we offer, for example, adult, student, and child prices. Every seat in a show is priced by associating each seat with one of the price tiers for that show.
The pricing strategy can also include a volume discount, but not all shows offer a discount. Also, the same pricing strategy can be used for any number of shows. For example, we use the same pricing strategy for all our Saturday matinees.
Most of our tickets are sold through agents. Agents must have a legal contract with us before we can do business. Once agents have a contract, the facilities manager sets up a sales agreement with the agent. The sales agreement gives the agent permission to sell certain seats for a period of time. The agent can sell tickets for the assigned seats for any shows that take place during that period. Individual customers can also buy tickets directly from us. They can access only the seats that are not assigned to agents. Both customers and agents view the available seats through a seating chart. When a customer or agent selects a seat on the seating chart, he or she effectively puts a hold on the seat so that no one else can select it until the customer either releases it or buys it. Once the customer or agent buys the ticket, the ticket is issued and mailed to the customer.

For each of the user statements above, indicate in the text box below whether or not the statement helps you define the context of the course project system. Briefly explain why it does or why it does not.