Jonathon Turchi creates new inventory management system for Maumelle business through Real World Classroom Program

2018 Apr 27

Jonathon Turchi of Little Rock, AR, was among a team of students from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in Dr. Vess Johnson's Information Systems Development Project course developed a customized inventory management system for Splashwear Aquatics during the fall 2017 term. The course is the capstone for business information systems majors.

Led by Salem Jamell, who graduated in December 2017, the team included Casey Foster, Subhana Kamran, and Jonathon Turchi.

"The system really gives Splashwear control over their inventory," Jamell said. "They can see what items sell faster, what items are going out of stock, what is not selling. It's really about saving money. If they don't know what they have in stock, they are making reorders based only on what they see, not on data."

The project was a part of ASBTDC's Real World Classroom program, which utilizes local businesses as learning labs where students gain real-world experience.

The center recruits local businesses to participate. With support from their instructors and ASBTDC, students team up with business owners to tackle a specific business question or need. At the conclusion of each project, the businesses get concrete ideas and innovative insights they can apply to their operations.

Johnson, assistant professor of business information systems, said that he runs his class as if he were the CEO of a company and his students are the employees. They hand in weekly reports and manage all communication with the client through the length of the project.

"The objective of the course is to give the student an opportunity to work on a 'real-world' project with an external client. We ultimately want the students to have an experience that will closely mimic what they will do in their post-graduation job," Johnson said.

Jamell's experience as class leader has taught him valuable programming skills as well as skills that will help him in his professional career.

"Doing this project gave me the confidence in my ability to create a product from an idea and a need from a client. That is something I have wanted to do for a very long time," Jamell said. "I did not go into the project thinking I would be the team leader, but I learned a lot about time management, making sure every team member had a proper role, and getting everybody to communicate. I learned a lot about being a team player and a leader."

For more information about the high-impact learning experiences ASBTDC provides through Real World Classroom, contact Martial Trigeaud at mxtrigeaud@ualr.edu.

NOTE: All students who work with ASBTDC clients sign confidentiality agreements not to disclose information about the businesses, even after a project is completed. The business owner granted Salem Jamell permission to discuss the project for this article.