SISAT

School of Information Systems and Technology

Faculty of Informatics

NOTE: 2007 is the final intake of the Master of Information Systems and Master of Information Systems (Advanced) under the administration of the Faculty of Commerce.

BUSS950 - Systems Development Methodologies

Subject Outline

Autumn Session 2007

Head of School –Associate Professor Peter Hyland, Student Resource Centre, Tel: (02) 4221 3606

General Information

Subject Coordinator/Lecturer

Mr Peter Larkin

Telephone Number:

(02) 4221 4035

Email:

peter_larkin@uow.edu.au

Location:

40.243

Consultation Times During Session

Day

Time

Wednesday

10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

Thursday

2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Other times by appointment only.  Note that these times are subject to variation.  If they are permanently altered, students will be notified by SOLS Mail.  Please turn your mobile phone and/or pager off before consulting with the subject coordinator.

Subject Organisation

Session:

Autumn session, Wollongong Campus

Credit Points

6 credit points

Contact hours per week:

3 hrs lecture/tutorial

Lecture/Tutorial Times and Location:

Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Room 67.203

Students should check the subject’s web site regularly as important information, including details of unavoidable changes in assessment requirements will be posted from time to time.  Any information posted to the web site is deemed to have been notified to all students.

Content

This subject provides an introduction to and overview of systems development methodologies for both historical and philosophical perspectives; an introduction to frameworks and issues which may be used to assess and compare different system development methodologies; an introduction to and comparison of the tools and techniques of a selection of systems development methodologies and the phases and stages of the systems development life cycle to which they are applicable and the opportunity to gain some in-depth knowledge of selected methodologies, techniques, tools, frameworks or issues via assignments.

Objectives

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to: describe and explain the origins and philosophical bases of a range of approaches to development and refinement of systems development methodologies; use the basic tools and techniques employed across a range of system development methodologies; assess the needs of different systems development methodologies; assess the needs of different systems development projects and select an appropriate systems development methodology for those projects; describe and explain frameworks which may be used to assess and compare different systems development methodologies; describe and explain the similarities and differences between various system development methodologies.

Performance Level

To be eligible to pass this subject, students must achieve an overall mark of at least 50%, and at least 40% on the final examination.

 

 

Attendance Requirements

It is the responsibility of students to attend all lectures/tutorials/labs/seminars/practical work for subjects for which you are enrolled.  Attendance and participation in lecture/tutorials is a requirement for the successful completion of this course.  Failure to do so may result in a fail grade being recorded.  A good indicator of satisfactory attendance is approximately 80% of the allocated contact hours.  Attendance per se is not an assessable component of the course.

It should be noted that according to Course Rule 003{Interpretation Point 2 (t)} each credit point for a single session subject has the value of about two hours per week including class attendance.  Therefore, the amount of time spent on each 6 credit point subject should be at least 12 hours per week, which includes lectures/tutorials/seminars etc.

Method of Presentation

The subject will be presented as a series of lectures and tutorials.  In the lectures, students will be introduced to fundamental concepts and new material.  During tutorials students will deliver their presentation and lead the following discussion.

Subject Materials

Required Texts

1.   Avison, D. E. and Fitzgerald, G., Information Systems Development: Methodologies, Techniques and Tools, 4th ed., 2006, McGraw‑Hill International (UK), London, available from the UniCentre bookshop for $114.95.

2.   Fitzgerald, B., Russo, N. L. and Stolterman, E., Information Systems Development: Methods In Action, 2002, McGraw‑Hill International (UK), London, available from the UniCentre bookshop for $132.95.

Readings (as listed in the Lecture Schedule section and available from eReadings)

1.   Chapter 8: Approaches to information systems development in Avgerou, C and Cornford T., Developing Information Systems: Concepts, Issues and Practice, 1998, 2nd ed, Macmillan Press Ltd., Houndsmill (UK).

2.   A Spiral Model of Software Development and Enhancement in Boehm, B., Tutorial - Software Engineering Project Management, 1987, Computer Society Press of the IEEE, Washington D.C., pp. 128-142.

3.   Appendix C: Rational Unified Process in Booch, G., Rumbaugh, J. & Jacobson, I., The Unified Modeling Language User Guide, 1999, Addison Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, pp. 449-456.

4.   Chapter 6: Prototyping and Forth Generation Languages in Edwards, P, Systems Analysis & Design, 1993, Mitchell McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 171-199.

5    Sowa, J. F. and Zachman, J. A., (1992), “Extending and formalizing the framework for information systems architecture”, IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 31, No. 3.

6    Chapter 1: Who Needs a Structured Method Anyway? In Tudor, D. J. & Tudor I. J., Systems Analysis and Design: A Comparison of Structured Methods, 1995, NCC Blackwell, Oxford (UK), pp 1 and 2.  NOTE: This reading describes why the authors use the word Method as against Methodology.  NOTE: We will use the word "methodology" and not "method" in BUSS 950.

7    Chapter 2: A Method for Selecting a Method - Dream or Reality? in Tudor, D. J. & Tudor I. J., Systems Analysis and Design: A Comparison of Structured Methods, 1995, NCC Blackwell, Oxford (UK), pp 17-31.

References

Avison, D. E,. and A. T. Wood-Harper, “Multiview : an exploration in information systems development”, 1990, Published Oxford ; Boston : Blackwell Scientific Publications.

Beck, K., "Extreme Programming Explained", 2000, Addison-Wesley, Boston.

Bentley, C., "PRINCE2: A Practical Handbook", 2002, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.

Checkland, P., “Systems thinking, systems practice”, 1981, J. Wiley, Chichester [Sussex]; New York.

Checkland, P., “Soft systems methodology: a 30-year retrospective; Systems thinking, systems practice”, 1999, John Wiley, Chichester.

Connell, J. L. and. L. I. Shafer, “Object-oriented rapid prototyping”, 1995, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Yourdon Press.

Cockburn, A., "Agile Software Development", 2001, Addison-Wesley Pub Co.

Crinnion, J., “Evolutionary Systems Development: a practical guide to the use of prototyping within a structured systems methodology”, 1991, Pitman, London.

Dahlbom, B. and Mathiassen, L., “Computers in Context. The Philosophy and Practice of Systems Design”, 1993, NCC Blackwell, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Davenport, T. H., “Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology”, 1993, Harvard Business School Press, Mass

Dewitz, S. D., “Systems analysis and design and the transition to objects”; 1996, New York: McGraw-Hill.

Jacobson, I, G. Booch, J. Rumbaugh, “The unified software development process”, 1999, Reading, Mass. Addison-Wesley.

Jeffries, R., "Extreme Programming Installed", 2001, Pearson Education, London.

Martin, J., “Rapid application development”, 1991, New York : Macmillan Pub. Co. ; Toronto : Collier Macmillan Canada ; New York : Maxwell Macmillan International.

Mumford, E., “Effective systems design and requirements analysis : the ETHICS approach”, 1995, Basingstoke : Macmillan.

Stapleton, J., "DSDM Dynamic Systems Development Method, The Method in Practice", 1997, Addison-Wesley, Harlow, UK.

Vidgen, R., Avison, D. E., Wood, R., and Wood-Harper, A. T., "Developing Internet Applications", 2002, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.

YOURDON Inc, “YOURDON Systems Method: model-driven systems development”, 1993, Yourdon Press, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.

Warren, I., "The Renaissance of Legacy Systems: Method Support for Software-System Evaluation", 1999, Springer-Verlag, London.

Welti, N., "Successful SAP R/3 Implementation", 1999, Addison-Wesley, Harlow, UK.

These readings and references are recommended only and are not intended to be an exhaustive list.  Students are encouraged to use the library catalogue and databases to locate additional readings

Lecture Schedule (Subject to variation)

Week

Date

Lecture Number and Topic

Text Chapter(s)

Readings

Tutorials

1

2

1

28/2

1.      Administration, Subject Introduction

1 and 2

1 and 2

1

Tutorial introduction

2

7/3

2.      Information Systems Development Life Cycle
Presentation and Reports discussion

3 and 27

3

1, 6

Presentation Tutorial

3

14/3

3.      Themes in IS Development I

4 to 9

5 to 7

1

Library Tutorial

4

21/3

4.      Themes in IS Development II

4 to 9

5 to 7

1

Student Presentations

5

28/3

5.      Overview of selected Techniques I

10 to 17

 

 

Student Presentations

6

4/4

6.      Overview of selected Techniques II

10 to 17

 

 

Student Presentations

Mid Session Recess (6th  April – 13th April)

7

18/4

7.      Tools and Toolsets
Toolsets Report due

18 and 19

 

4

Student Presentations

8

25/4

ANZAC DAY - PUBLIC HOLIDAY - No Lecture/Tutorial

9

2/5

8.      Overview of selected ISDMs I

20 to 26

3 and 4

2

Student Presentations

10

9/5

9.      Overview of selected ISDMs II
Methodologies Report due

20 to 26

3 and 4

3

Student Presentations

11

16/5

10.    Overview of selected ISDMs III,
Exam format and  advice.

20 to 26

3 and 4

 

Student Presentations

12

23/5

11.    Overview of selected ISDMs IV

20 to 26

3 and 4

 

Student Presentations

13

30/5

12.    ISDM Issues and Frameworks, Methodology comparisons

27 to 28

8 to 11

7

Review

Study Recess (4th June – 8th June)

University Examination Period (9th June – 22nd June)

Please note that in some weeks Tutorials/Presentations may commence at the lecture time and the lecture will follow the presentation/tutorial.

Assessment

This subject has the following assessment items:

Assessment Item

Percentage of Final Mark

Due Date

1. Presentation

10%

Due on your allocated Week.

2. Presentation Report

10%

Due at the START of the lecture of your allocated Week.

3. Toolsets Report

10%

Due at the START of the Week 7 lecture

4. Methodologies Report

20%

Due at the START of the Week 10 lecture

5. Examination

50%

Conducted in the University's examination period

Oral Assessment

Assessment 1:

Presentation

Marking Criteria:

40% for the level, structure and organisation (suitable to audience background, logical sequence, flow, etc.); 30% for visual quality (readability, layout, clarity, style, etc); 30% for the verbal quality (volume, pronunciation, speed, etc.) as specified in the Presentation requirements.

Length:

Each presentation will last from 12 to 15 minutes, including time at the end for questions.

Weighting:

10%

Due date:

Due on your allocated Week. The presentations will commence in Week 4 and will continue until Week 12. Presentation topics generally relate to the content of the lecture of the week they are delivered in or near and as such cannot be moved.

Style, format and other information:

Presentation requirements will be distributed and discussed in the Week 2 lecture

Students who submit an application for Special Consideration for their presentation or who are late in delivering their presentation must still deliver their presentation to the class and may also be required to deliver the presentation to the subject coordinator, plus any other attendees the subject coordinator may wish to invite, at time and location selected by the subject coordinators.

NOTE: A list of presentation topics and instructions on how to select a topic will be made available in Week 2.  Students are required to select a topic from the presentation topics list.  Topics will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis via the University's SMP OnLine Tutorial System.  Students who have not selected a topic before Friday of Week 3 will be allocated a topic by the subject coordinator.  A list of presentations and presenters will be made available in Week 4 on UOW e-Learning  Students are advised to check this list to make sure it is correct.

Written assessment

Assessment 2:

Presentation Report

Marking Criteria:

20% for relevance of all sources; 40% relevance, accuracy and coverage of the requirements; and 40% for the critical evaluation of sources as described in the Presentation Report requirements.

Length:

1,000-1,500 words

Weighting:

10%

Due date:

Due at the START of the lecture of your allocated week

Style, format and other information:

Presentation Report requirements will be distributed and discussed in the Week 2 lecture.  The Presentation report requires students to produce a “critically annotated bibliography”.  A link to a description of an annotated bibliography will be available on UOW e-Learning.  If students still do not understand what is meant by a “critically annotated bibliography” after reading the available information should contact the Subject Coordinator as soon as possible.

 

Assessment 3:

Toolset Report

Marking Criteria

10% for Brief Description; 10% Support for techniques (identification and support of techniques); 80% evaluation of toolset against eight standard evaluation criteria (10% for each point) as specified in the Toolset Report requirements.

Length:

1,000-1,500 words

Weighting:

10%

Due date:

Due at the START of the Week 7 lecture

Style, format and other information::

Toolset Report requirements will be distributed and discussed in the Week 2 lecture (you will be required to use a standard WORD template provided to you).

 

Assessment 4:

Methodologies Report

Marking Criteria

20% for Brief historical Description of assigned methodologies (10% each); 72% for Comparison and Contrast using a specified framework as per Methodologies Report requirements, and 8% for Conclusions as to Project size and type relevant for each methodology (4% each)

Length:

2,000-2,500 words

Weighting:

20%

Due date:

Due at the START of the Week 10 lecture

Style, format and other information:

Methodologies Report requirements will be distributed and discussed in the Week 4 lecture (you will be required to use a standard WORD template provided to you). The assessment involves the Comparison and Contrast of two methodologies; each student will be individually assigned a pair of methodologies.

 

Assessment 5:

Examination

Length:

Three (3) hours and 15 minutes

Weighting:

50%

Style, format and other information:

Students must answer ten (10) short answer questions out of twelve (12).  Exam information and copies of previous exam papers will be made available on UOW e-Learning  The 2007 exam questions will be different to past exams.  Questions about the format and structure of the exam will be answered at the start of the lecture in week 10.

Students who wish to use a translation dictionary during an exam should read section 8.3 Procedure for the Use of Foreign Translation Dictionaries in Examinations in the General Course Rules (http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/courserules/assessment.html#foreigntransdict).

The lecture notes, the textbooks, the lecture readings and presentation topics are all examinable.

Notes on Assessment

Students are strongly advised to carefully and thoroughly read all assessment item materials as soon as they are distributed and if they have any problems to see the subject coordinator as soon as possible.

Assessment Items 1 to 4 are to be submitted electronically and in hard copy format.  Information regarding submission requirements will be in the Assessment Item Requirements.

Assessment items 1 to 4 must be submitted by the date and time given in the table above.  Assessed work submitted late will be penalised by the deduction of 10% of the available mark per day or part thereof.  The operation of this rule will not result in a negative mark being carried forward.

Assessments Items 1 to 4 and marks will be returned to students during tutorials/presentations no later than two working weeks after submission.

Assessment items which are relevant to the final examination for the subject will be marked and available for collection prior to the study week before the final examination.

Assessment items 1 to 4 will be held for collection for five working weeks after the return dates/times indicated above.  Any assessment items still waiting collection after this time will be destroyed.

Students must refer to the Faculty Handbook or online references which contains a range of policies on educational issues and student matters.

Scaling

There is no scaling in this subject.


Supplementary Exams

 

While the School normally grants supplementary exams when the student does not sit the standard exam for an acceptable reason, each case will be assessed on its own merit and there is no guarantee a supplementary exam will be granted. If a supplementary exam is granted the date will be determined by the University via ARD.  You will be notified via SOLS Mail the time and date of this supplementary exam. You must follow the instructions given in the email message.

 

Plagiarism

 

When you submit an assessment task, you are declaring the following

1.        It is your own work and you did not collaborate with or copy from others.

2.        You have read and understand your responsibilities under the University of Wollongong's policy on plagiarism.

3.        You have not plagiarised from published work (including the internet). Where you have used the work from others, you have referenced it in the text and provided a reference list at the end ot the assignment.

4.        Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

5.        Students are responsible for submitting original work for assessment, without plagiarising or cheating, abiding by the University’s policies on Plagiarism as set out in the Calendar under University Policies, and in Faculty handbooks and subject guides. Plagiarism has led to the expulsion from the University.

 


This outline should be read in conjunction with the following documents:

 

Code of Practice - Teaching and Assessment

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/codesofprac/teaching_code.html

Key Dates

http://www.uow.edu.au/student/dates.html

Code of Practice - Students

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/codesofprac/cop_students.html

Information Literacies Introduction Program

http://www.library.uow.edu.au/helptraining/workshops/ilip/

Acknowledgement Practice Plagiarism will not be tolerated

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/courserules/plagiarism.html

Student Academic Grievance Policy

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/codesofprac/cop_supervision.html#8

Special Consideration Policy

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/courserules/specialconsideration.html

Code of Practice-Honours

http://www.uow.edu.au/handbook/honourscode.html

Non-Discriminatory Language Practice and Presentation

http://staff.uow.edu.au/eeo/nondiscrimlanguage.html

Intellectual Property Policy

http://www.uow.edu.au/research/researchmanagement/1998IP.html

Occupational Health and Safety

http://staff.uow.edu.au/ohs/commitment/OHS039-ohspolicy.pdf

SISAT Internet Access & Student Resource Centre

http://www.sitacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/internet_access_and_resource.shtml

SISAT Computer Usage Rules

http://www.itacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/support/labs/rules.shtml

SISAT Style Guide for Footnotes, Documentation, Essay and Report Writing

http://www.sitacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/styleguide.pdf

SISAT Student Guide

http://www.itacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/regulations.shtml

Informatics Faculty Librarian, Ms Annette Meldrum, phone: 4221 4637,ameldrum@uow.edu.au

SISAT Subject Outlines

http://www.itacs.uow.edu.au/info/current/subject_outlines/

Commerce Faculty Librarians, phone: 4221 3078,
email: lib_commerce@uow.edu.au

 

Woolyungah Indigenous Centre

The Woolyungah Indigenous Centre provides academic and personal support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other indigenous students.  The Centre also runs an Indigenous Specific Orientation Program for students who gain entry to the University through the alternative admissions program.

For further information on services offered, consult the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre website or contact the office.

Centre location:      Building 30

web address:           http://www.uow.edu.au/aec/

telephone:                4221 3563

fax:                            4221 4244