COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

Master in Information Technology

DIGITALLY ASSISTED SYSTEM AT LITURGY (DASAL): A CHURCH

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT USING DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING IN
SCHEDULING OPTIMIZATION

__________

A Capstone Project
Presented to the
Faculty of the College of Computing and Information Sciences

__________

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master in Information Technology

__________

By:

John Bernard C. Tungol

February 2022

CHAPTER 1
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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Introduction

Chirstian churches are organizations engaged in community service. The said

entity has a widerange of activities and transactions to accommodate the needs of the

congregation, both in terms of ecclesiastical activities and financial transactions of the

church. The church would also have a considerable amount of data in a large and fairly

high complexity. Under these conditions, the church should have integrated and

centralized data storage to facilitate the storage, management, and presentation of data.

During this processes, reports and records are required. Most of the Christian churches

provides reports and records to their authorities using the manual form of recording data

into books and ledgers. This act of keeping records is very tiresome when retrieving it for

further reports. Such record keepings may involve changing from the normal file system

to the use of word documents like excel, access, word processing editor. This has its own

challenges and difficulties associated with it as information has to be printed in volumes

and shared on tables across board. Considering these options and looking at how the

world has grown tremendously in technology and the use of internet for communication,

there is therefore the need to use current system so that information can be accessed in

real-time over the internet. This would enhance access to information by the church

leaders and members at any time at their convenience.

The responsibility for the development and maintenance of church information

and transactions has rested in the past with both volunteer workers and paid employees.

In small churches, the church information system is handed down and maintained by a
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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

volunteer worker. In larger churches, the church information and transaction records are

maintained by paid employees. Often, the church information and transaction records is

still routinely handed down year after year. The purpose of this study is to analyze and

understand the business processes that are taking place in Christian churches to define the

needs in designing an onlne church information management system that will support the

activities in the said instituions.

Project Context

Tracking common datasets like names, addresses and phone numbers are common

in Christian churches. Many of these datasets are used to help build the church

community and track traditional and modern family relationships, spiritual gifts, talents,

interests, attendance, nursery security, contributions, volunteerism, small groups and

more. Church and ministry offices can be stressful workplaces because of the many

deadlines that must be met by an administrative staff that is typically smaller in number

than what would be found in a secular business. Church information management system

will provide the Christian church decision-makers with relevant data for making optimal

decisions. The management of files and documentation is the most difficult task for

every church. This is because every church data needs to be managed, so that the church

leaders and members can easily access information and use them as and when they are

needed in order to make informed decisions but this is not the case. Remote access to

information and printing at a click of a button is difficult as there is no automated system

to support their work in real-time over the internet. These problems lead to retarding

growth and development in the church. This study seeks to address these problems by

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

developing a web-based church information management system with optimized

scheduling using dynamic programming.

Purpose and Description

A church that is composed of an organized body of religious believers is an

organization engaged in community service. It has a wide range of activities and

transactions to accommodate the needs of the congregation, both in terms of

ecclesiastical activities and financial transactions. The church would also have a

considerable amount of data in a large and fairly high complexity. Under these

conditions, the church should have integrated and centralized data storage to facilitate the

storage, management, and presentation of data. This study is focused on the development

of a church information management system aimed in overcoming the drawbacks of the

existing system and to help create a comprehensive database that provides the

information on the availability details and the issue details along with the member details.

The system will include the development of an information retrieval system for the

members and the management of the church to automate the entire range of activities or

processes that needs to be performed by the church management. The system will include

member’s information to retrieve records easily using a robust search interface. The

system will also generate reports with few clicks of buttons. Church information

management system will provide the online facilities for the members of the church and

for the church administrator. The system can be defined as a set of interrelated

components that work together to achieve the desired results. With the implementation of

data storage in DBMS (Database management systems) is expected to help the church to

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

eliminate data redundancy and produce consistent data, and generated a centralized data

repository and can be equipped with integrated security and data access. The web-based

application will also include as a media center that specifically facilitate the congregation

in worship accessing information, news weekly, or ecclesiastical activities and generally

facilitate the congregation in accessing general information related the church’s activities.

The purpose of this study is to analyze and understand the business processes that are

taking place in the church to find weaknesses that would be the definition of the church

needs and designing information systems that support the activities in the church.

Objectives of the Study

General Objective

The main objective of the study is to develop an online church management

information system using dynamic programming in scheduling optimization.

Specific Objectives

 To develop a system that caters to the information services of the following

stakeholders:

o Members

o Pastors

o Head Pastor

o Treasurer

 To develop a system with the following modules:

o Content Management System (CMS)

o User Accounts Maintenance

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

o Christian Church Services, Life Group and Events

 To develop a system with a optimized scheduling algorithm using dynamic

programming;

 To determine the performance of the new system in terms of the ISO 25010

criteria

Scope and Limitations

The study is focused on the development of on online church management

information system which also includes scheduling optimization through dynamic

programming. The researcher formulated the scope and limitation of this project to

identify the boundaries of this study.

The system includes user accounts for the members, pastors, head pastor and

treasurer. All the user access levels can view the home page and update their own

account profile. The members can register into the system and wait for the account to be

approved by the pastor. Once a member’s account is approved, access is given to the

account to choose a life group, set preferred time and date for Bible study, apply to avail

of the church services and join an event. The pastor account can approve a pending

member registration, view the details of his assigned tasks and schedules on life groups,

Bible studies, services and events. The head pastor manages the content management

system to change the information displayed in the home page. The head pastor also

assigns pastor or pastors to particular life groups and Bible studies, events and services.

The head pastor account can also view and print reports pertaining to finances, pastors’s

tasks and schedules, status of services, events, Bible studies and life groups. The

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

treasurer account can create events and services as well as encode the transactions

pertaining to payments, contributions and donations. The tresurer account also has access

to reports relevant to financial transactions of the church.

The modules included in the system are content nanagement system, user

accounts maintenance, services, life groups and events. The content management system

module will helps users create, manage, and modify content on a website without the

need for specialized technical knowledge. The user account maintenance is for the

creation and update of the mentioned user access levels. Services include weddings,

baptismal and activities that need to be assigned as pastor. Life Group are the

organizations in the Christian chruch that a member opts to join. Events are those that

needs attendance to be monitored such as Sunday church service, Christian concerts and

retreat among others.

The system in this study will also include an optimized scheduling algorithm

using dynamic programming. The pastors need to have optimized schedules in ooder for

them to attend all their Christian endevours. Dynamic programming will be used to solve

problems where decisions are made in successive discrete time periods such as the

schedules of the pastors.

The scope of application of the ISO 25010 criteria quality model includes

supporting specification and evaluation of software and software-intensive computer

systems from different perspectives by those associated with their acquisition,

requirements, development, use, evaluation, support, maintenance, quality assurance and

control, and audit. The model will be used in the alpha and beta testing of the system.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

Definition of Terms

 Church Information Management System. An online information system that

includes maangement of Christian church transactions such as events and

services. It will also handle the creation and maintenance of accounts, content

management of the website, schedule optimization of the pastors and report

generation.

 Scheduling Optimization. This is the process of making sure each individual task

or action in a schedule is aligned with the ultimate goal of the institution which is

in this case are the Christian churches.

 Dynamic Programming. It is a mathematical approach to simplifying a

complicated problem by breaking it down into simpler sub-problems in a

recursive manner. While some decision problems cannot be taken apart this way,

decisions that span several points in time do often break apart recursively. It is

founded on the concept that a problem can be solved optimally by breaking it into

sub-problems and then recursively finding the optimal solutions to the sub-

problems, then it is said to have optimal substructure.

 Life Group. Organizations within the Christian church where members can join

and guided by the pastors.

 Bible Study. A scheduled, typically weekly, gathering of the members to learn

about the Bible through the guidance of a pastor.

 Services. The routine work performed by pastors and examples include

Baptismal, Wedding and Dedication ceremonies.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

 Events. A planned public occasion by the Christian church and example includes

Sunday Worship, Christian Concerts and Retreats.

CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Bajdor and Grabara described the information system is formed by the

information itself. It means that the diversity and multiplicity of occurrence of

information contributed to the need for them together to categorize, which automatically

led to a certain, separate groups of information which are formed into information

systems. And the development of information system can be drawn as a part of

implementation of information with technology through analysis, design, implementation

and support.

The system can be defined as a set of interrelated components that work together

to achieve the desired results. Information technology is a combination between computer

technology (hardware & software) with telecommunications technology (network data,

images, sounds). Thus, the definition of Whitten & Bentley concluded that the

information system is an arrangement of people, data, processes, and information

technology that interact to collect, process, store, and provide the information needed to

support the organization.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

An information system according to O'Brien & Marakas is an organized

combination consisting of people, hardware, software, network communications, data

sources, rules and procedures that store, acquire, transform, and distribute information in

a organization.

But the current problems are recording and storage of data on the XYZ church

still manually by utilizing the resources of different applications such as paper or a

program such as Word and Excel. This weakness resulted in data storage separated and

not centered and complicate the administration of the church employees in acquiring and

managing information that requires a long time to present a specific report. This

weakness also increases the risk of data loss, either intentionally or unintentionally. With

the implementation of data storage in DBMS (Database management systems) is

expected to help the church to eliminate data redundancy and produce consistent data,

and generated a centralized data repository and can be equipped with integrated security

and data access.

In addition, the development information system at XYZ church used the web-

based application as a media renderer that specifically facilitate the congregation in

worship accessing information, news weekly, or ecclesiastical activities and generally

facilitate the congregation in accessing general information related XYZ Church.

The purpose of this study is to analyze and understand the business processes that

are taking place in the church XYZ to find weaknesses that would be the definition of the

church needs, and designing information systems that support the activities in the church.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

Gilbert A.F, considered church management system in which a client server

desktop application was used that works in a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN

(Wide Area Network). The software allows a church to store all information about their

branches, including Membership, Family, Associations, Assets, Pledges and Tithes. A

role based application in which users can only access forms (menus) they have been

assigned to. There is the need to acquire servers and other networking facilities to

facilitate the network environment. Also the Software application needs to be installed on

all computers before it can receive updates.

Yohannes and Cassandra , focused on the Development of Church Information

System for Xyz Church, of which the Information System was developed to

accommodate the needs of XYZ Church, some of which includes recording and storage

of data in a manual form by utilizing resources of different applications such as paper

work or a program such as Word and Excel. The centralized system was developed in the

area of storage, management and data presentation. It implemented DBMS (Database

management systems) that helped the church to eliminate data redundancy and produced

consistent data, and generated a centralized data repository which is equipped with

integrated security and data access. In addition, the developed information system at

XYZ church used the web-based application as a media renderer that specifically

facilitates the assessment of information by the congregation. It utilised a module website

wireframe which adds and edits the data of the congregation or the church. However, this

application can only be accessed by the specific language proficient categories of

learners. The work inter-mixed two languages which make knowledge in one language a

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

barrier in learning the software. Also there is the tendency of members who have the

ability to go online, edit and update information on the system to edit other people’s data

without their knowledge raising a security concern. Kiran and Ramesh, considered

Documentation of Church Archival Materials (DOCCAM),which is a desktop application

software designed to keep records of Church Archives Materials. It has a computerized

database that facilitates the effective bibliographic information of a church or an

organization. It provides a means for the retrieval of the valuable information stored in

the archives and have an easy access to the archival materials for research scholars,

historians and church personnel etc. Database of the archival materials contains

references to manuscripts micrographic materials, etc. The tools used to develop the

Documentation of Church Archival Materials (DOCCAM) System are Microsoft Access

as the back end with Visual Basic (VB) as front end. It has Login Administration Form

that permits the Administrator and the Supervisor to open with user ID and password.

The DOCCAM Package is user friendly and menu driven. However, there is a limitation

to the back end of the database system since it uses a Microsoft Access database which is

a desktop application that runs on a local network; it does not provide the flexibility of

working or researching at a convenient time. William, Luis and Jenny, worked on an

Information system in which a stand-alone desktop application was developed to present

a solution that addresses the drawbacks of low-income churches, which does not require a

sophisticated platforms and much effort for its implementation. The system was designed

to optimize records keeping time. Object oriented approach was used in the development

of the information system. The tools used for the software implementations were

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

programming language which can run on cross-platforms, third wxWidgets library; used

for creating graphical interfaces, third wkHTML to PDF library and the SQLite for

creating the database which is normally called DAO (Data Access Object) that takes care

of managing access to the database, performing the four basic operations (queries, inserts,

updates and deletion of information). However, the system does not have room for

upgrade and does not have a web-oriented application, which has a single repository of

information that can use the advantages of today's technology, such as cloud computing,

making resources accessible in real-time and everywhere at a particular time with an

internet connection.

The Catholic University of Colombia, through the Social Computing stuff,

Systems program, led the students to make technological literacies and implement a

strategy for educational assistance to the people of Paradise-Balcony neighborhood with

the help of the parish of San Pedro Julian Eymard. Through literacies, we were able to

meet some needs in the parish such as the organization and management of documents,

such as generating records of baptism, confirmation records, marriage records and death

certificates.

At each of the visits to the parish community identified the need in one place to

access information quickly and easily, on the activities that are performed around the

temple, and once it started to articulate literacies through some process analysis and

requirements gathering began on the parish, in order to design and implement an

information system that will help better manage these processes.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

Additionally, research on information systems parochial, it seems that have a low

impact ICT in Catholic communities, since each parish has its own internal methods for

managing documents and sacramental acts. These occur archaic and have no organization

or planning, thus solving their own needs each parish according to the media that has.

In the market there are many systems of religious information, but aimed at other

purposes, some more commercial than the same management of internal processes, there

is the economic factor, that is to say, these information systems are costs both licensing

and maintenance and support, finally another disadvantage is that these information

systems are built in other languages, predominantly English. Therefore the main

objective is to design and implement a systemic solution oriented parish poor that allows

to implement document management, process organization, especially the generation of

reports of the sacramental acts, among others.

Moreover, in Bogotá can locate many parishes, which one way or another are in

need of an information system to manage their own information. Thus the existence of a

low penetration of ICT in the parish software, this oriented churches with limited

resources is presented, because neither the government provides funds for them, not the

church itself goes some percentage of money to improve their own information systems,

and only those churches that have enough resources to be administered to herself, asking

buy or make software, but this software is private and only valid for that church to buy it,

and it is not only private, make calls but so far that some options or modules are not valid

for all parishes in general it cannot be applied across the board, and as if that were done,

they must pay for such software settings in order to adapt to the needs of each parish.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

Throughout history, organizations have had to get along with analyzing

information systems from different points of view, among which aversion due to the low

quality of software, problems or inconsistencies with those bugs that the client detects

when to take action. Therefore, we have implemented several strategies to mitigate the

above drawbacks by providing an information system without errors or inconsistencies

affecting the good performance of the software, and all these aspects, among others, are

framed within a topic is called software quality.

Conceptual Framework

Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of this study, which is divided in three

(3) phases, namely input, process and output. In the input phase, the proponent gathered

data through interviews and observations about the current practices in two (2) Christian

Churches namely His Life City Church and Philippine Brethren Church. After realizing

the current setup of the processes in the said institutions, the researcher reviewed

literature and studies relevant to be able to secure foundation in the development of the

system for the study. Through the synthesis of locale’s details and current technological

trends, the researcher was able to select the appropriate technologies in the development

of the online system.

In the process phase, the proponent was able to identify the software development

methodology to be used in the study, which is the Prototype model. The developed

system underwent stages in the Process Phase as quick design plan, modelling quick

design, construction of prototype and deployment and delivery feedback. The

Communication Phase is where the users’ needs are identified. The Quick Design Plan

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

involved the creating diagrams to state the users’ needs and problems. For the Modelling

Quick Design is for the depiction of challenge assumptions and idea creation. To apply

the created solutions, the next step is the construction of prototype to apply the solutions

identified. The final stage is Deployment Delivery and Feedback in order to test the

solutions using the prototype developed.

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework

The system will be evaluated using the ISO 25010 quality standard in terms of

functional suitability, performance efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability,

security, maintainability and portability by the selected ICT experts and the users of the

developed system. After the process phase, the output of the study is the developed

DASAL Church Information System Using Dynamic Programming in Scheduling

Optimization.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN
Research Design

This study used descriptive type of research which describes what exists and may

help to uncover new facts and meaning. The purpose of descriptive research is to

observe, describe and document aspects of a situation as it naturally occurs. This

involves the collection of data that will provide an account or description of individuals,

groups or situations. Instruments that will be used to obtain data in this descriptive study

will include questionnaires, interviews (closed questions) and observation (checklist and

how the locale’s personnel use sample forms). The stakeholders with account access

level will be the focus and source of data and results in this descriptive research.

Research Instruments

 Data Gathering

The development of the proposed system will be undertaken using interview,

observations, distributing questionnaires and online and library research. First, is the

interview among the Christian Churches’ personnel for the analysis of the current

system state (See Appendix for the Letter of Appointment for Interview). This was

done in order to ensure that the proposed system covers information pertinent to the

needs of the locale. The proponent interviewed the Pastors, Treasurers and some

members of the Churches under study to learn about the current system state and

verify their expectations and exact requirements of the system to be developed. Then,

the researcher asked for the copies of forms and other documents pertinent to the

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

developed system (See Appendix for Sample Forms and Reports). Basing on the

interviews and looking into the existing documents of the locale, the online system

will be developed. In the development of the system, all the pertinent information

gathered from the stakeholders of the locale will be closely taken into account and

given utmost importance.

Questionnaires will be created and will be used to validate and check the

completeness of the system against the system requirements specifications. All

results will be compiled and the system will be corrected when necessary. The

system prototypes for the users will be tested by a pool of ICT experts. This pool of

experts will evaluate the system in terms of the criteria in ISO 25010 quality standard.

The system users will also be asked to evaluate the system to know their perspective

regarding the system (See Appendix for the Evaluation Tools for Alpha and Beta

Testing).

 Statistical Analysis

The data to be collected will be collated and tabulated electronically to

facilitate analysis. Simple percentages and frequency counts will be used. The data

will be summarized to get the most responses so that conclusions could be derived.

The following will be used to present a general profile of the subjects and to answer

the other questions that will be raised in this study.

Frequency Count. It will be used to determine the number of responses.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

Arithmetic Mean. This will be used to compute the average of the criteria as

identified in the software testing tool based on the ISO 25010 quality standards. The

formula is:

x = ∑fx / n

where

x = arithmetic mean;

f = frequency;

x = responses;

n = total frequency.

Likert Scale. A Likert scale is an often used five (5) point format with

extreme ends. It requests respondents to specify their level of agreement to each of a

list of statements. It was named after Rensis Likert, who invented the scale in 1932.

The result is obtained by calculating the average (i.e. mean) of all the results added

together. Likert scales are often used in questionnaires. Table 1 shows the scales

used in this study.

Table 1. Likert Scale

 Evaluation Instrument/Criteria

The proposed system will be tested by the selected ICT experts and the users.

The questionnaire includes items to describe the system in terms of ISO 25010

criteria namely: functional suitability, performance efficiency, compatibility,

usability, reliability, security, maintainability and portability.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

The main research instrument that will be used in this study is the

questionnaire that was developed based on the ISO 25010 quality standard in terms of

functional suitability, performance efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability,

security, maintainability and portability. The evaluation will be administered using

the software and hardware interface components of the system using the evaluation

tool found in Appendix.

In the selection of alpha testers, the researcher will ask three (3) ICT experts

to evaluate the system who are all experienced software and hardware application

developers. The ratings and technical comments and suggestions from the experts

will be used to further enhance the developed system before it undergo beta test.

The proponent will implement Purposive Sampling in determining

respondents in beta testing. Purposive Sampling defines as a non-probability

sampling that is selected based on characteristics of a population and the objective of

the study. It may be proved to be effective when only limited numbers of people can

serve as primary data sources due to the nature of research design and aims and

objectives and can be very useful in situations when the research needs to reach a

targeted sample quickly.

The beta test of the study aims to determine the acceptance level of the target

users to the proposed system. Using the purposive sampling technique, the proponent

will select the system users (See Appendix List of Respondents). The process of

actual distribution of questionnaire will be done during a product demonstration after

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

the proponent had set up the system hardware and software prototype and presented

the design regarding the implementation of the proposed system.

System Development Methodology

Figure 2. Prototyping Software Life Cycle Model

System development methodology refers to the framework that is used to

structure, plan, and control the process of developing an information system. The

suitability of a system development methodology for a project will be based on various

technical, organizational, project and team considerations.

Communication

This is the first phase in the prototyping software life cycle model where the

product requirements are understood from the customer perspective. In this phase, the

researcher will conduct detailed communication with the locale’s stakeholders to

understand their expectations and exact requirements. This is a very important activity

and need to be managed well, as most of the customers are not sure about what exactly

they need. The User Access Management Diagram (See Appendix) had been prepared at

this stage as an evidence of Communciation and an input for Quick Design.

Quick Design

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

With the clear and detailed product requirements, the proponent will then proceed

to design the complete system. System design also comprised of understanding and

detailing the complete hardware and communication setup for the product under

development (See Appendix for the Development and Implementation Specifications of

the Proposed System). The proponent will consider developing an online church

management information system for the said locales. System test plan will also be

developed based on the system design by identifying test cases to be used for unit and

integration testing (See Appendix for the Test Cases Scenarios and Notes). Doing this at

an earlier stage leaves more time for actual test execution later on system development.

Modelling Quick Design

Modelling Quick Design is broken down further into modules taking up different

functionality, also referred to as High Level Design (HLD). The architecture of the

proposed system, data transfer and communication between the internal modules and

with the outside world (other systems) is clearly understood and defined in this stage (See

Appendixfor the System Architecture of the Developed System).

The module design provides a detailed internal design for all the system, referred

to as Low Level Design (LLD). It includes designing data structures, source code and

ultimately, performance algorithms. Overall, the data organization may be defined

during requirement analysis and then refined during data design work. It is important

that the design is compatible with the other modules in the system architecture and the

other external systems (See Appendix for the Data Flow Diagram, Appendix for the

Entity Relationship Diagram and Appendix for Data Dictionary of the Proposed System).

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

Creation of Prototype

The actual implementation of all system designs in the previous phase is taken up

in the Creation of Design phase. The best suitable programming language is decided

based on the system and architectural requirements (See Appendix for the Development

and Implementation Specifications of the Proposed System). The coding is performed

based on the coding guidelines and standards. The code goes through numerous code

reviews and tests, and is optimized for best performance before the final build is checked

into the repository. Unit tests designed in the design phase are executed on the code

based on the internal module design. It is an essential part of any development process

and helps eliminate the maximum faults and errors at a very early stage. Integration

testing is associated with the architectural design phase and performed to test the

coexistence and communication of the internal modules within the system (See Appendix

for the Test Cases Scenarios and Notes).

Deployment Delivery and Feedback

Regular delivery of the proposed system prototypes will allow the target users to

set feedback regarding the system and will be guiding the proponent about the preferred

interface design and other system requirements. The complete system prototype was will

be tested by the selected IT experts to check the functionality and its communication with

external systems, the software and hardware compatibility issues, and other technical

requirements. The results and feedback from the experts will be used for the refinement

of the system before acceptance test will be done by the users (See Appendix for the

Evaluation Tools for Alpha and Beta Testing).

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Master in Information Technology

Acceptance testing is associated with the business requirement analysis phase and

involves testing the product in user environment. Acceptance tests uncover the

compatibility issues with the other systems available in the user environment. It also

discovers the non-functional issues such as load and performance defects in the actual

user environment. The complete system prototype will be evaluated by the users to know

their perspective or acceptance level regarding the developed system. Feedback from the

users was also used to further enhance the developed system before system product is

deployed (See Appendix for the Evaluation Tools for Alpha and Beta Testing).

After the completion of the system development, in the deployment phase, the

researcher will develop an implementation plan for the locale. The plan will be necessary

to be able to prepare the actual deployment and maintenance for the system and will

serve as evidence for the project completion or the Project Wrap – up.

Description of the Product

 Requirements Modeling

o Logical Specifications

 Data Flow Diagram (Context Level)

Figure 3. Context Diagram of the Proposed System

Figure 3 depicts the system’s context diagram. It shows the bird’s eyeview of the

stakeholders involved and thedata that each entity passes to and from the system.

o Data

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

Figure 4. Level 1 DFD of the Proposed System

Figure 4 shows the Level 1 of the data flow diagram of the proposed system. The

transformation of data are shown as well as in which table it had been saved or retrieved.

These information are necessary to trace the changes in the data as it is passed through

various entites.

o Object Modeling

 Use Case

Figure 5. Use-Case Diagram

Figure 5 depicts the Use-Case diagram of the system. The actors that will have

user roles in the system are the Members, Pastors, Head Pastor and Treasurer. These are

used in determining whether or not the roles are found and functional in the system.

o Data Modeling

 ERD

Figure 6. Entity Relationship Diagram of the Proposed System

Figure 6 depicts the Entity Relationship Diagram of the proposed system. The

relationship depicted included are 1:1 Treasurer for every Branch, 1 Head Pastor for the

entire branch, 1:M 1 Branch for Many Members And 1:M which is 1 member for 0 to

Many transactions such as Tithes, Offerings and Services.

 Database Structure
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Master in Information Technology

Figure 7. Database Schema of the Proposed System

Figure 7 depicts the database schema of the proposed system. It shows the

foundation of the database to which the system had been anchored for database

normalization and operations.

 Development Specification

o Software Specification and Hardware Specifications

Tools/Software
Backend -> Nodejs v16.14.2
Frontend -> Reactjs v17.0.2
PM2 (process manager)
NGINX (load balancer)
Language
Both Javascript
Database
PostgresSQL

Deployment Min Specifications

OS Linux (Preferable Distro Ubuntu)
MEMORY RAM 4gb
STORAGE HDD/SSD 128gb
PROCESSOR Intel i3 - 2nd gen or AMD Ryzen3

Test Plan

A test plan is a detailed document that describes the test strategy, objectives, schedule,

estimation, deliverables, and resources required to perform testing for a software product.

Test Plan helps us determine the effort needed to validate the quality of the application

under test. The test plan serves as a blueprint to conduct software testing activities as a

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Master in Information Technology

defined process, which is minutely monitored and controlled by the test manager. See

Appendix for the detailed test plan.

Implementation Plan

1. Organizational Awareness and Approval

 Identify key stakeholders and committees needed to approve the initiative
and policy.
 Update various key stakeholders and leadership.
 Finalize implementation date
 Approve policy and implementation plan.

2. Documents and Materials Procurement

 Develop training forms and communication materials and obtain
organizational approval for forms if necessary.

3. Communication Plan
 Draft a letter to senior leadership and staff.
 Create e-mails and send to the staff to the “Go Live” date.
 Distribute posters for training.
 Identify and set up briefings for external providers

4. Educations & Training Plan

 Identify trainers and schedule train-the-trainer sessions.
 Familiarize yourself/trainer with training content and tools (PowerPoint
presentation, policy, training competency).
 Identify session preferences (e.g., day/time/length) for staff.
 Schedule presentations with various groups

5. Follow-up and Evaluation

 Assign a point person for questions/issues during implementation and the
following month.
 Conduct informal oral surveys to determine staff knowledge using existing
feedback mechanisms.
 Communicate progress to leadership.

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Master in Information Technology

DASAL: Digitally Assisted System At Liturgy with Dynamic Programming in Scheduling 28

COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter shows the results and discussion that would be necessary achieve the

objectives set in this study. It includes details of the development of Digitally Assisted

System At Liturgy (DASAL) with Dynamic Programming in Scheduling and the results

of the alpha and beta tests of the system. These tests were conducted to evaluate the

proposed system. This section also includes the changes for improvement of the system

after the alpha test.

Information Services of Stakeholders

To develop a system that caters to the information services of the following

stakeholders:

 Members

Figure 8. Member Access Level

Figure 8 shows the Member Access Level screenshot. This depicts the landing

page once a member inputs the correct username and password. The member can join

life groups and Bible studies. The member can also request for Services as well join in

events. The status of the currenly logged in member is shown in the upper-right corner of

the screen.

 Pastors

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Master in Information Technology

Figure 9. Pastor Access Level

Figure 9 shows the Pastor Access Level screenshot. This depicts the landing page

once a Pastor inputs the correct username and password for his account. The pastor

can be assigned to life groups and Bible studies. The pastor can also be scheduled to

render liturgical duties for services and events. The status of the currenly logged in

member is shown in the upper-right corner of the screen.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

 Head Pastor
Figure 10. Head Pastor Access Level

Figure 10 shows the Head Pastor Access Level screenshot. This depicts the

landing page once a Head Pastor inputs the correct username and password for his

account. The head pastor can be considered as the system’s administrator. He can

assign pastors to life groups and Bible studies. The pastor can also be schedule

pastors to render liturgical duties for services and events. The Calendar of the Head

Pastor shows all services and events scheduled for all the branches. Filters for the

search and the Calendar are available as well. The status of the currenly logged in

member is shown in the upper-right corner of the screen.

 Treasurer

Figure 11. Treasurer Access Level

Figure 11 shows the Treasurer Level screenshot. This shows the landing page

once a Treasusrer inputs the correct username and password for his account. The

treasurer can update financial records of tithes and offerings. The status of the

currenly logged in member is shown in the upper-right corner of the screen.

System Modules
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Master in Information Technology

 Content Management System (CMS)

Figure 12. Home Page

Figure 12 shows the Home Page of the proposed system. All services and events

that are set as public by either the Head Pastor or the Pastor can be viewed in this landing

page. This is also where the Sign-Up and the Sign-in features can be accessed to be

directed to said page.

 User Accounts Maintenance

Figure 13. User Account Details

Figure 13 shows the details that are necessary to accomplsih the user accounts

updates. User accounts such as pastors, treasurers and even members can be added or

created in the system using the head pastor access level. Pastors can also add

members and litugical services in the system.

 Christian Church Services, Life Group and Events

Figure 14. Liturgical Transactions and Services

Figure 14 shows that the propsoed system can show and print out reports of the tithes,

offerings and services. The life groups and Bible studies are also handled by the

system’s Calendar.

Optimized Scheduling Algorithm Using Dynamic Programming

DASAL: Digitally Assisted System At Liturgy with Dynamic Programming in Scheduling 32

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Master in Information Technology

Figure 15. Calendar Used in Scheduling

Figure 15 shows the Calendar that uses dynamic programming in scheduling.

Life groups and Bible studies are automatically scheduled in a weekly basis. A dynamic

programming procedure is used for determining the optimal just-in-time (JIT) schedule

for a mixed-model facility. The schedules are also color-coded to get a more visual and

better view of the services scheduled for the pastors and branches as well as Members.

Performance of the Proposed System Using ISO 25010 criteria

For the evaluation of the system, the proponent conducted alpha and beta tests. In

alpha test, five (5) respondents were asked to evaluate the system. All of the alpha testers

are practitioners in the field of Information of Communication and Technology with

experience and expertise in web applications development. In beta testing, twelve (12)

respondents were asked to evaluate the system and these are the potential users of the

proposed system from the locale. The system was evaluated based on ISO 25010

categories and the results were interpreted using the Likert Scale mentioned in the

previous chapter.

Alpha Test Results

Table 2 shows the alpha test results in terms of functional suitability. The

proposed system has very great extent in terms of functional suitability as indicated with

the computed mean of 3.80. Functional Correctness got the highest mean of 4.0. The

interaction between the various modules of system, database implementation, reports and

calendar scheduling were found to be correct by the respondents. The lowest mean of

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

3.60 described the functional completeness. The respondents suggested that the system

should present not only numerical but also graphical data in terms of charts. The

capability to print the formatted hardcopy of the reports is also a factor that had

contributed for the functional completeness indicator to get the lowest mean.

Table 2. Alpha Test Results in Terms of Functional Suitability

Table 3 shows that the proposed system was described by the alpha testers as

having very great extent to the degree of performance efficiency. The performance

efficiency in terms of time-behavior and resource allocation criteria both had the highest

mean of 3.80. The online system responded well to the transactions tested in terms of

response and processing time. Handling massive data for computations is a challenge

faced by the proposed system. Still, it was able to perform well in terms of time-behavior

and resource allocation. The lowest mean of 3.40 described the Capacity indicator. The

respondents considered the internet speed in the Philippines particularly here in

Pampanga. The programming codes needed to be modified for an optimized website

application experience among the users without worrying about the limited internet speed

capacity within the various entities.

Table 3. Alpha Test Results in Terms of Performance Efficiency

Table 4 shows the alpha test results describing the system as having a very great

extent in terms of compatibility with a computed mean of 3.7. The interoperability

indicator got a slightly lower mean than coexistence in terms of compatibility. The

degree to which the system can exchange information has a mean of 3.6 while

coexistence is at 3.8. The exchange and use of information has not yet reached its full
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Master in Information Technology

potential at the time of alpha testing. Financial reports generated are presented in a

manner that it is easily understood by the user but header and footers are missing.

Table 4. Alpha Test Results in Terms of Compatibility

Table 5 indicates the alpha test results described as having a very great extent in

terms of degree of usability with a mean of 3.6. The highest mean of 4.0 is in the system

characteristics of user interface aesthetics and accessibility. The respondents found the

system pleasing to eyes and user-friendly. The minimalist design of the user interface

had made the system easy to use and understand. There is also a consistent look-and-feel

design throughout the system that made accessibility of the application to have a very

great degree of extent that it can be used by people with wide and even limited range of

capabilities. There are however some user inputs where error may possibly occur but

user error messages did not suffice to give user the validation it needs to be protected

from committing such input errors. It then affected operability when the user committed

errors in the system that should had been avoided if user error protection is consistent in

the entire system. It is worth noting that all indicators of usability still have a mean

characterized as very great extent in terms of usability.

Table 5. Alpha Test Results in Terms of Usability

Table 6 indicates that the system has very great extent in terms of the degree of

reliability with a computed mean of 3.65. The availability of the system has a perfect

mean of 4.0 since the respondents acknowledge the online presence of the system making

it available to the user anytime as long as there is internet connectivity. The lowest

mean of 3.2 is indicated under fault tolerance when the system failed to response when
DASAL: Digitally Assisted System At Liturgy with Dynamic Programming in Scheduling 35
COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

the internet connectivity is disconnected. Error messages conveying that loss of internet

connection happened and those transactions had been reverted. It was noted that

recoverability still has a very great extent in terms of the degree to which the system

recovered and was not adversely affected by the hardware or software faults invoked by

the respondents.

Table 6. Alpha Test Results in Terms of Reliability

Table 7 shows that the system has a very great extent in terms of degree of

security with a mean of 3.8. All the security indicators have a mean of 4.0 except for

non-repudiation. This is an implication that the system had security measures ensuring

confidentiality, integrity, accountability, and authenticity. All the user accounts are

password protected with validation of inputs for system access and committing

transactions. The user access levels of the system had also controlled the system by only

allowing portions of the system to be accessed by a certain user with valid username and

password.

Table 7. Alpha Test Results in Terms of Security

Table 8 shows that the system has a very great extent in terms of degree of

maintainability with a computed mean of 3.72. The testability indicator has the highest

mean of 4.0. This indicates that the respondents had invoked test criteria and was able to

perform it in the system. The respondents were given access to all the user access control

levels for testing and the system had responded with a very great degree of testability

capability. Next among with highest indicator with a mean of 3.8 is modularity. The

components of the system is presented in modules or parts that changes to certain access
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Master in Information Technology

control level will not totally disable or negatively impact the system. The different levels

of user access ensure that only authorized users can make changes to transactions within

the system. It implies that rating of very great extent is also applicable to the indicators

such as reusability, analyzability and modifiability.

Table 8. Alpha Test Results in Terms of Maintainability

Table 9 indicates that the has a very great extent in terms of the degree of

portability as indicated with the mean of 3.86. The installability indicator has mean of

4.0. It implies that the respondents did not encounter any problem in installing the

system in their own units. This is one advantage of an online system where all the user

needs to install and use the system is a browser and it is found in all computer units that

in one way or another had been used in accessing the internet. Also, with a mean

described as having a very great extent in terms of adaptability and replaceability are 3.75

and 3.83 respectively. These high computed means are indicators that the system is

portable to be used in various hardware and software environments as long as there is

internet connectivity.

Table 9. Alpha Test Results in Terms of Portability

Beta Test Results

Table 10 indicates that the system was rated by the beta testers as having a very

great extent in terms of degree of functional suitability with a mean of 3.78. The

functional completeness indicated the lowest mean of 3.58 among all the indicators under

the functional suitability category. The beta testers are given user control access level

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Master in Information Technology

appropriate to their current roles in the church. The system’s security features are based

on the various user access control levels, and it affected how the beta testers view the

completeness of the system. It is however worth noting that the beta testers rated the

functional appropriateness with the highest mean of 3.92 compared with other indicators

under the functional suitability category. The beta users found the Calendar to be useful

in terms of being updated in various transactions. The beta testers also appreciated the

scheduling and adding of services and events. Such features indicated the

appropriateness and correctness of the system in the point of view of the beta tester.

Table 10. Beta Test Results in Terms of Functional Suitability

Table 11 indicates that the beta testers described the system as having very great

extent in terms of degree of performance efficiency with a mean of 3.56. The speed of

the internet connection in some areas of the locale affected the time-behavior of the

system. The beta testers seemed to have viewed the resource utilization and capacity of

the system to handle the resources and performance limits as a little negatively affected

by the slow internet connection. These are implications that the system has structural

limitations in terms of the need to have continuous internet connectivity in accessing the

system.

Table 11. Beta Test Results in Terms of Performance Efficiency

Table 12 indicates that the beta testers rated the compatibility as having a very

great extent of degree with a computed mean of 3.42. The coexistence indicator has a

higher mean that than interoperability. Both are still described as having very great

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

extent in terms of degree of its capability for the mentioned indicators. The coexistence

has minimal detrimental impact on sharing common environment. The said minimal

impact is due to the slow performance and response of the system when internet

connection is poor during the evaluation. Also, the computers being used are outdated

and the browser performance is also affected. It was worth noting that the system

performed even when the computers used are in the minimum requirements and various

kinds of browsers are operated by the users. Although the slower performance of the

system had been noted in the not so ideal user environments.

Table 12. Beta Test Results in Terms of Compatibility

Table 13 shows that the beta testers rated the system as having very great extent

in terms of the degree of usability. The user aesthetics has the highest mean 4.0 due to its

clean and clear presentation of the online application using color schemes and themes

that are pleasing to the eyes to the beta testers. Not all of the users are inclined to using

computers which affected learnability with the lowest mean of 3.08 describing the degree

to only great extent. Some of the users are almost in their retirement age and learning a

new online application negatively affected the learnability rating. It was noted however

that despite the said indicator, the appropriateness recognizability has the second highest

mean of 3.58 following the aesthetics rating. The user found the user appropriate and

easy to use once learned in a small span of time or taking the time to read the user

manual.

Table 13. Beta Test Results in Terms of Usability

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

Table 14 indicates that the degree of reliability of the system is described to be at

very great extent with a mean of 3.54. The lowest mean of 3.17 describing to degree only

at great extent is attributed to availability. There were situations during the evaluation

when the beta testers had to wait for the internet connection to again become available

affecting also the availability of the system. The intermittent internet connectivity is a

hindrance to the availability of the system. It was noted that the users are used to such

situation that rating for recoverability and fault tolerance were not adversely affected in

the rating. The system was able to recover and pick up from where it had been when the

internet connection was lost. Error messages to the user had also been provided to

indicate what went wrong during such situations.

Table 14. Beta Test Results in Terms of Reliability

Table 15 shows that the degree of security was rated by the user as having very

great extent with a mean of 3.35. The highest among all the indicators is 3.50 which is

non-repudiation. The beta testers had even questioned users of other accounts as to the

extent of the authenticity of the data they input. These are implications of the further

need to validate transactions such as services and events requests.

Table 15. Beta Test Results in Terms of Security

Table 16 indicates the maintainability of the system was described by the users as

having a degree of very great extent. It was worth noting that the researcher decided not

to include all indicators under maintainability. The reason is that some the descriptions

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

of the characteristics are very technical in terms of programming and system

development that users might not have a clear understanding of its description. The only

indicator left to be evaluated is modifiability since the users can commit transactions and

changes in the system settings and the database is possible using their accounts. Changes

in the system will only affect the access control level accounts designated to the users.

The attributes removed are modularity, reusability, analyzability and testability. The

modifiability was described as having a very great extent of degree of the system’s ability

to be modified without introducing defects to the system. The beta testers were able to

commit transactions and changes to their accounts without causing the system to behave

erratically even when they had deliberately tried to input invalid data types to the system.

The error messages captured by the system had given the user ideas of what is happening

when such erroneous activities are set in the system.

Table 16. Beta Test Results in Terms of Maintainability

Table 17 indicates that the beta testers rated the portability of the system as

having a very great degree of capability for the mentioned attribute as shown with the

mean of 3.81. The highest rating is in terms of installability since they were able to use

the system once they had link to the URL and the designated username and password to

be used for the system evaluation. It was noted that all the other attributes under

portability also have a very great extent rating the degree of capabilities of the system

such as adaptability and replaceability.

Table 17. Beta Test Results in Terms of Portability

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

Table 18 shows the summary of the alpha and beta test results. It is indicated that

the alpha test mean of 3.75 is higher than the beta test mean of 3.53. This is an

implication that the alpha testers composed of ICT experts and industry practitioners

found the church information management system to be more acceptable as compared to

the beta users. This implies that the proposed system is acceptable in the standards of

ICT professionals. This implies the familiarity and inclination of the alpha testers towards

the said application. For the beta testers, a positive rating of very great extent in the

degree of the capabilities of the attributes of the system had been indicated in the table.

However, discussions in this section indicated certain change resistance, structural and

organizational policies are the limitations that affected the rating of the beta testers to be

lower than that of the alpha testers.

Table 18. Summary for Beta and Alpha Test Results

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the summary of the findings, conclusions and

recommendations for the study entitled “Digitally Assisted System At Liturgy (DASAL):

A Church Information Management Using Dynamic Programming in Scheduling

Optimization”. A summary of the research is presented, and findings of the study are

discussed and interpreted. Recommendations for further research end the chapter.

Summary of Findings

Based on the alpha and beta tests results, the respondents depicted their

perspectives regarding the developed system. The alpha testers described the Android

application as “Very Good”. The highest rating among the various criteria is usability

described as “Excellent”. The functionality, efficiency, reliability interpreted,

maintainability and portability were described by the alpha testers as “Very Good”. The

web – based system was rated by the alpha testers as “Very Good”. The lowest rate

among the criteria is the reliability criterion described as “Very Good”. Over – all, the

developed system was rated by the alpha testers as “Very Good”. Suggestions and

recommendations to further develop the system were specified by the selected alpha

testers. Feedback from alpha tester was used to further develop the system. Among the

substantial comments were the layouts for cross-browser viewing, readiness of some of

the pages/links, and fixing of the encountered errors on some pages during testing. Some

of the experts commended the overall design of the website, which is very simple and
DASAL: Digitally Assisted System At Liturgy with Dynamic Programming in Scheduling 43
COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
Master in Information Technology

minimal which makes it easy to use and loads faster. The beta testers described the web–

based system as “Excellent”. All of the criteria rated with a mean described as

“Excellent”. Combining the results of the Android and web – based application, the

entire system was rated by the beta testers also as “Excellent”.

The next section concludes this study and recommended ideas for further

undertakings.

Conclusions

The study focused on the development of an online church management

information system using dynamic programming in scheduling optimization. The system

was able to provide the flow of information between the stakeholders. These

stakeholders included the Members, Pastors, Treasurers among various church branches

as well as the Head Pastor in the Main Church. The content management, user account

maintenance and liturgical services modules were included in the system to facilitate the

transactions the happen in a Christian church. Dynamic programming was used to

optimized the schedules and Bible studies and life groups are scheduled in a weekly basis

automatically. A graphical representation of the Calendar was included for a better view

of all the schedules.

Recommendations

The following recommendations are offered based on the conclusions of the

study:

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Master in Information Technology

1. All church branches should be able to have an Internet connection with stable

connectivity to be able to fully utilize the developed system.

2. All church personnel that will be given roles in the system should have the

minimum requirements for the web–based application to be installed and have

Internet connection during the transactions accomplished through the system.

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Master in Information Technology

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DASAL: Digitally Assisted System At Liturgy with Dynamic Programming in Scheduling 47