IMS2001 , Unit Information Guide (Semester 1, 2006)

At the completion of this unit the student should have knowledge of the techniques of abstraction which are used to manage the analysis of complex information systems; multi-layer systems architectures; the appropriate systems thinking techniques to use in non-determinate analysis situations;

Have an understanding of the different philosophies which underpin the various abstraction techniques; the differences in structure between enterprise scale and personal scale information systems;

Have the skills to apply appropriate techniques to problem situations which are presented for analysis; interpret information systems requirements in the context of the prevailing political and organisational constraints; distinguish when the Object Oriented view of information systems is appropriate to enterprise scale situations as distinct from the Structured Analysis view;

and have attitudes which enable them to respect the differing perspectives of all people with an interest in the information system being developed, work to the highest quality standards of which they are capable, in all cases adhere to the ethical standards required of a professional computing practitioner.

Required text(s)

Stumpf, R.V. and Teague, L.C. (2005). Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design with UML. Pearson Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Booch, G., Rumbaugh, J. and Jacobson, I. (1999). The Unified Modelling Language User Guide. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading , MA.

Checkland, P. and Scholes, J. (1999). Soft Systems Methodology in Action. John Wiley & Sons Limited, Chichester, UK.

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.

Hardware requirements:

Students studying off-campus are required to have the minimum system configuration specified by the faculty as a condition of accepting admission, and regular Internet access. On-campus students, and those studying at supported study locations 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. You will need to allocate up to n hours per week for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.

Bahrami, A. (1999). Object-Oriented Systems Development: Using the Unified Modelling Language. Irwin McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA.

Brown, D. (1997). An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis: Objects in Plain English. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.

Maciaszek, L.A. (2001). Requirements Analysis and System Design. Addison Wesley, Harlow, Essex, UK.

Monk, E.F. and Wagner, B.J. (2006). Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning, 2e. Thomson Course Technolgy, Boston, MA.

Study resources for IMS2001 are:

The unit web site containing, inter alia,

Overhead slides of lecture topics. Please note that these are outlines only and of themselves are insufficient to pass this unit.

Tutorial problem specifications.

Assignment specifications.

References to selected readings from the peer-reviewed literature.

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

Assessment for the unit consists of a three (3) hour examination worth 60% of the marks and two (2) assignments worth 40% of the marks. Read this section VERY carefully.

To pass this unit you must:

obtain at least 50% of the available marks for the unit.

In addition, there are hurdle requirements that students must obtain at least 40% of the marks allocated for assignment work AND at least 40% of the marks allocated for the examination.

If a student fails one of the hurdle requirements a fail mark up to a maximum of 44% will be returned to the Board of Examiners, even if the numeric total of a student’s mark is greater than 44%.

Your score for the unit will be calculated by:

adding together the examination and assignment marks.

Assessment Requirements

Assignment specifications will be made available on the web site. Information about assignments will be published on the Unit's Notices Newsgroup.

Assignments will be submitted by paper submission to your tutor's pigeon-hole. Assignments must be submitted by 3.00pm of the Friday in the week in which the assignment falls due.

Assignments that do not include a correctly filled out cover sheet will not be assessed. Please be sure to understand the undertakings you are making by signing the cover sheet.

Late submission of assignments

Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of 10% of the marks available for that unit of assessment per calendar day. Assignments received later than one week after the due date will not normally be accepted unless an extension has been granted by the lecturer.

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 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.

Applying for an extension does not guarantee granting of an extension.

Grading of assessment

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

For timely submitted assignments we will aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks of the assignment due date.

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.

The most reliable means of communicating with the lecturer and tutor is through email.

To avoid the possibility of your email being filtered out by the mail client software, please send all emails from your Monash student email account.

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

Consultation Times

Face-to-face consultation times will be advised on the unit web site.

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:

Mr Andrew Barnden
Senior Lecturer
Phone +61 3 990 32469
Fax +61 3 990 32005

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.