GCO9803 Systems analysis and design - Summer semester , 2007

Gippsland

• Madhu Chetty

Prerequisites

It is assumed that students taking this unit are in the second year of an undergraduate course on information technology. The common core unit FIT1004 Database is a required corequisite unit. It is expected that all students studying GCO9803 will have at least obtained a passing grade in FIT1004 or be studying it at the same time. In FIT1004 students will have gained and understanding of and an ability to perform logical database design. GCO9803 will further develop these areas.

Relationships

GCO9803 is a Masters level unit and is equivalent to FIT2001 which is a common core unit for all Faculty of IT undergraduate degrees. FIT2001 is a prerequisite for many units in the second and third years of these degrees.

You may not study this unit and BUS2021, BUS2071, CSE1204, CSE1205, GCO1813, GCO2601, GCO2852, GCO2826, IMS1001, IMS1002, IMS1805, or IMS2701 in your degree.

Unit leader

Lecturer(s) :

The students will be taught in off-campus model. The students will be provided with weekly lecture slides, tutorials and study guides. Also relevant chapters chapters will be identified for reading for each week.  Sampled solutions to the tutorial assignments will be provided a week later - which will allow the students to go through the tutorial tasks in the meantime.

Students will be interacting with the fellow students and the unit lecturer through the discussion forums. All study material will be made available through MUSO. 

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.

Summer semester dates

Key dates for units offered over the summer period vary widely. Please note the following important information with respect to the dates applying to this unit offering.

Start Date: Week starting 12 Nov 2007 (Week 1)

End of year closedown: 21 December 2007 till 2nd January 2008 (after Week 6)

Semester end date: Week starting 28 Jan 2008 (Week 11)

Exam period: 4 February 2008 till 7 February 2008 

(Expected MUSO down time for maintanance: 21 November till 26 November 2007. Pls ensure that relevant study materials of this period are downloaded before hand. )

Unit Schedule

Week	Topic	Key dates
1	Introduction to Systems Analysis and Design + The context of analysis and design
2	Requirments Gathering
3	Beginning analysis
4	Structured Analysis
5	Use Case modelling
6	Finishing analysis
7	Nature of good design
8	Structured Design	Assignment 1 due
9	Use Case realisation
10	User Interfaces
11	Architecture and Security	Assignment 2 due

Prescribed text(s) and readings

Satzinger, J. W., Jackson, R.B., Burd, S.D. and R. Johnson (2006) Systems Analysis and Design in a Changing World, 4th Edition, Thomson Course Technology.

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.

Recommended text(s) and readings

Booch, G., Rumbaugh, J. and I. Jacobson (1999) The Unified Modeling Language User Guide Addison Wesley Professional. (New edition planned for 2006).

Dennis, A., Wixom, B.H. and D. Tegarden (2005) Systems Analysis and Design with UML Version 2.0: An Object-Oriented Approach, 2nd 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.

Reed, P.R. (2002) Developing Applications with Java and UML, Addison Wesley.

Quatrani, T. (2002) Visual Modeling with Rational Rose 2002 and UML, 3rd Edition, Addison Wesley Professional.

Required software and/or hardware

Students will require access to an "industrial strength" CASE (computer aided software engineering) tool. In 2007, 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 GCO9803 MUSO-based unit web site or from your tutor.

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

Software may be:

• downloaded from http://www.visual-paradigm.com/
• purchased at academic price at good software retailers

Equipment and consumables required or provided

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 6 hours per week for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.

Study resources

Study resources we will provide for your study are:

• A Unit Book (printed or electronic) divided into Unit Information and 12 Study Guides (along with 2 appendices). This is also available for download from the unit web site.
• An online unit website providing supplementary resources, assignment specifications and other general information. This page is accessed via the Monash Studies On-Line web site located at http://muso.monash.edu.au

It is important for all students to have the prescribed textbook.

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 MUSO (Monash University Studies Online). Blackboard is the primary application used to deliver your unit resources.

You can access MUSO and Blackboard via the portal (http://my.monash.edu.au).

Click on the Study and enrolment tab, then Blackboard under the MUSO learning systems.

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

For example :

• Blackboard supported browser
• Supported Java runtime environment

For more information, please visit

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

You can contact the MUSO Support by: Phone: (+61 3) 9903 1268

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 both assignments and the examination
• achieve no less that 40% of the possible marks individually in the assignment and exam
• achieve no less than 50% of possible marks (of assignment and exam taken together) for the unit

Assignment tasks

• Assignment Task

  Title :

  Requirements specification

  Description :

  In this assignment you will develop a requirements specification outlining the functions a computer should perform to satisfy the requriements you identify of the client in a case study. 

  For full details of this assignment refer to the MUSO web site for the unit.

  Weighting :

  25%

  Criteria for assessment :

  The criteria of assessment will be made available along with the assignment specifications.

  Due date :

  8th January 2008

• Assignment Task

  Title :

  Design specification

  Description :

  Following on from assignment 1, in assignment 2 you will turn the requirements specification into a design specification for the system being developed.

  For full details of this assignment refer to the MUSO web site of the unit.

  Weighting :

  15%

  Criteria for assessment :

  The criteria of assessment will be made available along with the assignment specifications.

  Due date :

  29 January 2008

Examinations

• Examination

  Weighting :

  60%

  Length :

  3 hours

  Type ( open/closed book ) :

  Closed book

Assignment submission

All assignments will be submitted electronically via the unit MUSO-based web site.

Assignment coversheets

Electronic coversheets are to be submitted with your assignment. These can be obtained from the Assignments page of the unti web site (on MUSO).

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.

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.

Requests for extensions must be made to the unit lecturer at your campus 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.

Late assignment

If you believe that your assignment will be delayed because of circumstances beyond your control such as illness you should apply for an extension before the due date. Medical certificates or certification supporting your application may be required. Assignments submitted after the due date may incur a penalty for lateness. An assignment submitted more than seven days after the due date may be given a score of zero. If you anticipate being late then discuss the situation with your unit lecturer as early as possible; your unit lecturer will decide how many marks you will be penalised for each day your assignment is late, and whether or not any extension is warranted.

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/

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

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.