Grandfield College.

The law requires that any business, including a school, track its software. It is important to know what software the school owns, in what versions, and what the license agreement for that software is. There are several different licensing schemes. The least restrictive is a "site" license that allows an institution to have a copy of the software on any machine on the business property. Other licenses specify a certain number of active copies for an institution but don't worry about which machine or user has the copy. The more restrictive licenses do specify one copy per specific machine or user.

Whatever the license agreement for particular software, it is essential for the institution to know which software is installed on which machine, where that machine is located, and which users have access to that machine. It is also important to track when the software is uninstalled from a machine, and when a machine is retired.

An additional useful feature of any software-tracking database would be to track software requests from users to determine (1) if a copy of the software is available and (2) if it is something that should be purchased. All installations are reviewed and must be approved.

For now, the school just wants the database to track faculty and staff computers and software. Software for student machines is a separate and complex issue and will be treated as a separate project at a later time.

To do

1. List the major topics for this database.

2. Write a draft statement of work. Include a brief history, a statement of scope, objectives, and a preliminary timeline.

3. Documentation: Start a notebook, either electronically or physically, to record your progress with the scenario database. Add the statement of work and any notes to the notebook.