Guide to Project for Supervisors
ITECH3501 Principles of Software Engineering XXXXXXXXXX2018 Semester 1
Assignment 2 – Case study
Overview
The purpose of this assessment is to provide students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills developed during the semester. Students work in small teams for assignment 2, in which they complete a case study analysis of a situation and prepare and present documentation to support their analysis.
Requirements: Examine details relating to documented requirements or design for a system in light of potential failure of that system and make recommendations and updates to the traceability or engineering of that design. This will require some individual work in addition to group meetings and collaborative work.
The case study assignment is based on the London Ambulance Service (LAS) Dispatch system that was developed and failed in 1992. Background reading and resources are available for this case study in the Moodle shell.
Timelines and Expectations
Percentage Value of Task: 30% Marks will be awarded out of a total of 30 marks.
Due: week 11, see submission details in course description on Moodle
Minimum time expectation: 30 hours
Students will work collaboratively in pairs on this assignment. This will involve an individual contribution for part A and a group effort for part B including collaborative group meetings and discussions. Each student will make an individual submission including part A and the group work for part B.
Requirements: Demonstrate understanding of particular concepts covered in lectures by investigating a case study presented. This may involve demonstrating an understanding of theory or application of theory to specific examples. This may require further reading and research beyond the material discussed in class.
Learning Outcomes Assessed
The following course learning outcomes are assessed by completing this assessment:
Knowledge:
K1. explain the methods and techniques involved in designing, implementing and maintaining an information system, in particular using an object-oriented approach;
K3. identify the causes of success and failure in information systems, derived from documented case studies;
Skills:
S1. develop skills to analyse the user requirements;
S3. design an information system;
S5. document a detailed design of a small business information system while working in a small team;
Application of knowledge and skills:
A1. Synthesise concepts from software engineering principles to write integrated reports to address given scenarios
Assessment Details
This assignment will be assessed by your tutor.
Marking Criteria/Ru
ic
Sub task
Marks
Criteria for awarding marks
Part A
20 marks
8
Co
ectness and appropriate level of detail providing an analysis of the existing system design. Evidence of research conducted by justifying recommendations with appropriate referenced sources.
Clear recommendations and high level requirements and scope for proposed project.
Appropriate referencing, use of multiple references, not just text book, reference to appropriate laws covered in text and lectures.
Writing style, presentation, accuracy. Professional format.
4
4
4
Part B
10 marks
2
Appropriate requirements for the system, outlined with clear traceability to design,
Details provided are complete and accurate.
Appropriate UML and/or E-R diagrams provided.
The Interface is described appropriately.
An appropriate testing strategy is outlined including approaches to be adopted throughout the project.
Appropriate referencing to support decisions made in design and testing.
2
2
2
2
Case study background
The implementation of the Computer-Aided Despatch (CAD) system at the London Ambulance Service (LAS) has been one of the most notorious cases of failure within the information systems (IS) literature. The system failed dramatically shortly after it was introduced.
In particular,
· The system could not cope with normal load placed on it;
· Response time to emergency calls was several hours;
· Communications failed between some ambulances and the control centre (some ambulances were lost from the system)
This assignment requires you to imagine that you are a consultant software engineer. You have been asked to investigate and make recommendations regarding the LAS CAD system.
The
oad objectives of your investigation are listed below (more details regarding assessment requirements follow on the next page).
I. Identify areas of weakness or limitation in the LAS CAD system (based on your expertise and knowledge of good principles of Software Engineering as discussed in lectures AND based on provided case study resources or other resources you source independently);
II. Recommend changes to the design of the LAS CAD system that would address some of the issues raised in part I. (refer to other studies referenced in your text book to support your recommendations)
III. Produce a detailed consultant’s report outlining your findings and propose a project to re-design the LAS CAD system. In this document, outline high level requirements and scope for the proposed project.
IV. Produce an initial design specification that addresses the proposal in your consultant’s report with a preliminary re-design of part of the LAS system. You may choose to re-design any aspect of the system e.g. database, user interface, add new functionality etc.
Part A: Consultant’s Report – individual component
Value of Task: 20 marks
Minimum Time Expectation: 20 hours
I. Conduct some research regarding the deployed system and identify and describe the limitations with that system. Some material regarding the LAS CAD system have been provided in Moodle. You are encouraged to find further material that is publicly available online regarding real issues that have been documented about this case study system and try to identify the source of these problems. The limitations you identify may be due to deficient requirements or e
ors made at other stages of the project. Additionally, you might suggest that something in the design of the LAS CAD system is flawed.
II. Clearly identify design e
ors that may have contributed to these limitations in the original software design and recommend strategies that could now be adopted in the next release of the system to address these.
III. Outline high level requirements and scope for a project to develop a new release of the system. (You may be creative and make assumptions regarding the existing design. Please make your assumptions clear.)
Use referencing appropriately to cite your sources and justify your suggestions. Refer to the laws described in your lectures and textbook to support your answer. It is expected that you will write approximately 2000 words in this answer.
Part B: System Design Specification – team component (2 students /team)
Value of Task: 10 marks (Each student will receive the same mark unless there is evidence to suggest uneven work effort)
Minimum Time Expectation: 10 hours each student (20 hours combined effort between 2 students)
I. Following your recommendations made in part A, you are now invited to conduct a virtual inspection of the existing LAS CAD system and propose a new design. Your design should be based on lessons learned in part A and should include appropriate software engineering modelling diagrams (e.g. UML and E-R diagrams) as well as GUI layout schemas of the interface. Diagrams can be created using Enterprise Architect or similar modelling software.
II. Demonstrate clearly that there is traceability from your requirements in part A through to design produced in part B.
III. In your design specification, you are also asked to outline a strategy for testing.
IV. Each student should submit a statement individually outlining their contribution to part B.
Note: if there is a situation of uneven number of students and a team of 3 is formed, then this section is expected to be larger due to contribution total of 30 hours – 3 x 10 hours)
Submission
You will be required to submit your consultant’s report via Turnitin prior to submitting a final version on Moodle.
When you submit your final report on Moodle, you must provide evidence of submission to turnitin. If turnitin feedback suggests areas where you not cited work appropriately, or indicates too much similarity with the work of others, you may be asked to explain. Marks may be deducted or you may be penalised if you do not reference appropriately.
Refer to the preventing plagiarism page with information regarding Turnitin on the University website:
http:
federation.edu.au/students/assistance-support-and-services/academic-support/learning-and-study/preventing-plagiarism
Feedback
Assessment marks will be made available in fdlMarks. Feedback to individual students will be provided via Moodle or as direct feedback during your tutorial class
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the presentation of the expressed thought or work of another person as though it is one's own without properly acknowledging that person. You must not allow other students to copy your work and must take care to safeguard against this happening. More information about the plagiarism policy and procedure for the university can be found at:
http:
federation.edu.au/students/learning-and-study/online-help-with/plagiarism.
Your support material must be compiled from reliable sources such as the academic resources in Federation University li
ary which might include, but not limited to: the main li
ary collection, li
ary databases and the BONUS+ collection as well as any reputable online resources (you should confirm this with your tutor).
Federation University General Guide to Referencing:
The University has published a style guide to help students co
ectly reference and cite information they use in assignments. A copy of the University’s citation guides can be found on the university’s web site. It is imperative that students cite all sources of information. The General Guide to Referencing can be purchased from the University bookshop or accessed online at:
http:
federation.edu.au/li
ary
esources
eferencing
CRICOS Provider No. 00103D
ITECH3501_6501_Assignment2_2017
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CRICOS Provider No. 00103D
ITECH3501 Assignment 2 2018
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