IMS9001 Systems Analysis and Design , Unit Information Guide (Semester 1, 2006)

The unit introduces students to the key principles which underlie the analysis and design of computer-based information systems to support business and other organisational undertakings. It describes the development life cycle of an information system and provides students with an introductory knowledge of the process of information systems development and the techniques used.

At the completion of this unit, students will have knowledge and an understanding of:

C1. The role of information systems in organisations

C2. Some of the techniques used to analyse and design information systems

C3. The framework used to structure information systems development projects

C4. When the use of a particular technique is appropriate

C5. Which style of information system is appropriate to a particular type of business situation

A1. Appreciate the capabilities and limitations of an information system

A2. Appreciate some of the major issues and problems commonly encountered in information systems development projects and how these may be addressed.

P1. Be able to apply some of the analysis and design techniques in a systems development situation

P2. Be able to communicate requirements for business functionality of an information system in terms of data required, data storage and processing

S1. Participate effectively in an information systems development project conducted within the context of the classroom situation

IMS9001 is a Foundation unit in the MIMS and MIMS Professional degrees, and an elective unit for other graduate degrees within the Faculty of Information Technology. 

Required text(s)

Prescribed text:

• Hoffer, Jeffrey A., George, Joey F.  & Valacich, Joseph S. (2005). Modern systems analysis and design. (4th  ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education International/Prentice-Hall.  ISBN 0-13-127391-4
  

Text books are available from the Monash University Book Shops. Availability from other suppliers cannot be assured. The Bookshop orders texts in specifically for this unit. You are advised to purchase your text book early.

Software requirements:

To access weekly lecture and tutorial materials, students will need access to an Adobe Acrobat reader, and Microsoft Office software (PowerPoint, Word, Excel).

Microsoft Visio will be used in class for preparing charts and diagrams for tutorials and assignments. Optionally, students may also use other relevant drawing or other software they have access to, eg SmartDraw.

Software may be:

• purchased at academic price at good software retailers

Hardware requirements:

On-campus students may use the facilities available in the computing labs. Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook.

 Recommended text:

• Whitten, Jeffrey L., Bentley Lonnie D. & Dittman, Kevin C. (2004). Systems analysis and design methods. (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.  [Or other edition]

Various other texts such as the following will be referred to at times throughout the semester:

• Checkland, Peter & and Holwell, Sue. (1998). Information, systems, and information systems: Making sense of the field. Chichester; New York: Wiley.
  
• Cooper, Alan (2003). About face 2.0: The essentials of interaction design. New York ; Chichester : Wiley.    
  
• Dennis, Alan & Wixom, Barbara. (2003). Systems analysis and design. New York: Wiley.
  
• Hawryszkiewycz, Igor. (2001). Introduction to systems analysis and design. (5th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Prentice Hall.
  
• Schneiderman, Ben & Plaisant, Catherine. (2005). Designing the user interface: Strategies for effective human-computer interaction. (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Addison Wesley. 
  

Study resources for IMS9001 are:

This Unit Information outlining the administrative information for the unit.
The IMS9001 web site on MUSO, where lecture slides, weekly tutorial requirements, assignment specifications, sample solutions and supplementary material will be posted.
Announcement and discussion group that can be linked to from the Unit Homepage.

The timetable for on-campus classes for this unit can be viewed in Allocate+

Assessment for the unit consists of three assignments that together make up 50% of your final grade, and a 3-hour examination with a weighting of 50%.

The assignments comprise one group assignment (worth 20% of your final mark) and a two-part individual assignment (worth 30% of your final mark—comprising Part A and Part B, each worth 15%), ie:

• Assignment 1: System Requirements Specification Report (Group Assignment)
• Assignment 2 Part A: E-R Modelling (Individual Assignment)
• Assignment 2 Part B: Interface Design (Individual Assignment)
  
 

To pass this unit you must:

achieve:
·          at least 40% of the marks available for the examination component
·          at least 40% of the marks available for the assignment component: i.e. the three assignments taken as a whole
·          at least 50% of the total marks for the unit
Where a student gains less than 40% for either the examination or assignment component, the final result for the unit will be no greater than ‘44-N’.

Your score for the unit will be calculated by:

adding the results for the three assignments and the examination.  Grade ranges are indicated below.

Assessment Requirements

Assignment specifications will be made available Information about assignments will be published on the IMS9001 Unit web site. An overview of assignments will be available in Week 1, with further details provided during the semester.. Information about assignments will be published on the Unit's Notices Newsgroup.

Assignments will be submitted (by hard copy/ paper submission) to your tutor on the designated dates, with the appropriate cover sheet correctly filled out.

Late submission of assignments

Assignments received after the due date without an approved extension will be subject to a penalty of 10% of total assignment marks per day late. 

This policy is strict because comments or guidance will be given on assignments as they are returned, and sample solutions may also be published and distributed, after assignment marking or with the returned assignment. 

Extensions

It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. 

Requests for extensions must be made by email to the unit lecturer at least two days before the due date. You will be asked to forward original medical certificates in cases of illness, and may be asked to provide other forms of documentation where necessary. A copy of the email or other written communication of an extension must be attached to the assignment submission.

Grading of assessment

Assignments, and the unit, will be marked and allocated a grade according to the following scale:

We will aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks after assignment receipt.

You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This feedback may be provided through your participation in tutorials and class discussions, as well as through your assignment submissions. It may come in the form of individual advice, marks and comments, or it may be provided as comment or reflection targeted at the group. It may be provided through personal interactions, such as interviews and on-line forums, or through other mechanisms such as on-line self-tests and publication of grade distributions.

You will be asked to provide feedback to the Faculty through a Unit Evaluation survey at the end of the semester. You may also be asked to complete surveys to help teaching staff improve the unit and unit delivery. Your input to such surveys is very important to the faculty and the teaching staff in maintaining relevant and high quality learning experiences for our students.

It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem with your study. The semester is short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.

Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating  has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with Student Rights and Responsibilities and the Faculty regulations that apply to students detected cheating as these will be applied in all detected cases.

In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work. 

When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer. 

Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.

Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.

Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.

Notices related to the unit during the semester will be placed on the Announcements section on the Unit Website. Check this regularly. Failure to read these is not regarded as grounds for special consideration.

Consultation Times

By negotiation. Please email Kerry Tanner and she will arrange an appointment time for you.

If direct communication with your unit adviser/lecturer or tutor outside of consultation periods is needed you may contact the lecturer and/or tutors at:

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All email communication to you from your lecturer will occur through your Monash student email address. Please ensure that you read it regularly, or forward your email to your main address. Also check that your contact information registered with the University is up to date in My.Monash.