Statement of Constraaints

Constraints are factors that limit the solution of the problem. Some constraints are identified during the initial investigation find are discussed with the user. There are general constraints that might have a bearing on the required performance of a candidate system. Let's consider our safe deposit billing system to illustrate these points. We described the current billing system and how the department handles billing and customer payments. The result of the fact-finding phase of the initial investigation revealed the following general constraints:

1. The president views safe deposit billing as a low priority. He has a false impression that computers are not needed as long as customers can heave access to their boxes.
2. The senior vice president is worried that a billing system might require the transfer of safe deposit staff to other departments. Considering Florida's level of unemployment and the cost of retraining, a candidate system has' to do more than produce reports.
3. The accounting department has 'been pushing for installing a computer-based general ledger application for months. The vice president of operations, bogged down with auditing and operations problems, continued to shelve the request.
4. Management has a limited knowledge of computers, although it has several applications on the computer: checking and savings, installment loans, commercial loans, and trusts. The president, in his early sixties and interested in "the bottom line" of the financial statement, is traditionally reluctant to spend money on computers
5. Safe deposit, while doing better than breaking even, is not projected to grow as fast as it did in the early 1980s. The community's recent success in controlling burglaries had an adverse impact on the demand for box rentals in general.
6. If an online system is to be installed, it must interface with the existing checking/savings application to allow for the automatic payment of box rentals.
7. A proposed design must be compatible with the bank's Burroughs computer system.