Running Head: TECHNICAL ARTICLE DOCUMENT: FREQUENT SHOPPER PROGRAM 1Technical Article Document: Frequent Shopper ProgramBSA385TECHNICAL ARTICLE DOCUMENT: FREQUENT SHOPPER PROGRAM2Frequent Shopper Program: Technical Article DocumentKudler Fine Foods (KFF) is a specialty food store chain in the San Diego, California. KFF contracted Smith Systems Consulting to develop the Frequent Shopper Program (FSP). FSP will monitor customer purchasing history and accumulate them as redeemable loyalty pointswhich customers can use for gift items and other products or services available through external partner companies. The Sales and Marketing page section of KFF’s intranet site describes the strategic purpose of the Frequent Shopper Program.Smith Systems Consulting (SSC) provides information technology (IT) services and consulting, which include developmental solutions, IT integration, strengthening, analysis, design, and implementation (Apollo Group, 2004). SSC will submit a proposal to KFF that details the development processes of the FSP project. This paper is a technical article document that lists the project’s logical and physical models, which includes hardware, network, software, database, controls, and other development related tools.Logical and Physical ModelsLogical and physical models are representations of the key elements and processes of a software development. The logical model describes the processes, especially data, in as much detail as possible, without giving regard to how the system will be physically implemented. Logical data models include entities and relationships among them and how data flows from one process or entity to another. The physical model, on the other hand, delineates the physical implementation of the system, which answers how the logical model will be implemented physically. The physicalTECHNICAL ARTICLE DOCUMENT: FREQUENT SHOPPER PROGRAM3model is a modified version of the logical model, intended particularly to work with a specific set of software and hardware components (Hoberman, 2009).Logical Model of the FSP In-Store OperationThe new Frequent Shopper Program will add changes to the existing functions of Kudler Fine Foods operations. When a customer initiates a transaction, the cashier clerk will ask if the customer is already a member of the Frequent Shopper Program. When the customer is not a member and does not want to participate, the transaction executes immediately, and the receipt given to the customer. Oppositely, if the customer is indeed a member, the card scanner will scan his card and his information is matched from the local database. Depending on his purchasepatterns and history, the FSP will issue discounts and points to the customer. If the customer wants to participate by becoming a new member, customer information will be entered to the system, and a new member card is produced. The card will be scanned, the transaction will execute, and the new information is uploaded to the database. The points and rewards information will be printed on the receipt and given to the customer. Figure 1 shows the low-level data flow diagram of the proposed new system, which includes the basic processes described above. The high-level data flow diagram includes additional details such as data flow to and from databases, and how each database is designed with specific tables.TECHNICAL ARTICLE DOCUMENT: FREQUENT SHOPPER PROGRAM4Figure 1 Low-level Logical Data Flow DiagramTECHNICAL ARTICLE DOCUMENT: FREQUENT SHOPPER PROGRAM5Figure 2 High-level Logical Data Flow DiagramTECHNICAL ARTICLE DOCUMENT: FREQUENT SHOPPER PROGRAM6Logical Data Flow Diagram for FSP Redemption ProcessKudler’s customers can redeem their points in various ways. They can login to Kudler’s members’ online portal. The customers can login using the membership ID printed on the back of their membership cards, or by the preferred username they used upon signing up. When they login, they are required to enter their user ID and password. The security system will determine if the customer input is valid or not by matching the credentials to the user’s database. From there onward, the users can retrieve their information, and also use the web portal to redeem theirpoints. The points can be used to print coupons and exchange for items and products not only valid for Kudler stores, but also for Kudler’s partner companies. When customers use the points, the system will calculate the total remaining points and update the customer table. Figure 3 shows the logical data flow diagram of the processes detailed above, and Figure 4 shows the physical model of the entire FSP project.Figure 3 Logical Data Flow Diagram for FSP Redemption ProcessTECHNICAL ARTICLE DOCUMENT: FREQUENT SHOPPER PROGRAM7Figure 4 Physical Model of Frequent Shopper ProgramTECHNICAL ARTICLE DOCUMENT: FREQUENT SHOPPER PROGRAM8HardwareThe hardware requirements are crucial to the system development, consisting of physical servers and other peripherals. These components are the legs and limbs of the system. The hardware section of the system will accept input, and process the input in a way specified by the design, and returns an output (Blundell, 2008).- Centralized Data Management System and Database Server Hardware – This will be the central server in which data gathered by the tracking software will be uploaded to and downloaded from. All locations will have access to this hardware to share valuable customer information. This server will be used for customer data verification as well. It will also be the central sever in which data such as rewards program, points, purchases will be stored. The local database servers will have an Intel i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage to handle all the extra load and processing, while the central database server will have 4TB of storage.- Backup Servers – Each location will have a local backup storage to ensure that customer information is safe, and can be retrieved in case of connectivity issues such as broadband connection problems. Backup servers will only need little processing power so an Intel Core 2 Duo will suffice. The backup servers will also need at least 4TB of storage space to handle data from all KFF locations, and a maximum of 4GB of RAM.- Web Server – A front end website will enable customers to purchase products, see new products, obtain points and rewards information, and change their customer profile. The web site will be