GCO9806 Information systems design - Semester 2 , 2007

Gippsland

• Shane Moore

Prerequisites

Relationships

GCO9806 Information Systems 2 is an elective unit in the Graduate Diploma of Computing at Gippsland and is a prerequisite for some of the third and fourth level units in the Graduate Diploma (including GCO3814, GCO3816) and in the MAIT.

You may not study GCO9806 if you have studied or intend to study any of the following units in your degree: FIT9014.

Unit leader

Lecturer(s) :

Additional communication information

Unless you have personal enquiries all communication related to the content of the unit must be via the MUSO Discussion Forums. If you do send the lecturer an email that relates to the content of the unit it may not be answered.

Personal enquiries include requests for assignment extensions (where warranted by circumstances), special consideration requests, or the need to discuss your personal progress. You are certainly not asked to put anything of a personal nature into your forum postings. Personal matters can also be dealt with by telephone.

On campus students will have two classes per week: a lecture/workshop session and a tutorial session. The purpose of the first is to introduce new concepts, the purpose of the second is to enable you to apply the concepts by working on problems, posibly in small groups.

Assignments are designed to be attempted after you have completed all required readings and tutorial exercises. They are also likely to be another source of learning, although their primary purpose is for staff to assess how well you have progressed in meeting the learning objectives of the unit.

Discussion forums are provided as a place where you may ask questions about the content of the unit. They are checked at least twice per week, and sometimes more often.

Additionally, there will maybe be some quizzes placed online (in MUSO) which will allow you to self-test your understanding. Announcements will be made when they become available. (These are not assessable elements.)

Off-campus distributed learning or flexible delivery

Students in Singapore may be able to attend classes at TMC; the purpose of these classes is to discuss the tutorial exercises, it is not meant to be a "lecture".

All off-campus students are expected to attempt the weekly exercises, and may send their attempts to Shane Moore at Gippsland if desired (but you will not get a significant response back - just general comments).

Communication, participation and feedback

Monash aims to provide a learning environment in which students receive a range of ongoing feedback throughout their studies. You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This may take the form of group feedback, individual feedback, peer feedback, self-comparison, verbal and written feedback, discussions (on line and in class) as well as more formal feedback related to assignment marks and grades. You are encouraged to draw on a variety of feedback to enhance your learning.

It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem that is affecting your study. Semesters are 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.

Unit Schedule

Prescribed text(s) and readings

Prescribed textbook (compulsory to have this book)

Arlow, J. & Neustadt, I., UML 2 and the Unified Process, 2nd ed., Addison Wesley Professional, 2005. ISBN: 0321321278

Recommended text(s) and readings

The following are other books which may be helpful. Some of these are listed in the Study Guide. 

Rumbaugh, J., Jacobson, I. & Booch, G., The Unified Modeling Language Reference Manual, 2nd ed., Addison Wesley Professional, 2005. ISBN: 0321245628

Blaha, M. & Rumbaugh, J., Object-Oriented Modeling and Design with UML, 2nd ed., Prentice-Hall, 2005. ISBN: 0131968599

Deacon, J. Object-Oriented Analysis and Design, Addison-Wesley, 2005. ISBN: 0321263170

Booch, G., Rumbaugh, J. & Jacobson, I., The Unified Modeling Language User Guide, 2nd ed., Addison Wesley Professional, 2005. ISBN: 0321267974

Required software and/or hardware

You are not required to have software for this unit, but we suggest that you may want to use Visual Paradigm for UML 6.0 for which Monash has an academic licence.

Staff will only provide assistance regarding the above-mentioned software. Off-Campus students have been sent a CD-ROM containing the software. On-campus students probably have access to the software in the lab rooms, and may be able to get a CD-ROM from staff.

Assignment work can be either hand-written or produced by software.

Equipment and consumables required or provided

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 may need to allocate up to 10 hours per week for use of a computer, including time for reading and posting to the MUSO discussion forums.

Study resources

Study resources we will provide for your study are:

Study resources we will provide for your study are:

• The Study Guide, consisting of 12 modules (one per week of the semester)
• A 350 page Reader containing additional reading material which supplements material covered by the prescribed textbook.
• Weekly tutorial exercises, and sample solutions which are provided several weeks later.
• Assignment specifications, and sample solutions.
• Discussion Forums
• This Unit Guide outlining the administrative information for the unit.
• The unit web site on MUSO, where resources outlined above will be made available
• Recordings (in MP3 format) of the workshop sessions from the Gippsland campus.
• Access to a sample exam paper

Library access

The Monash University Library site contains details about borrowing rights and catalogue searching. To learn more about the library and the various resources available, please go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au.  Be sure to obtain a copy of the Library Guide, and if necessary, the instructions for remote access from the library website.

Monash University Studies Online (MUSO)

All unit and lecture materials are available through the MUSO (Monash University Studies Online) site. You can access this site by going to:

1. a) https://muso.monash.edu.au or
2. b) via the portal (http://my.monash.edu.au).

Click on the Study and enrolment tab, then the MUSO hyperlink.

In order for your MUSO unit(s) to function correctly, your computer needs to be correctly configured.

For example :

• MUSO supported browser
• Supported Java runtime environment

For more information, please visit

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/downloadables-student.html

For further contact information including operational hours, please visit

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/contact.html

Further information can be obtained from the MUSO support site:

http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/index.html

Unit assessment policy

The unit is assessed with two assignments and a three hour closed book examination. To pass the unit you must:

• attempt all assignments and the examination
• achieve no less than 40% of the possible marks in the exam
• achieve no less than 50% of possible marks for the unit overall

Assignment tasks

• Assignment Task

  Title :

  Assignment 1

  Description :

  Focuses on modules 2, 3 and 4

  Weighting :

  10%

  Criteria for assessment :

  These will be provided in the assignment specification

  Due date :

  20 August (Week 6)

• Assignment Task

  Title :

  Assignment 2

  Description :

  A set of exercises relating to study guides 4 through 7.

  Weighting :

  10%

  Criteria for assessment :

  These will be provided in the assignment specification

  Due date :

  10 September (Week 9)

• Assignment Task

  Title :

  Assignment 3

  Description :

  You will perform the activities of the design workflow for a case study.

  Weighting :

  20%

  Criteria for assessment :

  The assignment will be assessed qualitatively and against a selection of the unit's learning objectives. These will be specified in the assignment specification. You will receive a grade indicating the overall quality of the assignment work.

  Due date :

  12 October (Week 12)

Examinations

• Examination

  Weighting :

  60%

  Length :

  3 hours

  Type ( open/closed book ) :

  Closed book

Assignment submission

As the assignments require much modelling to be done, it is preferable that they be submitted printed on paper.

Singapore and Hong Kong Students: submit your assignment to your provider's designated office, with the barcoded cover sheet attached to the front, and the Faculty cover sheet behind it. You must submit before close of business on the nominated due date, and the office will stamp that date onto your work.

Other Off Campus (OCL) students: Mail your assignment to the Off-Campus Learning Centre with the barcoded cover sheet attached to the front, and the Faculty cover sheet behind it. The due date is the date by which you must post before daily collection by the postal company. 

Alternative arrangements for electronic submission may be permitted by your particular lecturer closer to submission date.

Assignment coversheets

All assignments in the Faculty of Information Technology require that a student sign a declaration that the work is their own work. Without this declaration, the lecturer is under no obligation to have the work marked. The official cover sheet for the Faculty of Information Technology is available from http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/assignments/

Off-Campus students may also have received a bar-coded sheet. This needs to be attached in front of the faculty cover sheet to enable quicker processing by administrative staff. (Do not worry if you did not receive barcoded sheets)

Due dates and extensions

The due dates for the submission of assignments are given in the previous section. Please make every effort to submit work by the due dates. 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. Students are advised to NOT assume that granting of an extension is a matter of course.

Late assignment

Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of a drop in grade compared to what the work is worth. Assignments sent after the cutoff date (usually 1 week later than the due date) will receive no more than 10% of the available marks.

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

Return dates

Students can expect assignments to be returned within two weeks of the submission date or after receipt, whichever is later.

Assessment for the unit as a whole is in accordance with the provisions of the Monash University Education Policy at:

http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/assessment/

Plagiarism, cheating and collusion

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 (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/about/committees-groups/facboard/policies/studrights.html) 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.

Register of counselling about plagiarism

The university requires faculties to keep a simple and confidential register to record counselling to students about plagiarism (e.g. warnings). The register is accessible to Associate Deans Teaching (or nominees) and, where requested, students concerned have access to their own details in the register. The register is to serve as a record of counselling about the nature of plagiarism, not as a record of allegations; and no provision of appeals in relation to the register is necessary or applicable.

Non-discriminatory language

The Faculty of Information Technology is committed to the use of non-discriminatory language in all forms of communication. Discriminatory language is that which refers in abusive terms to gender, race, age, sexual orientation, citizenship or nationality, ethnic or language background, physical or mental ability, or political or religious views, or which stereotypes groups in an adverse manner. This is not meant to preclude or inhibit legitimate academic debate on any issue; however, the language used in such debate should be non-discriminatory and sensitive to these matters. It is important to avoid the use of discriminatory language in your communications and written work. The most common form of discriminatory language in academic work tends to be in the area of gender inclusiveness. You are, therefore, requested to check for this and to ensure your work and communications are non-discriminatory in all respects.

Students with disabilities

Students with disabilities that may disadvantage them in assessment should seek advice from one of the following before completing assessment tasks and examinations:

• Faculty of Information Technology Student Service staff, and / or
• your Unit Coordinator, or
• Disabilities Liaison Unit

Deferred assessment and special consideration

Deferred assessment (not to be confused with an extension for submission of an assignment) may be granted in cases of extenuating personal circumstances such as serious personal illness or bereavement. Special consideration in the awarding of grades is also possible in some circumstances. Information and forms for Special Consideration and deferred assessment applications are available at http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html. Contact the Faculty's Student Services staff at your campus for further information and advice.