COMM 427

Systems Analysis and Design

Fall 1998

Course Description | Resources | Course Grading | Class Schedule | Tasks & Deliverables

I. Course Description

This course provides a comprehensive presentation of the concepts, procedures, and tools necessary for building computer-based information systems. The primary objective is to develop skills necessary throughout the systems development life cycle; e.g., project management, data collection, analysis, design, testing and documentation. In addition, the course is designed to familiarize students with the current literature on systems development, including object-oriented analysis & design, emerging technologies, and managerial issues. Students will use state-of-the-art technology (e.g., modeling and application development tools) to design and develop a prototype system for a client organization.

A secondary objective of this class is to establish a foundation for continuous learning at the individual, group, and organizational levels. By participating in a self-directed learning process (consisting of mentorship, goal setting, and outcome measurement), students will experience a method for learning about emerging technologies which they can use throughout their careers.

Prerequisites: Fourth year student and COMM 320.

II. Resources

• Rapid Development, by Steve McConnell (required)
• The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald Norman (required)
• Diagnostic Interviewing for Consultants and Auditors, by John Quay (optional)
• Handouts and other course materials-distributed in class or via MS Exchange (required)
• Subscription to Computerworld: (800) 343-6474 (Note: be sure to tell them that you are a student! ... 39 issues for $18).
• In addition, students are expected to identify reading and instructional material related to the specific technologies used throughout the course, as well as to read IT-related publications and "surf the Net" for information relevant to COMM 427 on a weekly basis, e.g.,

Computerworld: http://www.computerworld.com/
Datamation: http://www.datamation.com/
Information Week: http://www.informationweek.com/
PC World: http://www.pcworld.com/
InfoWorld: http://www.infoworld.com/
PC Week: http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/

• Other Web-based Resources:
  
  Green Valley Book Fair
  Guide to RFP Writing
  ITC Web Documentation
  HTML Goodies (HTML and Java helpful hints)

III. Course Grading

Final grade will be computed as follows:

Notes:

• Final letter grade will be assigned on a +/- basis.
• Project grade will consist of a client evaluation, a peer evaluation, and an instructor's evaluation. The weight of each evaluation will be determined by the instructor at the end of the semester.

IV. Class Schedule (Date last modified: November 18, 2002 ... recent changes in red)

Week	Topic(s)	Reading	Deliverable(s)
9/2	Introduction to Course
9/7	Rapid Application Development	McConnell Ch. 1-4
9/14	Project Management	McConnell Ch. 39	HTML Assignment Due (9/14)
9/21	Lifecycle Planning & Risk Management Career Day (9/25)	McConnell Ch. 5-7
9/28	Data Collection & Interviewing	McConnell Ch. 24	MS Project Workshop (9/28, 8 p.m., Room 111)
10/5	Estimation & Scheduling	McConnell Ch. 8 & 9	Project Proposal Due (10/9, 5 p.m.)
10/12	Fall Reading Break Design Principles	The Design of Everyday Things Design Cartoons
10/19	Usability Engineering		Web Site Analysis Due (10/23, 5 p.m.)
10/26	Customer-Oriented Development & Feature Set Control	McConnell Ch. 10 & 14
11/2	Motivation & Teamwork	McConnell Ch. 11-13	Project Prototype Due (11/6, 5 p.m.)
11/9	Quality Assurance & Usability Testing	McConnell Ch. 18 & 26	Test Plan Due via e-mail  (11/11)
11/16	Object-Oriented Analysis & Design Java: Lesson 1	McConnell Ch. 33	Exam (11/16)
11/23	Productivity Tools & Project Recovery Java: Lessons 2 & 3	McConnell Ch. 15 & 16
11/30	Implementation & Documentation		Final Project Due (12/4)
12/7	The Future & Course Wrap-Up		Project Evaluation Due (12/11)

V. Description of Tasks and Deliverables

a. Contribution to Class Learning

The objective of CLC is to provide a means of assessing the degree to which individuals contribute to the learning of their peers. More specifically, CLC is designed to go beyond the traditional "class participation grade" by capturing knowledge dissemination and skill transference both inside and outside the classroom. To this end, students will be asked to evaluate their peers (via GroupSystems or Exchange) using the following instructions:

Think about the people who have contributed to your learning in this class. Perhaps someone has provided you with a relevant article, helped you solve a problem in the computer lab, or provoked a new idea during a verbal discussion (inside or outside of class). Mentally consider all students on the list and ask yourself, "What have you [the other student] done for me this semester?" Select that student from the outline, and share your comments. "Sign" each comment with your name or initials. You will not be able to view comments submitted about a student, either your own comments or another person's comments.

b. HTML Assignment

Each student, working individually, is required to develop a personal web site on their Unix account. The objective of this assignment is to demonstrate your skill attainment in the following fundamental areas:

• HTML tags
• creating links/anchors
• creating lists
• formatting (e.g., characters, backgrounds, etc.)
• sending e-mail (i.e., the mailto URL)
• using tables
• using images (e.g., as clickable links)
• providing alternatives for browsers that cannot view images (ALT tag)
• using external media (e.g., sound and/or video)
• designing web pages (e.g., page layout, headings, grouping, consistency, signing, etc.)
• putting it all online (e.g., UNIX and FTPing)
• VBScript and JavaScript (e.g., Hello World)

Authorized aid on this assignment includes any published material (hardcopy or Web-based; e.g., UVa's on-line documentation) of an informational or tutorial nature. The “reuse” of existing code or an HTML assistant, editor, or converter without the instructor’s permission (and explicit documentation) is strictly prohibited (i.e., such action will be considered an honor offense).

c. Web Site Analysis

Each student working independently will review an existing Web site and make recommendations to management for improvement; e.g., user-interface design, site navigation, business-related issues. Details of this assignment will be forthcoming via e-mail.

d. Exam

An exam will be used to evaluate each student's understanding of the basic concepts and practices necessary for the rapid development of computer-based information systems. The exam will consist of two parts:

• Part I (30%) - Take-home case analysis (due at beginning of the in-class exam period). Each student working independently will review a written case study of a real world situation involving systems development practices. The case study is available via the following Microsoft Exchange public folder: | 427 | Nelson | CTS_CASE.DOC  Following review of the case, students should respond to the questions presented in: | 427 | Nelson | Cts_exam.doc
• Part II (70%) - In-class, 10 short answer questions based on material covered throughout the course; but primarily focused on select chapters of the McConnell book. Calculators are optional!

e. Client Web Project

The primary purpose of the project is to provide an opportunity for each student to gain experience working directly with a client on the rapid development of an information system. Two-person teams will be formed by the third week of the semester (9/14). Students are encouraged to find a "compatible" partner to work with (e.g., skills, personality and work ethic/style). Specific learning objectives include:

• project management
• client management (including scope control and interpersonal communication)
• requirements analysis
• systems design
• application development
• quality assurance (including testing)
• documentation

The scope of the project should be kept as small and tightly controlled as possible. For example, the ideal project would consist of 5-10 total pages and allow for a some creativity and interactivity (estimated time per student ~ 50 total hours). The project could be used as a either a "subsite" for an existing site or as a "prototype" for an entirely new Web site. Your design should include advanced Web functionality; e.g., image maps, multimedia, interactive forms, search engines, and Java applets. Project contract.

Deliverables

Project proposal. A formal, written (2-5 page, single-spaced) presentation of the initial project specifications.

The proposal will serve as a “contract” between you and your client and should include the following:

• description of client - including history, industry, size, structure, etc.;
• requirements analysis - describe the specific needs of the client; i.e., how will this application help the organization attain specific objectives;
• feasibility analysis (e.g., technical, operational, economic, and schedule);
• initial systems design - including site map and storyboarding of core pages;
• communication plan;
• project plan (i.e., time and cost estimates) - assume a billable rate of $10 per hour, but note that this rate will NOT be charged to the client!; and
• signed contract.

Project prototype. A working model of the system, demonstrating structure, navigation, and page layout. The prototype will serve as the basis for user testing. Each team should submit a one-page e-mail describing their test plan.

Final project. The fully functional, documented, and bug-free system. Documentation should include revised information from the project proposal, structure chart, design issues, file descriptions, test plan and results, training/maintenance information, and project management log (i.e., hours per person by task). In addition, please include a brief cover memo with the following information:

• Bulleted list of "advanced functionality" features of the web site (e.g., Java applets, Javascript, VRML, ASP, etc.). Please indicate whether the feature was found elsewhere and inserted virtually intact on a page, whether a template was found and modified to fit the needs of your site, or whether you created/wrote the code/feature from scratch. Finally, if you spent an extra-ordinary amount of time writing code from scratch, but couldn't get it to work, please describe your efforts and append work-in-progress.
• One or two paragraphs describing your relationship with the client (i.e., reflections on dealing with your client, especially if your client was uncooperative, and what actions you took to improve the situation).

Evaluation. Each project will be evaluated by the instructor, the client, and each member of the class. The weight of each evaluation will be determined by the instructor at the end of the semester.

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Date last modified: November 18, 2002

Copyright © 1998 R. Ryan Nelson, RNELSON@VIRGINIA.EDU