BSc (Hons) in Business Computing and Information Systems IS Project Module Module Handbook

NCC Education Limited, 2010

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Module Contents
Module Overview Aims and Learning Outcomes Schedule of Topics for this Module How students will work through these module materials Assessment Required and Additional Reading A Guide to the Icons used in this Module Contacts & Key Dates

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Module Overview
This is a set of guidelines for the Information Systems Project module (double-length) for the BSc in Business Computing and Information Systems (BCIS) course. This is an individually organised module, in which each student is expected to realise the production of a software artefact. This will enable students to demonstrate the necessary creativity, integrate their knowledge and skills, and produce usable outcomes both in terms of the product and the associated learning. It is unlikely that each student will possess the necessary skills and knowledge at the start of the work; it will therefore be necessary that these be developed and integrated during the course of the module. It will be important that these learning activities are suitably documented both while they are taking place in the module, and also after the formal realisation of the product. This will support an important reflective activity which will be described as part of the final project report. Associated skills of a more general but extremely important nature will be used and developed further. These will include documentation and organisational skills, those relating to project and time management, the needs of research using different methods, and approaches to problemsolving both in short-term and longer-term contexts, among others. New software tools and systems will be encountered, which may (or may not) be found in other course modules. An outline of the stages which will be encountered will be given in more detail later on. They will, however, include the research of a suitable problem topic, the specification of requirements to address the problem and the analysis and design of an associated information system at an appropriate level of detail to enable the implementation of the artefact in a suitable fashion. User-interface considerations will be included where appropriate. Testing will include the verification that the design meets the specification targets, and testing of the artefact to show that it corresponds to its design and works reliably and consistently. Finally, conclusions will be drawn, both of practical and theoretical natures, and enable the student to reflect on what has been learned.

Aims and Learning Outcomes

The project module provides an opportunity for students to apply and further develop their software development skills in the creation of a significantly sized software application. In particular, the project will allow students to gain valuable experience of:

planning and organising project work; further developing their skills in terms of problem-solving, design, programming, testing and evaluating software.

On completion of this module successful students will have gained experience of:
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1. modelling requirements; critical evaluation and testing; application of methods and tools; communication and reflection; and professional considerations; 2. specification, design and construction of computer-based systems; evaluation of systems; deploying tools effectively; and operating computing equipment effectively; 3. effective use of IT facilities; and managing own learning and development.

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Schedule of Topics for this Module

The taught part of this module consists of 6 lectures. These will lead towards the construction of individual project proposals, which will be submitted at the end of the formally taught part of the course.
Week Topics Required Reading

Introductory lecture Consideration of possible project areas and titles Submission of initial development outline Development of schemes of work Selection of development methodologies Selection of software requirements Submission of project proposal

Weaver (2004) Chapter 1

Weaver (2004) Chapter 2

Weaver (2004) Chapter 3

Weaver (2004) Chapter 4

Weaver (2004) Chapter 5 Review of Weaver (2004) Chapters 1 5

The organisation of the remaining weeks of the course will be communicated to you before the end of the taught sessions, but will be roughly as follows: Development work carried out Submission of interim work for evaluation and feedback Continuation of development work Finalisation of software development and testing Finalisation of project report Project report submitted for assessment

8 14

15 Semester 2 19 10 12

13 14

15

Students will also be required to submit a deliverable demonstration of their project to accompany their final report.
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How These Module Materials Should Be Worked Through By You

In each of the 6 weeks you will find a variety of learning activities that have been created in order to maximise your learning. Each week requires at least 10 hours of work. Part of this will be the lecture material, and it will include discussion forum activity, required and additional reading as well as necessary research. The main weekly activity centres on the work you will do in reading and working through the content provided by the Module Leader. You must complement this by reading the relevant chapter(s) from the required textbook and any additional reading from other textbooks or articles listed, as well as from your own research. You MUST read more widely than the recommended texts to develop your learning. During your research and reading it is important that you reflect about what you have read, what this provokes in your mind and how this relates to the Learning Outcomes for the module. In some (but not all) of the activities that have been created for you, there is guidance on how long you should spend on each activity. Obviously if you wish to undertake further research then you are encouraged to do so. You should work through the module materials in the logical sequence indicated by the Schedule. Because each project is a personal activity, this may need some changes in emphasis. However, for the first few weeks, make sure that you have done the recommended reading and the tutorial exercises. They are designed to help you to develop you work at a manageable speed. The Discussion Forums are an important aspect of learning in that you can share ideas and thoughts with fellow learners. This is a two-way process where comments can stimulate further exploration of the subject in a fellow learner and similarly their comments can produce further learning and understanding in the group. Discussion Forum tasks are given in Tutorial Notes and directed activities in order to aid this process. The discussion forum will be valid from Monday Friday of each week. I will be available for two hours per week actively moderating and facilitating student learning in the Discussion Forums. I shall add input to the discussion forums and provide guidance where necessary.
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The following table sets out the likely activities which you will need to do each week:

Suggested What you need to find order 1 Video lecture

What you need to do Watch and make notes, jot down questions, if possible answer any quiz questions I may ask

Required textbook & any articles you are advised to read

Read the relevant chapters and make notes, jot down questions or problems Scroll through and see if they answer your questions, and/or clarify the topic for you Find the Discussion Forum tasks and prepare for them. Post your answers in the Discussion Forum (remember to read other posts from me as the Module Leader and other students)

Tutorial notes in Campus

Tutorial notes in Campus and this weeks Discussion Forum

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Module Assessment
The module is assessed 100% by coursework. This is made up from 3 components: the project proposal (10%); the interim report (10%); and the final project submission (80%). This may differ slightly from the guidelines in the lectures; this document is the correct version we are in the process of updating the lectures for the next cycle. Further details of the methods of assessment will be provided during the formally taught part of the course.

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Required and Additional Reading

As well as the topic notes and the additional links to external web-based resources there is a required textbook for each module. The current edition will always be advised for purchase.

Required Textbook (current edition) Weaver P. (2004) Success in your Project: A Guide to Student System Development Projects. Harlow, Essex: Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0-27367809 4. Additional Textbooks (current editions) The following texts may be of use for some of the project areas. However, they will not apply to all projects, and students should communicate any texts which they find to be of particular use to the Module leader for comment, and possible more general dissemination. Bocij P., Greasley A. & Hickie, S. (2008) Business Information Systems: Technology, Development And Management. Pearson Education. ISBN: 0-273-68814-6 Bowman, K. (2004) Systems Analysis: A Beginner's Guide. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 0-333-98630-X Bray I.K. (2002) An Introduction To Requirements Engineering. Addison-Wesley. ISBN: 0-201-767929. Curtis G. (1998) Business Information Systems: Analysis, Design and Practice. Addison-Wesley. ISBN: 0-201-33136-5. Dennis A & Wixon B.H. (2000) Systems Analysis And Design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN: 0-471-24100-8. Hughes B & Cotterell M. (2002) Software Project Management. McGraw-Hill ISBN: 0-07-709834. Kendall & Kendall. (2002) System Analysis And Design. Prentice-Hall. ISBN: 0-13-042365-3. Lejk M & Deeks D. (2002) An Introduction To Systems Analysis Techniques. Addison-Wesley. ISBN: 0-201-79713-5. McLaughlin B., Pollice G. & West, D. (2006). Head First ObjectOriented Analysis and Design: A Brain Friendly Guide to OOA&D. O'Reilly Media, Inc. ISBN: 0-596-00867-8 Orna, E. (1995). Managing information for research. Open University Press. ISBN: 0-335-19398-7.
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Teeni D, Carey J & Zhang P. (2006) Human Computer Interaction: Developing Effective Organisational Information Systems. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN: 0-471-67765-5. Van Dijck P. (2003) Information Architecture for Designers. RotoVision.Com. ISBN: 2-88046-731-4. Yeates, D. & Wakefield, T. (2003) Systems Analysis and Design. Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0-273-65536-1 Supplementary Resources There are many different sources available to you. These will depend on the project chosen, and the approaches taken to provide a solution. Websites An initial use of a search engine on the world-wide web will find many resources, typically from Universities, about how to manage a successful project. These will also provide reference material of a more specialised kind in some areas.

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A Guide to the Icons used in this Module

Reading This icon represents reading that is either required or additional, including: required text book reading paper based reading on-line reading - wherever possible we have included a link to web based resources

This is one of the main activities that have been designed to maximise your learning.

Reflection This icon indicates those areas where you will be asked to think about what you have just done.

Web-based Activity This represents an activity that is purely web based where you will need to be on-line.

Self Test Activity

Where the self test icon occurs in the topic material you are asked to do a self-assessment exercise. These informal exercises are designed as a guide for you to check your progress. The scores will not be sent to the Module Leader.

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Visit Discussion Forum This indicates that the Discussion Forum will discuss this topic area where you will be provided the opportunity to share ideas and thoughts with fellow learners.

Assessment Activity

This icon indicates that this activity forms part of the module assessment.

Time Management

This icon indicates the amount of time which should be spent on each activity.

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Contacts & Key Dates

Module Leader: Vic Page E-mail: vic.page@nccedu.com Key dates related to report deadlines: Project Proposal Interim Report Final Report S1, Week 7 S1, Week 15 S2, Week 15 30 April 2010 2 July 2010 17 December 2010 (to be confirmed)

Please Note: all submissions must be uploaded via the Campus virtual learning environment, and must be received by 12 noon UK time on the given date.

Lastly
I hope you find the module both informative & enjoyable.

Handbook Information
Updated March 2010 by Vic Page Originally created by David Leigh and Steve Page. This version 1.2 (2010)

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