FIT9030 Systems analysis and design - Semester 1, 2013

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.

Mode of Delivery

Contact Hours

2 hrs lectures/wk, 2 hrs laboratories/wk

Workload requirements

Students will be expected to spend a total of 12 hours per week during semester on this unit as follows:

For on-campus students:
Lectures: 2 hours per week
Tutorials/Lab Sessions: 2 hours per week per tutorial (requiring advanced preparation). 
and up to an additional 8 hours in some weeks for completing lab and project work, private study and revision.

Off-campus students generally do not attend lecture and tutorial sessions, however, you should plan to spend equivalent time working through the relevant resources and participating in discussion groups each week.

Unit Relationships

Prohibitions

IMS9001, FIT2001

Chief Examiner

Campus Lecturer

Tutors

Academic Overview

Learning Outcomes

• an understanding of the role of information systems in organisations;
• an understanding of some of the techniques used to analyse and design information systems;
• an understanding of the framework used to structure information systems development projects;
• an understanding of when the use of a particular technique is appropriate;
• the attitudes to appreciate the capabilities and limitations of an information system;
• the practical skills to apply some of the analysis and design techniques in a systems development situation;
• have the practical skills to communicate requirements for business functionality of an information system in terms of data required, data storage and processing.

Unit Schedule

*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.

Assessment Summary

Examination (3 hours): 50%; In-semester assessment: 50%

Teaching Approach

Assessment Requirements

Assessment Policy

Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/unit-assessment-hurdles.html)

Academic Integrity - Please see the Demystifying Citing and Referencing tutorial at http://lib.monash.edu/tutorials/citing/

Assessment Tasks

Participation

• Assessment task 1

  Title:

  Assignment 1a: Draft requirements specification with event table

  Description:

  Assignment work in the unit is fully described, along with the assessment criteria, on the assignment page of the Moodle-based unit web site. In this first assignment task you will create a draft of your requirements specification that will include a fully developed event table.

  Weighting:

  5%

  Criteria for assessment:

  The criteria used to assess submissions are:

  1. Correctness and understanding - there may be more than one "valid" answer in many cases. We will look for answers that reflect understanding of the nature of the system being described.
  2. Completeness - that you have addressed all required parts of each assignment.
  3. Presentation - that you have presented your answers in a suitably formatted report style.

  Due date:

  End of week 5 - Friday 12th April 2013

• Assessment task 2

  Title:

  Assignment 1b: Requirements specification

  Description:

  Assignment work in the unit is fully described, along with the assessment criteria, on the assignment page of the Moodle-based unit web site. In this second assignment task you will create a finalise of your requirements specification, this will include a context diagram, an event table, a use case diagram and associated use case narratives and domain class model.

  Weighting:

  20%

  Criteria for assessment:

  The criteria used to assess submissions are:

  1. Correctness and understanding - there may be more than one "valid" answer in many cases. We will look for answers that reflect understanding of the nature of the system being described.
  2. Completeness - that you have addressed all required parts of each assignment.
  3. Presentation - that you have presented your answers in a suitably formatted report style.

  Due date:

  End of week 8 - Sunday 5th May 2013

• Assessment task 3

  Title:

  Assignment 2: Design specification

  Description:

  Assignment work in the unit is fully described, along with the assessment criteria, on the assignment page of the Moodle-based unit web site. In this final assignment task you will create a design-specification that will include a partial design class model, a sequence diagram, a partial interface design and a database design model.

  Weighting:

  25%

  Criteria for assessment:

  The criteria used to assess submissions are:

  1. Correctness and understanding - there may be more than one "valid" answer in many cases. We will look for answers that reflect understanding of the nature of the system being described.
  2. Completeness - that you have addressed all required parts of each assignment.
  3. Presentation - that you have presented your answers in a suitably formatted report style.

  Due date:

  End of week 12 - Sunday 2nd June 2013

• Assessment task 4

  Title:

  Reflective blog posts

  Description:

  Reflective blog posts give students the means to reflect their viewpoints about the work they are undertaking and the outcomes they are achieving. They provide students with an opportunity to critically assess themselves and the unit.

  Weighting:

  Bonus of 3% added to overall assignment mark

  Criteria for assessment:

  Blog postings will be assessed based on the number of posts during the semester, and on the extent to which students reflect on their unit-based activities.

  Due date:

  Your last blog entry can be made any time before the exam.

  Remarks:

  Each student is invited to keep a reflective journal on the Moodle-based unit web site. This blog will provide the opportunity to reflect on the learning that takes place throughout the unit. Each week you will be able to make a new posting to your blog. The blog entries should include a reflection on what has happened in terms of your progress on assignment and tutorial work, your management of the assignment project and its tasks, what lessons have been learned to date and what you (and the staff) could do differently. A page listing all the reflective journals of FIT9030 students will be maintained on the Moodle-based unit web site. To obtain the 3% bonus mark for this task students must complete a minimum of 10 weekly blog entries during the semester. Each blog post will be read and assessed by the chief examiner. To get the 3% bonus 6 of these posts should be assessed as "satisfactory".
  
  
  The 3% bonus will be added to the assignment component of the mark available for the unit. Note that that component cannot exceed 50%. So, for example, a student who obtains 46/50 for their assignment work and who earns the bonus will get 49%. A student who obtains 49/50 would get 50/50 - the maximum available - if they earned the bonus.
  
  For more details, please refer to the Moodle-based unit web site.

Examinations

• Examination 1

  Weighting:

  50%

  Length:

  3 hours

  Type (open/closed book):

  Closed book

  Electronic devices allowed in the exam:

  None

Learning resources

Reading list

Recommended Reading

Booch, G., Rumbaugh, J. and I. Jacobson (1999) The Unified Modeling Language User Guide Addison Wesley Professional.

Dennis, A., Wixom, B.H. and D. Tegarden (2008) Systems Analysis and Design with UML Version 2.0: An Object-Oriented Approach, 3rd Edition, Wiley.

Hoffer, J.A., George, J.F. and J.S. Valacich (2001) Modern Systems Analysis and Design 3rd Edition, Prentice Hall.

George, J.F., Batra, D., Valacich J.S. and J.A. Hoffer, (2004) Object-Oriented System Analysis and Design Prentice-Hall.

Lee, R. and W. Tepfenhart (2002) Practical Object-Oriented Development with UML and Java, Prentice Hall.

Maciaszek, L. (2004) Requirements Analysis and System Design, 2nd Edition, Addison-Wesley.

Page-Jones, M. (1988) The Practical Guide to Structured Systems Design 2nd Edition, Prentice-Hall.

Page-Jones, M. (2000) Fundamentals of Object-Oriented Design in UML Addison-Wesley.

Feedback to you

• Informal feedback on progress in labs/tutes
• Graded assignments with comments
• Quiz results
• Solutions to tutes, labs and assignments

Extensions and penalties

Returning assignments

Assignment submission

Online submission

If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the learning system for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.

Required Resources

Students will require access to an "industrial strength" CASE (computer aided software engineering) tool. In 2012, the tool choosen is Visual Paradigm for UML. This product can be downloaded from the Visual Paradigm web site but to run requires a license key. This is available for download from the FIT9030 Moodle-based unit web site or from your tutor.

Students will also require access to traditional personal productivity tools (word processing , graphics and presentation).

Prescribed text(s)

Satzinger, Jackson and Burd. (2012). Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World. (6th Edition) Course.com.

Other Information

Policies

Graduate Attributes Policy

Student services

Monash University Library

Disability Liaison Unit

Your feedback to Us

Previous Student Evaluations of this Unit

Feedback from students for this unit has always been positive in the extreme. The unit regularly features in the Faculty of IT's list of the top 10% of units. No major changes are requried as a result of student feedback from previous offerings.