This unit is designed to introduce students to the fundamental concepts necessary for the analysis, design, use and implementation of business information systems using relational database management systems. The main topics covered include requirements elicitation, systems analysis and design informed by a lifecycle based methodology, motivation for the database approach to managing information, conceptual modelling, coverage of logical process and data models (hierarchical, network and relational data models), and the use of SQL and other facilities provided by database management systems.
2 hrs lectures/wk, 2 hrs laboratories/wk
For on campus students, workload commitments are:
You will need to allocate up to 5 hours per week in some weeks, for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.
Off-campus students will not be expected to attend lectures or tutorial sessions, but lectures will be recorded and made available via both a unit Podcast (available through Moodle and at http://podcast.infotech.monash.edu.au/fit9003) as well as the Library's Monash University Lectures Online (MULO) service. All tutorial exercises and solutions will be posted to the unit's Moodle site (see below for access details), and some of the tutorial sessions themselves will be recorded and made available through the podcast. Off-campus students should plan to spend equivalent time working on these resources, and should seek advice from the lecturer when needed. Students are encouraged to post their tutorial solutions to the Moodle discussion forums for feedback.
CSE9002, BUS3112, BUS4112, IMS9001, IMS9003, GCO9804, BUS9003, BUS5071, FIT1004, FIT2010, FIT9012, FIT9019
Rob Meredith
Rob Meredith
Contact hours: By appointment
At the completion of this unit, students will have -
A knowledge and understanding of:
Examination (3 hours): 50%; In-semester assessment: 50%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1a - Draft Conceptual Database Design | 10% | On campus: Week 6 of Semester, at the start of the lecture. Off campus: 11.59pm, Sunday at the end of Week 6. |
| Assignment 1b - Database Design | 30% | On-campus: Week 10 of Semester, at the start of the lecture. Off-campus: 11.59pm Sunday at the end of Week 10. |
| Assignment 2 - Structured Query Language (SQL) | 10% | Week 12 of Semester, during your tutorial |
| Examination 1 | 50% | To be advised |
Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through SETU, Student Evaluation of Teacher and Unit. The University's student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
For more information on Monash's educational strategy, and on student evaluations, see:
http://www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/directions.html
http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp
A drawing package such as Microsoft Visio is strongly recommended; a copy of which can be obtained from the Faculty's IT service desk. You will need access to a Windows XP or later based machine, and will also find it useful to install a copy of Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express Edition (version 2005 or later, also available from the Faculty's IT service desk). You will also need a web browser and Microsoft Word. For work on the SQL tutorials and Assignment 2 from off-campus, you will need to install the Monash VPN software (details on the Moodle site).
To watch the podcasts you will need podcast software such as iTunes to download and play episodes. Alternatively, episodes can be manually downloaded with a web browser and watched using either iTunes or other video software such as VLC.
Information about how to obtain the relevant database software from Microsoft to allow connection to Monash's database server will also be provided via Moodle. You will need to install the Microsoft VPN software if you want to access the database server from off-campus (again, instructions will be provided on Moodle).
| Week | Date* | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 21/02/11 | No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 | |
| 1 | 28/02/11 | Introduction to Systems and Databases | |
| 2 | 07/03/11 | ER Modelling Basics | |
| 3 | 14/03/11 | Conceptual, logical and physical models | |
| 4 | 21/03/11 | Advanced modelling techniques and the data dictionary | |
| 5 | 28/03/11 | The Consulting Process | |
| 6 | 04/04/11 | Normalisation 1 | Assignment 1a due |
| 7 | 11/04/11 | Normalisation 2 | |
| 8 | 18/04/11 | Introduction to SQL | |
| Mid semester break | |||
| 9 | 02/05/11 | Advanced SQL and middleware | |
| 10 | 09/05/11 | Implementation | Assignment 1b due |
| 11 | 16/05/11 | Alternative Modelling Techniques | |
| 12 | 23/05/11 | Design | Assignment 2 Due |
| 30/05/11 | SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken SWOT VAC | |
*Please note that these dates may only apply to Australian campuses of Monash University. Off-shore students need to check the dates with their unit leader.
To pass a unit which includes an examination as part of the assessment a student must obtain:
If a student does not achieve 40% or more in the unit examination or the unit non-examination total assessment, and the total mark for the unit is greater than 50% then a mark of no greater than 49-N will be recorded for the unit
Each SQL command will be assessed as to whether the output of the command achieves the task required or answers the business question asked.
Assignment coversheets are available via
"Student Forms" on the Faculty website: http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/
You MUST submit a completed coversheet with all assignments, ensuring
that the plagiarism declaration section is signed.
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/equity/special-consideration.html.
The nature of the assignment work in this unit means that there will be little need for citation and referencing. However, any material that is submitted as part of your assignment submission that is not your own must be cited appropriately. See the Library website for information on citation technique (http://lib.monash.edu.au/tutorials/citing/).
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University's academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them.
You can find Monash's Education Policies at:
http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Key educational policies include:
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at www.monash.edu.au/students The Monash University Library provides a range of services and resources that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. Students who have a disability or medical condition are welcome to contact the Disability Liaison Unit to discuss academic support services. Disability Liaison Officers (DLOs) visit all Victorian campuses on a regular basis
Weekly readings will be set from the following text throughout the semester:
Simsion, G.C. & Witt, G.C. (2005) Data Modelling Essentials, 3rd Edition, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
The text is available from the Campus bookstore, as well as in paperback from Amazon or as a Kindle eBook.
The following texts will be useful, but not mandatory, for studying the unit. If you have no IT background and/or are an off-campus student, it is strongly recommended that you either purchase or borrow Modern Database Management. Note that later editions of these texts may exist, and that any edition will do.
Rob, P. & Coronel, C. (2007). Database Systems Design, Implementation and Management, 7th Edition, Thomson Course Technology.
Hoffer, J.A., George, J.F. & Valacich, J.S. (2005). Modern Systems Analysis and Design, 4th Edition, Pearson Education International/Prentice-Hall.
Hoffer, J.A Prescott, M.B. and McFadden, F.R. (2005). Modern Database Management, 6th Edition. Prentice-Hall/Pearson Education.