Building an ERP platform?

[Thor]

So I am teaching myself php and the likes, and I have done the create a form, capture data store it in a DB, send mails containing the form data etc

I now want to move on to a bigger scenario, I want to build a basic ERP system.

I want to be able to add customers add stock and invoice a customer.

Very very basic:

Essentially a page displaying a search function to find customers and a option to add one.

Then each customer should have a account page in the ERP so you can make notes on the customers account also the ability to bill the customer.

So my question, can anyone maybe shove me in a direction where to begin?

 

[DRou]

I'm not you, but if I was you I'd get a first client even if they're not a paying client.

 

[CamiKaze]

I'm not you, but if I was you I'd get a first client even if they're not a paying client.

huh?

 

[itareanlnotani]

I'd suggest rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, rather look at an existing framework, eg Symphony or similar or another of the MVC frameworks.


Some listed here - http://mashable.com/2014/04/04/php-frameworks-build-applications/#FMsF3M167Gkc

 

[Thor]

I'd suggest rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, rather look at an existing framework, eg Symphony or similar or another of the MVC frameworks.


Some listed here - http://mashable.com/2014/04/04/php-frameworks-build-applications/#FMsF3M167Gkc

Thought about it, but I know I learn a lot better by trying something so hence why I created the "scenario" of a easy to use ERP thing something I might actually use in my own private ventures one day who knows. Since this is just in my free time to learn something new

 

[itareanlnotani]

You can still do the ERP thing, but I suggest using an MVC framework, so that you can learn MVC, and gain some useful knowledge.
Knowing when to use tools and when not to is also a skill

Right tool for the right job yadda yadda.

 

[Thor]

You can still do the ERP thing, but I suggest using an MVC framework, so that you can learn MVC, and gain some useful knowledge.
Knowing when to use tools and when not to is also a skill

Right tool for the right job yadda yadda.

Actually that makes a lot of sense after I Googled it now.

Since I had no idea what MVC actually is

 

[Spacerat]

Thor, do you know C#? I gather that you are studying?

 

[HavocXphere]

I want to build a basic ERP system.

Doesn't exist.

 

[Spacerat]

Doesn't exist.

Yes no ****. I built one from scratch for a specific industry. 3 million lines of code and counting

 

[Beachless]

You begin at the beginning...

You are your own client so interrogate yourself to get all the requirements then do the specifications and design the models/classes /views/pages etc etc depending on your requirements and architecture choices.

My advice is keep it simple but learn the entire life cycle and delve into each discipline and learn enough about it to do a decent job of it before moving on to the next one. Start a side coding project if you cant wait to code but see the main project through its entirety and learn as much as you can along the way.

 

[Thor]

Thor, do you know C#? I gather that you are studying?

No no, working full-time job. But I want to move into BA, although, first I want to learn programing how to think in levels and understand logic etc ad I think this would enable me to be a better BA

Doesn't exist.

True, I played a bit loose there with the term ERP

My idea is simply to have admin.mysite.com and then have the ability to add and search customers (initially those that registered on mysite.com) also I want account views so I can make notes etc on the customer's account and then I want to he able to add inventory product and serial number which I can then allocate per selected customer and bill him.

 

[Thor]

You begin at the beginning...

You are your own client so interrogate yourself to get all the requirements then do the specifications and design the models/classes /views/pages etc etc depending on your requirements and architecture choices.

My advice is keep it simple but learn the entire life cycle and delve into each discipline and learn enough about it to do a decent job of it before moving on to the next one. Start a side coding project if you cant wait to code but see the main project through its entirety and learn as much as you can along the way.

Yes sir! This is Exactly what I am trying to do.

 

[Spacerat]

I find use case analysis to be a great tool so organise your thoughts and do a functional decomposition of each use case. If the use case is not clear and quatifiable enough, drill deeper

 

[Thor]

I find use case analysis to be a great tool so organise your thoughts and do a functional decomposition of each use case. If the use case is not clear and quatifiable enough, drill deeper

I'll definitely work on this, thanks for the guidance really appreciate all the help

 

[Shard]

Start here dude https://www.codecademy.com/en/tracks/php

I think there is a section that shows you how to hook it up to a MySQL Server too (For storing your customers, products etc.).


I am a BA, I've done basics to intermediate in VB, Ruby, Python, C#, SQL, JAVA and it helps alot. Although I'm actually managing 3 dev teams workflow at the moment, so it probably helps alot more for that than for actual BA work.

Sometimes its actually a curse to know to much, depending on the SDLC being used in the company. The only time you should really see an overlap in dev and analysis is in an AGILE setup. Even then you're responsible for requirements, the dev team is responsible for solution. But it is nice to know what they're talking about.

 

[Thor]

Start here dude https://www.codecademy.com/en/tracks/php

I think there is a section that shows you how to hook it up to a MySQL Server too (For storing your customers, products etc.).


I am a BA, I've done basics to intermediate in VB, Ruby, Python, C#, SQL, JAVA and it helps alot. Although I'm actually managing 3 dev teams workflow at the moment, so it probably helps alot more for that than for actual BA work.

Sometimes its actually a curse to know to much, depending on the SDLC being used in the company. The only time you should really see an overlap in dev and analysis is in an AGILE setup. Even then you're responsible for requirements, the dev team is responsible for solution. But it is nice to know what they're talking about.

Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it especially since you are in the career I'd like to switch to at some point, means a lot.

 

[Spacerat]

Yes if you want to go the BA route, then rather generating an F-spec for your ERP will be a better exercise. Imagine your client wants this ERP. Then have 'sessions' with him and put things on paper. Hone your analysis skills.

I use Enterprise Architect from Sparx for all my UML diagrams. I wrote a short guide on Use Case diagrams here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/47608139/Use Cases Explained.pdf

 

[Thor]

Yes if you want to go the BA route, then rather generating an F-spec for your ERP will be a better exercise. Imagine your client wants this ERP. Then have 'sessions' with him and put things on paper. Hone your analysis skills.

I use Enterprise Architect from Sparx for all my UML diagrams. I wrote a short guide on Use Case diagrams here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/47608139/Use Cases Explained.pdf

Definitely, but my first priority is nailing php only then will I focus on the BA side of things. For this specific scenario I know exactly what I want to achieve I have it all written out I am just struggling to actually get the physical php code and DB structures correct at the moment.

Btw this https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/47608139/Use%20Cases%20Explained.pdf document was a very interesting read thank you for that will definitely try to use UML a lot more

 

[Spacerat]

Definitely, but my first priority is nailing php only then will I focus on the BA side of things. For this specific scenario I know exactly what I want to achieve I have it all written out I am just struggling to actually get the physical php code and DB structures correct at the moment.

Btw this https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/47608139/Use%20Cases%20Explained.pdf document was a very interesting read thank you for that will definitely try to use UML a lot more

IMHO, 'nailing php' will take time. More time than you should be spending on it if you want to go BA. Except of course if php is part of your job. Quite honestly, most websites done with php have so many bad practices it is not true. No separation of concerns. DB access directly from the pages, etc. Not good architecture. Not worth learning or adopting. php does not lend itself to great architectural design. I will probably be flamed for the last statement, but that is my opinion.