Adnan Hussain

Computing
Miss Afzal

Greener and cleaner

Greener and cleaner is an environmental group which is set out to
raise people awareness of climate change, so that they will take
actions on their responsibility for their own carbon footprint.

A carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide one

has produced and also other greenhouse gasses, each person
produces their own carbon footprint everyday even though they are
unaware of this. CO2 is also produced when fossil burn they produce
a greenhouse gas, it is said that 95% of the greenhouse gasses is
produced by fossil fuels.

Greener and cleaner is hoping that people will realise that how
much their own carbon foot prints contribute to climate change, it is
complicated to calculate ones carbon footprint on a person account.

Greener and cleaner has produced leaflet which has been given out
to the public which helps people calculate the amount CO2 is
produced on a daily basis however from the feedback the received
the people have found that the calculations were to long and
tiresome and also too complicated to calculate their carbon foot
print.

This is where I come in, I have been chosen to develop a calculator

which will have a simple and basic interface which will be able to
use. The calculator will use fields which will identify the car the user
uses and how far they travel on a daily basis.

In the calculator I have been told to include the following in the

calculator.

• allow an individual to input details of their current transport use

• calculate their annual transport score
• output the breakdown of their current annual transport score
• allow storage of results
• recall stored results and show the effect of changes.
Adnan Hussain
Computing
Miss Afzal

ANALYSIS AND
DESIGN

PROBLEM DEFINITION
Adnan Hussain
Computing
Miss Afzal

I will need to create a calculator for Greener and cleaner which is

suitable for the target audience.

OBJECTIVES
- Finished calculator will need to be completed on time before
the deadline and is fully functioning allowing the user to calculate
the current carbon footprint.
- I will need to make sure that the finished calculator is simple
to use and that the interface is suitable for its target audience.
- The finished calculator will be able to store data of the users
CO2 score and are able to load the data.
- Allow the user save and recall data.

PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION
I will be creating the calculator on Microsoft Visual Basic, I have
deciding on using Visual Basic as it will be giving me the tools
needed to create an accessible graphical user interface and also the
program gives me the freedom of making the program function the
way I have envisioned it to be. Using visual basic itself will be useful
for the client himself as they will be able to make updates and
changes to the program.

There were other programs I was intending to use to create the

program. I was going to use Microsoft Access to create a similar
system like I did with Visual Basic where I would use to create a
data base

LIMITATIONS
There are drawbacks of using Microsoft visual basic because it is a
totally new programme to me so any errors that occur I have no
knowledge of how to overcome them which can be problem as it can
be time consuming finding solution of an error which can be time
used on developing the calculator.

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

REQUIREMENTS
I had to make sure I have the right system requirements on my
computer so I can run the programs I need to create the calculator.

Programs Used:
Adnan Hussain
Computing
Miss Afzal

Visual Basic:
System Requirements

Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3

Minimum of 192 MB of RAM (384 MB preferred)

At least a 1 GHz processor (1.6 GHz preferred)

Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows Vista SP1

Minimum of 768 MB of RAM (1 GB preferred)

At least a 1.6 GHz processor (2.2 GHz preferred)

Operating Systems Used

Windows XP OS (AT School) & Vista (At home)

Windows XP
System Requirements

The minimum hardware requirements for Windows XP Home Edition

are:

Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300 MHz is

recommended)
At least 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM (128 MB is recommended)
At least 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available space on the hard disk

Windows Vista
System Requirements:

1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

512 MB of system memory
20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
Support for DirectX 9 graphics and 32 MB of graphics memory

Microsoft Office:
System Requirements

Computer and processor: 500 megahertz (MHz) processor or higher

Memory: 256 megabyte (MB) RAM or higher1
Hard disk: 1.5 gigabyte (GB); a portion of this disk space will be
freed after installation if the original download package is removed
from the hard drive.

(System Requirements taken from the Microsoft website)

Adnan Hussain
Computing
Miss Afzal

I have searched on the internet to find a laptop which you can see is
the cheapest I could I find which has the required specs to run visual
basic.

It has the required hardware such as keyboard, monitor and mouse

which can be used to work on visual basic.

• AMD Athlon 64 processor

2650e
• (1.66 GHz)
• Windows Vista® Home
Basic
• 1 GB Memory
• 160 GB Hard Drive

USER INTERFACE
First I had planned on paper on how the program would be use and
how it can be accessed; I thought it could be a downloadable
application, but I will need the program to be very small as I don’t
want people to wait long to download the application, I also would
want the actual program to be able to accessed over the internet as
most of the population in the UK have access to the internet and
there are a lot of devices which now can be access the internet such
as mobiles, pda, and now games consoles, I want to design the
program to work only computers that have the latest processor
instead I want this program to try to get the program to be
compatible with many devices regardless of the specs of a
computer. Before I finish the final build I will carry out beta testing
where I can receive feedback and to find out if there are anymore
bugs in the programming.

I started working on designing the interface on word; I do not want

the calculator’s interface to look complicated so I do not want to
include too many fields for the user to have input in so that the
interface does not intimidate the user into not using the calculator.

The finished design may not look like this because I may have new
ideas on to improve the initial design to make the calculator more
users friendly.
Adnan Hussain
Computing
Miss Afzal

KEY
BLUE AREAS: DATA TYPES USED FOR USER TO INTERACT WITH
GREEN AREAS: QUESTIONS

TITLE HERE LOGO

STEP 1

4 OPTIONS HERE
[] CHOICE 1 [] CHOICE 2
[] CHOICE 3 [] CHOICE 4

Combo box Combo box

For miles below 3 For type of car

STEP 2

TEXT BOX FOR USER

TO ENTER DATA IN

STEP 2

TEXT BOX FOR USER

TO ENTER DATA IN

CALCULATE TEXTBOX DISPLAYS

BUTTON ANSWER
Adnan Hussain
Computing
Miss Afzal

I have created a mind map which you can view by click on the
following

Look at existing
co2 calculators
Save Button to online
recall data

Buttons to Research the

calculate. internet on
software which can
help create the
Greener & calculator.
Cleaner Combo Box

Text box for Use Photoshop to

inputting data for create a more
step 2 and 3. attractive design.
User
interface.
Green (to fit in with the
greener and cleaner theme

This mind map I used a plan on creating the calculator as you can
see I have included the type of tools needed for the calculator to
work as I want it to, this mind map helps me break the tasks into
smaller chunks making it easier for me to complete tasks with ease
and for it to become less complicated.

The first build of the calculators interface has just simple splash of
green background which will be redone as I have finished work on
the calculator. I have used a “survey styled” interface where the
user is given questions required for the calculator to calculate the
user’s co2 score, I made the calculator point and click style as I felt
it would be tedious for the user to input data themselves. As you
can see below I have left out all the personal information as they
wouldn’t be needed and I also felt that the user wouldn’t want their
co2 to be seen by others, I also have added a save button which
wasn’t included in the initial plan of the calculator so that users are
able to compare their previous co2 score to see whether they are
improving or not.

I want the interface to look attractive so that the users will use the
programme I don’t think the users will want to
Adnan Hussain
Computing
Miss Afzal

I also will need to use some programming code so that the

calculator functions correctly, at first I had no programming
knowledge at all so I started working on tutorials building basic
calculators to give me the right knowledge and code which I will
need to use in this project.

I felt that the coding section of the development of the programme

will be the most difficult as I could come across unexpected errors
which could cause the calculator to stop function and also I have to
make sure that the code is typed accurately so that I don’t come
across errors.

DATA STRUCTURE & METHODS OF

ACCESS
This is one of the aspects I have found that will be very important
for users because this will decide how the users will use the
calculator so I tried to keep the amount of fields to a minimum so it
will be more user friendly.

As I have already said I was required to have certain things in the

calculator to be calculated. So I will need to implement them in the
calculator.

On the calculator I create 3 steps where each field of the

programme will be used, I have chosen this way as it will be easier
for the user to enter data into the field by breaking the calculation
into 3 simple steps where the user is asked question and then inputs
the data according to their answers. For step one I added radio
buttons which the user can just click on a answer that suits them
which asks them the type of driver they are, once you click on a
radio button there is text box below which will display the co2 score
of step 1, I have done the same for each step so that the user can
tell how the calculation making it simpler for the user. Step 2 I used
a combo box as it was a yes or no question.

The formula to calculate the co2 equivalent is (a + b + c) = annual

transport score.

Field Description Type Field Size Example

Step 1
Select the The user Check box N/A Click on low
mileage of will have to mileage
the car you select one driver, if you
drive. of the 4 drive an
answers estimate of
when 5000 miles
Adnan Hussain
Computing
Miss Afzal

deciding per year.

which type
of vehicle
they drive.
Select the The user Combo box N/A Select Yes if
type of car will have to most journey
and select from are lower
whether if the than 3 miles
the journey and no if not.
is lower
than 3
miles.
Select The user Button N/A The user
calculate will click simply clicks
and it will the subtotal the subtotal
add the button to button to
amount of calculate calculate.
co2 step 1
produced
for each
question
together.
Total co2 This will Text N/A Calculator
score for display the automaticall
step 1 total score y generates
of step 1. the co2
score.
Step 2
How many User will Text 1 Type in 2 for
hours spent input the 2 hours
on public amount of spent on
transport? hours spent public
on public transport.
transport.
Select The user Button N/A The user
calculate will click simply clicks
and it will the subtotal the subtotal
add the button to button to
amount of calculate calculate.
co2 step 2
produced
for each
question
together.
Step 3
How many User will Text 2 Type in 8 for
hours spent input the 8 hours
Flying. amount of spent Flying
Adnan Hussain
Computing
Miss Afzal

hours spent
Flying
Select The user Button N/A The user
calculate will click simply clicks
and it will the subtotal the subtotal
add the button to button to
amount of calculate calculate.
co2 step 3
produced
for each
question
together.

PROCESSING STAGES
Calculate the number of miles based on the type of car and
journey length.

Create the variables

Link the variables to textboxes

Calculate the miles based on what the user enters.

Step 1

Add to the calculation the journey of miles and the type of car.

Calculate the amount of mileage used depending on what option the

user selects and add that to the calculation.

If the user selects Yes for Journeys travelled add 25% to the total
co2 score.

If the selects small car decrease the total co2 score by a 1/3

If user selects large car add 50% to the total co2 score.

Calculate the total co2 score depending on what the user enters in
step 1.

Step 2

Link the variables to the textbox

Adnan Hussain
Computing
Miss Afzal

Calculate the total co2 score of miles on what user types in and add
750kg to every 150 miles

Step 3

Link the variables to the textboxes

Depending on the amount of hours typed by the user, for each hour
typed by the user will add 250kg to the calculation.

Display total co2 score if the user has entered all the required fields.

Errors
Throughout the project I have come across some errors, below is a
log of the errors that occurred and mistakes and the solution I used
to fix a certain error in the calculator, if I am unable to find a
solution of a problem I may have to use different code and buttons
which will make the calculator look slightly different to my original
design.

5th December 2008

I was unable to get my radio buttons to work on the calculator as
the code I use was unable to assign the values I wanted on each
radio button.

Solution: It seemed that I had the extensions of the radio button

incorrect as I had the extension in the coding as .Text which was
incorrect as it should have .checked. I also had the coding set out as
if I was using a text box which was another factor which caused my
code not work.

Date Fixed: 6th December 2008

5th December 2008

I came across another in my coding which would allow me to
calculate the transport score for each step in my form.

Solution: Not fixed yet

Date Fixed: N/A

Added Feature
On the finished product I will add a message box which will display 3
different messages depending on the co2 score for example if the
user has bad co2 score a message box will appear telling them they
have to improve their co2 score and linking to the official carbon
Adnan Hussain
Computing
Miss Afzal

footprint campaign where they can learn the many ways on to

improving their co2 score.

EVALUATION CRITERIA
Throughout the project I have come across problems where I have
been unable to get the coding to work how I would want to so I had
to change certain parts of the calculator because of this, these
problems may have occurred because I have had zero experience
on visual basic before hand so I had to rely on what I learnt from the
tutorials I used. Because of my small experience with visual basic I
think I need more time on the project because of this I think I need
more time to work on this project to fix the problems I have found, I
used the internet as a source to fix problems with my coding to see
if anyone on the internet is having the same problems as I have.

The finished product was not how I was envisioned it would be,
because I had to change certain data types such as combo boxes to
list boxes because I was unable to get the combo boxes to function
properly, if I had more time I think I could have created more better
and easier to use calculate originally I wanted it to be a point and
click style I did not want the user to type data for themselves I felt It
would put off the user how because of my lack of knowledge I was
unable to do so.

My final thoughts on the calculator is that it is to use and fit for

purpose even though I strayed off too much from my original
design, it does what it does which is to calculate the co2 score of
the user which is a success.