Inventory Management System

Introduction

I had been looking around for a project, that would be a good resume piece and would provide me with good learning opportunities within my own skill range while I am waiting for the summer to end and the school year to return. I was looking for something that would involve either AWS cloud data storage or mobile app programming (both IOS and Android).

It was recommended to me in my latest Aspiring Leaders Academy meeting that our company is in need of a system to track our inventory as a whole and this got me thinking about what would make up a great inventory system.  I shortly thereafter decided that this would make the perfect school project.  I have now begun the ever important planning process for this large project and I am going to be chronicling my successes and failures here on my WordPress site for anyone who wishes to see how it is going, or try to learn from this as well.

Specifications

This application will be used to track and manage inventory within the setting of a midsize to large company.  I will be implemented generically but built to ensure that it meets my specific needs for North HealthCare where I am a medical data analyst. It will be a system that is used for both asset and supply tracking within the company, and will be fully configurable to administrators in order to allow them to assign roles and keep tabs on users.

The project will initially consist of 6 pieces. I will be create data storage, a cloud based RESTful service, and 4 separate client access options:

Data Storage

I will start by building a database for storing all of the asset and supply information.  I am still debating if I will be using a RMDB for the data storage or if I want to go with a cutting edge NoSql approach that I am less familiar with.  I am looking forward to learning to use NoSql databases in my applications but this will add one more learning hurdle to an already large project, so I will likely use MySQL for my data.

I will be adding a second database for the storage of users, user groups, roles, and other security concerns. At this point these are the only databases that I have planned, but I will post any changes to the specifications if/when they occur.

I am currently working on the relational diagrams for the two databases and I plan to post those in the next post so stay tuned for that.  I will also cover the other layers of the project as I get to the more detailed specifications.

For now, good night!