Design and Development of a Web-Based Lost and Found Portal for Federal Polytechnic Bauchi Staff and Students

Abstract

The issue of lost and found items within higher institutions is a persistent challenge, often managed through manual or informal systems that are inefficient, unreliable, and untraceable. This research proposes the design and development of a web-based lost and found portal specifically tailored for the staff and students of Federal Polytechnic Bauchi. The aim is to provide a centralized, user-friendly digital platform that enables the reporting, tracking, and retrieval of lost and found items in real-time. The system will feature user registration, item reporting (with descriptions and images), searchable item listings, and administrative verification for authenticity and item return. The project will employ the Waterfall Model of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) due to its structured and sequential approach, ensuring thorough planning, design, and testing phases. Technologies to be used include PHP for server-side scripting, MySQL for database management, and HTML/CSS/JavaScript for frontend development. Usability and functionality testing will be conducted with a sample of the polytechnic community to evaluate the system's effectiveness. By digitizing the lost and found process, the proposed system aims to improve accountability, increase the recovery rate of lost items, and foster trust within the campus environment. Similar systems have been successful in other institutions globally, but very few are tailored to Nigerian polytechnics, thereby justifying the novelty and relevance of this research (Okoro et al., 2021; Ahmed & Musa, 2023). The system will also contribute to ICT integration in campus operations, in line with Nigeria's National Digital Economy Policy (2020-2030) and the Sustainable Development Goals (UN, 2020).

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