SED500 - Lab 5: Finanny, Technical Documentation

Due - Sunday, December 7, 2025

This is a group project of 2 or 3 students per group. The groups can be found in the document Lab5_Groups.docx.

Introduction

After having released StockPicker, you have been contracted to provide end-user documentation for a new stock picker program called Finanny by an old friend from College days, who has opened a start-up company. This does not worry you because you feel that Finanny sucks, so you agree to provide detailed end-user documentation for potential customers of Finanny.

Finanny, Source Code

Finanny has been written in Java, and you have been given the following files: Finanny.java, PresentationManager.java and StockQuote.java.

For your information, you can also look at the React version at: Finanny.html and Finanny.js.

Finanny is based on Alpha Vantage, which contains a stock market data API for AI Agents. Use the API key 6DLLEA7TKPPUYT2G for any transactions. To obtain data about a particular stock (IBM in this case) send the following request to the Alpha Vantage Server: https://www.alphavantage.co/query?function=GLOBAL_QUOTE&symbol=IBM&apikey=6DLLEA7TKPPUYT2G.

The following is the returned JSON file.

{
    "Global Quote": {
        "01. symbol": "IBM",
        "02. open": "207.4600",
        "03. high": "208.4900",
        "04. low": "204.0700",
        "05. price": "204.9900",
        "06. volume": "3986460",
        "07. latest trading day": "2024-11-15",
        "08. previous close": "208.9900",
        "09. change": "-4.0000",
        "10. change percent": "-1.9140%"
    }
}

You decide to run Finanny to see what it's all about. You can use Visual Studio Code to run a Java program. Be sure to install the Java package:



You run Finanny, enter the symbol BNS, click on Global Quote, click on submit, and see the following:

The Documentation of Finanny

You are to provide end-user documentation for Finanny. Please follow the instructions and advice given at How to Write Software Documentation in 7 Simple Steps. Pay particular attention to point 3: Outline Technical Documentation. That is, your document should include the following:

• The title and the audience. In this case the audience is the end-user.
• An executive summary of the document. Summarize how this product is great for the end-user.
• The problem statement and the scope. Be sure to define for the user what this product can do and what it cannot do.
• The goal(s) of the document. Give a marketing schpeel here on how this document will help the end-user realize his/her financial goals.
• Requirements for the reader (if applicable). Document skills the end-user should have.
• Instructions/Steps/Solutions/Findings/Code (whatever is applicable). This is the meat-and-potatoes of this document. This explains how to use Finanny.
• A timeline (if applicable). In this case, inform the user of how this product will be sustained and expanded into the future.
• References (if applicable). Be sure to cite any references in your document, and put the sources of these citations at the end of the document.

The Flop of Finanny

Finanny turns out to be a disaster and does not sell. Your old College friend offers to sell the Finanny source code and all company secrets to you for $100,000. While you feel sorry for your friend, business is business, and you reject the offer. Your old College friend then offers to sell it to you for $100, and you accept!

Give a short high-level description of how you would enhance Finanny to take advantage of the AI features offered with Alpha Vantage. Consider, what AI features would be of interest to you if you were a customer.

Marking Rubric

Submission

Please email all documents to: miguel.watler@senecapolytechnic.ca

Late Policy

You will be docked 10% if your lab is submitted 1-2 days late.
You will be docked 20% if your lab is submitted 3-4 days late.
You will be docked 30% if your lab is submitted 5-6 days late.
You will be docked 40% if your lab is submitted 7-8 days late.
You will be docked 50% if your lab is submitted 9-10 days late.
You will be docked 100% if your lab is submitted over 10 days late.