Systems Analysis & Design

  Systems Analysis & Design Assessment The Chocolate Box Shop EXTRA NOTES These ‘extra’ notes are intended to help students produce appropriate responses to the tasks set in this assignment. They are not intended to ‘give you the answers’ but more as a ‘nudge in the right direction’ ……. Page 2 of 8 Assignment Brief As part of the formal assessment for theyou are required to submit an assignment for each module. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments. After completing the module you should be able to: LO1. demonstrate an understanding of different systems life cycles LO2. demonstrate an understanding of the importance of a feasibility study LO3. perform a system investigation SCENARIO You are part of an IT company specialising in the design and development of computerised business systems. Your consultancy has won a contract from a client. They are looking to replace the old manual system they have had for the last 5 years with a new computerised system. You have been provided with a description of the client company below. Client Information The Chocolate Box Company is a wholesaler that buys confectionary items in bulk from suppliers and then supplies retailers with small quantities of items which the suppliers are not willing to supply. The company holds a limited amount of stock but orders any additional stock that it needs from suppliers on a weekly basis. To purchase products, a retailer must first register with The Chocolate Box Company. Once registered, retailers may order meals using a Chocolate Box order form. Those retailers with poor credit status are asked to pay in advance for orders. This information, together with other retailer relevant information, is kept in a yellow folder. Selected retailers are allowed discount on orders, the level of which depends both on the size of the order and the credit history of that particular retailer. All orders are placed in a green order tray and processed at the end of the week by the purchasing clerk. A copy of the purchase order is filed in a red folder. The purchasing clerk works through the order tray and raises purchase orders for the products needed. All purchase orders are satisfied within 7 days. Product codes and supplier details are obtained from special supplier catalogues. Each supplier sends their confectionary items together with a delivery note and invoice to the goods department. The stock manager deals with both the checking of incoming goods from supplier and the distribution of confectionary items to the retailers. Those items are sent out with a shipping note and a Chocolate Box invoice. Copies of these items are placed in the Despatch History file. The company currently currently pays a local printing firm to create their catalogue but would rather create their own catalogue from the data held in their local database. They are eager to add further retailers to their information system so that they can email them with any special offers that are currently available as well as sending them the printed catalogue which is currently produced every 6 months. This will act as a spur to encourage sales in the marketplace and keep the retailers up-to-date about the new ranges of items available for purchase. Page 3 of 8 A review of the retailer file is carried out once a month. Information about retailers that have not placed an order within the last two years is archived. Sometimes retailers enquire about orders and this involves looking at the dispatch history or pending orders to respond. The general manager would like to have a system that: 1. Provides a user friendly screen to allow easy entry and recall of new sales. 2. Provides a reporting facility so the company will know how much they are purchasing every month from various suppliers. 3. Provides a facility to keep all the retailer details on hand. 4. Produces a comparative analysis – so the general manager knows how much is being spent yearon-year. Note: This business is fictitious but is representative of similar businesses throughout the world. Please DO NOT try to contact any company directly about this assignment. They are much more interested in operating their company than they are about student assignments. Assignment Task Using the details given in the scenario, you are required to address the following individual assignment tasks so that you can prepare a single final report for the client. Task 1 - (equivalent to approx. 1500 words) a) Discuss the importance of following a procedural/staged lifecycle in a systems investigation. Remember to use appropriate references for this section. b) Briefly evaluate the system lifecycle models that could be used in this project. Decide on one of these system lifecycle models that would be suitable to follow for this project and provide a brief justification for your choice. Remember to relate your reasons to the actual problem. Name and briefly outline each of the main steps that this lifecycle uses to solve a problem. The model that you choose must be a process based model from the list described in Unit 1 of the course materials, not an object oriented model. Remember to use appropriate references for this section. (This task allows you to demonstrate Learning Outcome 1.1 and 1.2) Task 2 - (equivalent to approx. 1000 words) a) The main feasibility criteria for a new proposed system need to include the following types: • Technical Feasibility. • Organisational Feasibility. • Schedule Feasibility. • Economic Feasibility. Discuss why each of these components is important in the development of a new system. Page 4 of 8 Remember to use appropriate references for this section. b) Using a spreadsheet program and the sample spreadsheet shown overleaf, create a Profit/Loss spreadsheet. You should include the revenue (income generated) and also costs. In subsequent columns enter the Years (i.e. Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3). You should have at least 6 tangible costs. New Sales should increase by £40,000 each year: beginning with £40,000 in Year 1. You should be looking to achieve profitability after 2 Years! i) Create, and enter into the spreadsheet, a set of fictitious values that will suggest a return on investment for the new system within the next two years. ii) The completed table and the line graph should be copied and pasted into your final assignment document. iii) Assess the economic feasibility of the proposed system by discussing what the table and final result means. Sample Spreadsheet Profit / Loss Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Revenue Projected Increased Sales ?? ?? ?? Total Revenue Cumulative Revenue Costs Programming Cost ?? Design Cost ?? ?? Support Cost ?? ?? ?? Total Costs Cumulative Cost Net Return (This task allows you to demonstrate Learning Outcomes 2.1 and 2.2) Task 3 - (equivalent to approx. 1500 words) a) To undertake a systems investigation to meet a business need you need to identify the business needs for the proposed system. To do this you will need to create a set of survey questions that you can give to the relevant stakeholders (users) – this will be used as evidence, that this is a worthwhile problem worth solving. i) Write six (6) open type questions. ii) Write six (6) closed type questions. You may make use of Survey Monkey to load these questions and copy them from there into your report. Website: www.surveymonkey.com and create a free account. Remember that questions are only closed if you present the range of responses that can be used. b) Use the various systems analysis techniques, as explained in Unit 3 of the online materials, to create the following set of diagrams that describe the specified system: i) A Context Level Diagram and a Level 1 Dataflow diagram. ii) An Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD). iii) An Entity Life History Diagram (ELH) (for this part only, map the part of the case study that deals with “Retailers”). Consider using EDraw (or similar) for the creation of the various diagrams – this is available free from their website. (http://www.edrawsoft.com/). Be sure to include both a Context (Level 0) diagram and a Level 1 diagram. The data flows in and out of the system should be consistent between these levels. Remember, it is important that your diagrams are consistent with the scenario – however you may add or interpret the scenario to properly complete these diagrams. Any assumptions you make for the DFD and ERD that are not part of the given scenario should be clearly stated and briefly justified. Also any M:N relationships in the ERD will need to be resolved into N:1 and 1:N. For the ELH, you can decide what the relevant business rules are for adding, editing or deleting an instance of the entity from the system. c) Evaluate your final design discussing how the user and systems requirements have been addressed. You should make mention of any extensions that may be needed in future. In your evaluation, describe how the system that you have designed addresses the original requirements that were specified. (This sub-task allows you to demonstrate Learning Outcomes 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4) FORMATIVE FEEDBACK OPPORTUNITY In order to assist with your learning and to give you some early, formative feedback you are encouraged to submit a FULL DRAFT of your assignment to your tutor. Student Guidelines 1. You should write this assignment in report style, although a formal report structure will not be required. The report should contain your solutions to each of the four tasks specified above. You should write each task of this assignment as detailed above, in coherent and appropriate English. 2. You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook which is in the Induction Area). Please also refer to the ‘Guide to Unfair Practice in Assessment’ on the module page. 3. You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the AU Harvard system. The My Study Skills Area contains the following useful resources: Guide to Harvard Referencing AU_Harvard_Quick_Ref_Guide.pdf Guide to Harvard Citation AU_Guide_to_Harvard_Citation.pdf Page 5 of 8 Page 6 of 8 You must use the AU Harvard Referencing method in your assignment. 4. You should use diagrams and tables of figures where appropriate ensuring to reference their source using the AU Harvard Referencing method. 5. You are required to write your assignment within 4,000 words in order for your research and summarising skills to be developed, and for effective time management. You are required to ensure that the assignment addresses all of the assessment tasks. In the interests of good academic practice, an assignment submitted with excessive word counts (i.e. more than 10% in excess of the limit) will be returned to you. You will be given a maximum of 48 hours to edit the work to reduce the word count to the permitted maximum. In the event that the submission is still regarded as excessively long then, in line with advice received from Pearson, we will be unable to accept it for marking and you will receive a Refer grade for Non-Submission. The word count excludes the title page, reference list and appendices. Where assessment questions have been reprinted from the assessment brief these will also be excluded from the word count. ALL other printed words ARE included in the word count. Printed words include those contained within charts and tables. 6. Your assignment should be submitted as a single document. For more information please see the “Guide to Submitting an Assignment” document available on the module page. Recommended Additional Resources Textbooks BTEC, 2011. Computing & Systems Development Study Guide Level 4HNC Level 5 HND. Magazines, journals and newspapers Academic publications from credible sources such as: • The British Computer Society, http://www1.bcs.org.uk/ • The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), http://www.iee.org.uk • The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society, http://www.computer.org • The Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), http://www.acm.org Websites Internet based sources and search engines. Page 7 of 8 Learning Outcomes/ Assessment Criteria Criteria Met For tutor use (you may wish to use this in your preparation for your assignment submission) Task 1a) Task 1b) Task 2a) Task 2b) Task 3a) Task 3b) Task 3b) Assessment Criteria for Pass To achieve a pass you must meet all of the assessment criteria as stated below. Failure to cover all of the assessment criteria will result in a referral grade and you will be required to re-submit your assignment. Further guidance on completion of your assignment can be found in the guidance notes which are posted on the group learning space by your module tutor. LO1 Understanding different systems life cycles 1.1. Discuss the importance of following a procedural/staged lifecycle in a systems investigation. 1.2. Evaluate different systems lifecycle models. LO2 Understanding the importance of a feasibility study 2.1. Discuss the components of a feasibility report. 2.2. Assess the impact of different feasibility criteria on a systems investigation. LO3 Being able to perform a system investigation 3.1. Undertake a systems investigation to meet a business need. 3.2. Use appropriate systems analysis tools and techniques to carry out a systems investigation. 3.3. Create documentation to support a systems investigation. 3.4. Evaluate how user and systems requirements have been addressed. Task 3c) Page 8 of 8 Assessment Criteria for Merit To achieve a Merit all of the Pass criteria need to be met, then the tutor will assess whether you have met the Merit Criteria. Each of the Merit criteria must have been met at least once within the assignment. The following statements are examples of how a merit may be achieved, if you do meet the Merit Criteria by showing you have reached this level in other ways then credit will be awarded for this. You will need to meet M1, M2 and M3 at least once. 1.1. Independent research, outside that provided in class, has been utilised to prepare the work 1.2. Use of appropriate referencing throughout M1 2.1. Material presented is clearly and directly related to the scenario 2.2. Effective judgements have been made when deciding on the project methodology and strategy M2 3.1. Material is presented in a logical and accurate manner matching the stated requirements for each task. 3.2. Appropriate levels of material are presented, taking into account the target audience. 3.3. Assignment has been completed fully and on time to the original deadline M3 Assessment Criteria for Distinction To achieve a Distinction you have met all of the Pass and the Merit criteria. Each of the Distinction criteria must be met at least once within the assignment. The following statements are examples of how a Distinction may be achieved, if you do meet the Distinction Criteria by showing you have reached this level in other ways then credit will be awarded for this. You will need to meet D1,D2,D3 at least once. 1.3. Proposals offer clearly justified matches to the requirements, with alternatives being discussed. 1.4. The work demonstrates a clear understanding of the overall requirements of the system as well as the individual system requirements. D1 2.1. A range of credible sources of information have been used to identify appropriate products and solutions 2.2. Assignment is completed fully to deadline D2 3.1. Solutions presented show an innovative approach to systems analysis and design based on attested theory and strategies. 3.2. A thorough understanding and application systems development is demonstrated. D3