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FIT3015 Industrial experience project - Semester 1 , 2008

Unit leader :

Helana Scheepers

Lecturer(s) :

Caulfield

  • Helana Scheepers
  • Janet Fraser
  • Peter O'Donnell

Tutors(s) :

Caulfield

  • David Grant
  • Dora Constantinidis
  • Jacob Zhivov

Introduction

Welcome to FIT3015 Industrial experience project for semester 1, 2008. This 12 point unit is designed to give students an opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills that they have gained thus far to a real world project. Students are required to work in projects with a real client to analyse, design and develop a system for a client.

Unit synopsis

In their final year of study, students are given the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have gained, in the development of an information system for a real world client. Students work in groups and will:

  • design, develop and deliver an information system for a client
  • manage the project through all its development stages
  • communicate effectively with all project stakeholders, primarily via studios and meetings
  • develop project documentation to a professional standard
  • present their project work to academics and other groups
  • attend unit seminars
  • contribute in a professional and committed manner to the work of the group

    • Learning outcomes

    Students will have knowledge of

    • The environment in which a client operates
    • Eliciting information from a client
    • A Project management process to measure and control development of a system
    • The scope and size of a system
    • The processes involved in the design, development and delivery of an information system
    • The effective management of clients, groups and individuals within groups
    • The roles and responsibilities of all project stakeholders

    Attitudes, Values and Beliefs

    • Students will exhibit a professional attitude to the production and delivery of their work as an individual and as a member of a group.
    • Students will appreciate the importance of involvement and commitment in group work, and its fundamental contribution to the systems process.
    • Students will appreciate the need for professional behaviour in their dealings with a real world client.

    Students will exhibit skills in

    • Presentation
    • Project management
    • Interacting with clients
    • Group integration
    • Designing, developing and delivering on time, a computer system that meets agreed specifications.
    • Evaluating, then using the most appropriate tools and techniques

    Relationships, Communication and TeamWork

    • Students will learn how to establish and maintain effective communication between group members, and between the group and their client
    • Students will respect the input and contribution of all project stakeholders
    • The roles and responsibilities of all group members will be agreed and understood
    • Effective conflict resolution will be employed as part of group management
    • Students will appreciate that the final outcome of the group's work relies on the integrated and committed behaviour of all group members

    Workload

    Your workload commitment to this unit are:

    • 2 three hour tutorials
    • 1 hour seminar
    • 1 hour personal reflection which include: writing a blog about the weeks activities, keeping records of time spent on this unit and generally reflecting on what you have learned.
    • approximately 16 hours of additional work which may include the following: developing code, doing research about different aspects of systems development, development  of documentation

    Unit relationships

    Prerequisites

    Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed FIT Undergraduate Common Core Units (FIT1001 + FIT1002 + FIT1003 + FIT1004 + FIT1005 + FIT2001 + FIT2002) and any 3 FIT 2nd year units.

    Relationships

    You may not study this unit and CSE3301, GCO2819, GCO3819, FIT3039, FIT3040, FIT3038, FIT3025, FIT3026, FIT3016, FIT3017, FIT3047, FIT3048, IMS3501, IMS3052 or IMS3000 or IMS3000H in your degree.

    Continuous improvement

    Monash is committed to ‘Excellence in education' and strives for the highest possible quality in teaching and learning. To monitor how successful we are in providing quality teaching and learning Monash regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. Two of the formal ways that you are invited to provide feedback are through Unit Evaluations and through Monquest Teaching Evaluations.

    One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through Unit Evaluation Surveys. It is Monash policy for every unit offered to be evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys as they are an important avenue for students to "have their say". The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.

    Student Evaluations

    The Faculty of IT administers the Unit Evaluation surveys online through the my.monash portal, although for some smaller classes there may be alternative evaluations conducted in class.

    If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to http://www.monash.edu.au/unit-evaluation-reports/

    Over the past few years the Faculty of Information Technology has made a number of improvements to its courses as a result of unit evaluation feedback. Some of these include systematic analysis and planning of unit improvements, and consistent assignment return guidelines.

    Monquest Teaching Evaluation surveys may be used by some of your academic staff this semester. They are administered by the Centre for Higher Education Quality (CHEQ) and may be completed in class with a facilitator or on-line through the my.monash portal. The data provided to lecturers is completely anonymous. Monquest surveys provide academic staff with evidence of the effectiveness of their teaching and identify areas for improvement. Individual Monquest reports are confidential, however, you can see the summary results of Monquest evaluations for 2006 at http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/cheq/evaluations/monquest/profiles/index.html

    Unit staff - contact details

    Unit leader

    Dr Helana Scheepers
    Senior Lecturer
    Phone +61 3 990 31066
    Fax +61 3 990 44124

    Lecturer(s) :

    Dr Helana Scheepers
    Senior Lecturer
    Phone +61 3 990 31066
    Fax +61 3 990 44124
    Ms Janet Fraser
    Lecturer
    Phone +61 3 990 34307
    Fax +61 3 990 44124
    Mr Peter O'Donnell
    Lecturer
    Phone +61 3 990 32502

    Tutor(s) :

    Mr David Grant
    Sessional Academic Staff Member
    Phone +61 3 990 34326
    Dr Dora Constantinidis
    Mr Jacob Zhivov

    Teaching and learning method

    In this unit we try to simulate a real systems development experience. Groups of students work as a team with support from tutors and academic staff to develop a system for a real client. The seminars are developed to address specific issues during system development and we also include speakers from industry. The studio sessions are there for students to work on their project and to receive help from tutors and academic staff.

    Tutorial allocation

    On-campus students should register for tutorials/laboratories using Allocate+.

    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

    Week Topic References/Readings Key dates
    1 And so it begins .. Introduction to the unit Jacob Zhivov and David Grant  
    2 Standards and Governance David Grant Project interpretation, standards and Governance Due
    3 What's my Scene? - How to meet the client? Jacob Zhivov Business Case and Risk report due
    4 Jake's guide to good documentation Jacob Zhivov  
    Mid semester break
    5 A How to guide to recognising risks and being able to handle them TBA Functional requirements specification due
    6 So you want a graduate position? TBA  
    7 Time is a hard thing to manage Helana Scheepers Design specification due
    8 We can work this out TBA Test plan due
    9 The databse - It is that important Janet Fraser  
    10 The hidden art of good interface design TBA  
    11 Industry Speaker TBA  
    12 Industry Speaker TBA Project documentation (test documents, user documents) due
    13 Finally the end Jacob Zhivov + Dave Grant Presentation of final system and working system due

    Unit Resources

    Prescribed text(s) and readings

    There are no set texts, however students are expected to have developed their own collection of texts, urls and other reference materials during the course of their studies. Resources related to the seminar series will be distributed during the seminar or listed on the unit web site.

    Recommended text(s) and readings

    There are no recommended texts, however students are expected to have developed their own collection of texts, urls and other reference materials during the course of their studies.

    Required software and/or hardware

    The studio environment provides a large array of software and hardware for students to use within the studios, and some items are available for overnight loan. Please see the unit web site for up-to-date listing. Anything additional is to be negotiated between the student team and their clients. FIT will not normally provide additional hardware or software.

    Equipment and consumables required or provided

    Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook.

    The Studio environment is well equipped with computers and peripherals. Studio computer peripherals (cameras, scanners, laptops, zip drives etc.) are available for student use. This equipment is accessible via the FIT loan system - ask the Caulfield FIT technical staff for more information, or log a request via their web site:

    http://www1.infotech.monash.edu.au/webservices/servicedesk/requestform/index.cfm

    Study resources

    Study resources we will provide for your study are:

    • Resource Guide
    • Documentation Guide
    • MUSO Website (this web site contains information for FIT3015, FIT3047 and FIT3048)

    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. Some units will be piloted in Moodle.

    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

    If your unit is piloted in Moodle, you will see a link from your Blackboard unit to Moodle at http://moodle.med.monash.edu.au.
    From the Faculty of Information Technology category, click on the link for your unit.

    Assessment

    Unit assessment policy

    The unit contain a number of deliverables as outlined below. To pass the unit you must gain at least 50% of the total marks for the unit. Your mark will be assessed and then adjusted according to the weekly reflections and peer assessment.

    Assignment tasks

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Project interpretation, Standards and Governance

      Description :

      Weighting : 5%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date : Week 2/3

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Business Case

      Description :

      Weighting : 5%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date : Week 3/4

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Risk Report

      Description :

      Weighting : 5%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date : Week 3/4

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Functional requirements Specification

      Description :

      Weighting : 15%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date : Week 5

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Design Specification

      Description :

      Weighting : 15%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date : Week 7

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Test Plan

      Description :

      Weighting : 5%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date : Week 8

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Project documentation (Test documents, user documentation)

      Description :

      Weighting : 15%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date : Week 12

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Presentation of the Final system

      Description :

      Weighting : 10%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date : Week 13

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Working system

      Description :

      Weighting : 15%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date : Week 13

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Group Project implementation review

      Description :

      Weighting : 10%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date : Week 13/14

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Weekly reflections (blog)

      Description :

      A reflection on a weekly basis of what you have learned and experienced during the week. You are required to do 10 per semester + 1 at end of semester. These blogs will be used to evaluate your personal contribution to the project and might affect your mark up to 20%.

      Weighting : Personal contribution evaluation can affect your mark up or down with 20%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date : Weekly and 1 at the end of semester

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Peer Assessment

      Description :

      The peer assessment will be done at the end of each deliverable (assignment). This asessment will affect your mark up or down.

      Weighting : Personal contribution evaluation can affect your mark up or down with 20%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Due date :

    Assignment submission

    Assignments (on paper) will be submitted to the Studio Tutor, with the appropriate cover sheet correctly filled out, signed and attached.

    Assignment coversheets

    The assignment coversheet is available via the "Student assignment coversheets" ( http://infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/assignments/ ) page on the faculty website

    University and Faculty policy on assessment

    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.

    Requests for extentions must be made to the tutor 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.

    Late assignment

    Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty of 10% per day, assignments received later than one week after the due date will not normally be accepted.

    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:

    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. 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.