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Employee Management System

A Java console application for basic employee tracking. The program allows users to log in by ID, review employee hours, update hours, add new hires, and view all employee summaries.

Sprint 1 - The Plan

Problem the Program Solves

Small teams often need a simple way to track employee records and work hours without a full database or web app. This project solves that by providing a lightweight command-line system for employee management tasks.

Planned Features

  • ID-based login flow
  • Menu-driven actions for managers/employees
  • View an employee's current hours
  • Update employee hours
  • Add a new employee with a random 3-digit ID
  • Print a list of all employees

Planned Classes

  • Person (abstract base class for shared identity/contact fields)
  • Employee (extends Person, stores hours worked)
  • siteManager (extends Person, tracks employees on site)
  • SiteSystem (main workflow/menu logic)
  • Main (application entry point)

Work Division Between Partners

  • Partner A: Domain model and inheritance structure (Person, Employee, siteManager)
  • Partner B: Console flow and feature implementation (SiteSystem, menu options, input handling)
  • Shared: Testing flows, bug fixes, and output formatting

Sprint 2 - The Build

What Was Implemented

  • Created an OOP structure with inheritance (Person -> Employee / siteManager)
  • Built a menu-based system in SiteSystem
  • Implemented:
    • Option 2: lookup employee and display hours
    • Option 3: add hours to existing employee total
    • Option 4: add new hire and generate random ID (100-999)
    • Option 5: display all employee summaries
  • Added validation messaging such as "Employee ID not found"

What Changed from the Original Plan

  • Employee lists needed synchronization between manager tracking and the main people list
  • Print logic was adjusted to use summaries instead of object references
  • Input handling was refined to avoid scanner newline issues

Challenges Encountered

  • New hires were not appearing in all views because they were added to only one list
  • Scanner input sequencing (nextInt() and nextLine()) caused skipped fields
  • Incorrect method usage when updating hours (getter vs setter)

How Challenges Were Solved

  • Added new hires to both relevant collections where needed
  • Used proper newline consumption before string input
  • Switched to setHoursWorked(getHoursworked() + hourAdd) pattern
  • Added clearer loop logic and not-found messages

Sprint 3 - The Reflection

What Works Well

  • Clear class separation and inheritance-based design
  • Menu options cover core employee management tasks
  • Hours update and employee lookup workflows function as expected
  • Program compiles and runs as a clean console app

What to Improve with More Time

  • Replace in-memory lists with persistent storage (file or database)
  • Add stronger input validation and exception handling
  • Implement role-based permissions (manager vs employee actions)
  • Refactor naming/style (siteManager -> SiteManager) and add unit tests

Java Concepts Used Most

  • Classes and objects
  • Inheritance and abstract classes
  • Method overriding
  • ArrayLists and loops
  • Type checking/casting (instanceof)
  • User input with Scanner

What Was Learned

  • Planning helps, but implementation details always evolve
  • Data consistency between collections matters in real features
  • Input handling in console apps requires careful sequencing
  • OOP design makes code easier to extend as requirements grow