A2 ICT Coursework

Practical issues involved in the use of ICT in the digital world

INFO4 Project Guide

Authors / Contributors
Wendy Banks Yorkshire Paul Armstrong Kathryn Sha A#A material Whitby Community College and Fyling Hall School, North Whitby Community College, North Yorkshire !i"erside College, Cheshire Background, s$eci%ication, marking grids and e&em$lar

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Contents
INT O!"CTION##################################################################################$ Brie%,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Working together . ith clients and other students/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,0sing so%t are,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 1 Further $ro2ect ideas,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 1 (m$ortant note about mal$ractice,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,3 Sections o% the $ro2ect,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 3 Hints 4 5i$s,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 6 7eadlines,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 6 S$eci%ication,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 89 % &AC'G O"N! AN! IN()*TIGATION +%4 ,A '*-##############################%. 8,8 8,' 8,: 8,* 8,8,< 8,1 ',8 ',' ',: ',* ',',< :,8 :,' :,: :,* :,(ntroduction to the )rganisation .' marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8: 7escri$tion o% the Current System .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8: (denti%ication o% Client, 0sers and Audience .' marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8: A Business Case %or Change .' marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8* (n"estigation 5echni;ues .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8* Client !e;uirements .' marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8< 5erms o% !e%erence,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 81 Statement o% Sco$e .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,83 7escri$tion o% the Pro$osed System and 7eli"erables .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,86 7ocumentation o% Processes .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'8 7escri$tion o% the 0sers o% the Pro$osed System .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'8 ="aluation Criteria .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'' ="idence o% Checking the Findings ith the Client,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,': I,P0),)NTATION +%4 ,A '*-##############/4 Alternati"e 7esign Solutions .' marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'* 7esign o% the Solution .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'* (m$lementation Plan and 5raining !e;uirements .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'5esting Strategy .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'< 5est Plan .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, '3

/ ANA01*I* AN! !)0I() A&0)* +%$ ,A '*-######################################%2

. !)*IGN AN! P0ANNING FO

4 T)*TING AN! !OC",)NTATION OF T3) I,P0),)NTATION +%. ,A '*-############################################################################################/4 *,8 *,' *,: *,* *,5esting the Whole Solution .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'6 5esting ith Client and 0sers .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'6 7ocumentation .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:9 5echnical 7ocumentation .' marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:9 A$$ro$riateness o% 7ocumentation .' marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:8

$ )(A0"ATION +5 ,A '*-##################################################################./ -,8 ="aluation o% the Whole Solution .' marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:' -,' ="aluation against Client !e;uirements and ="aluation Criteria .' marks/ :' -,: ="aluation o% Student>s ) n Per%ormance .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:' 6 P O7)CT )PO T +5 ,A '*-###########################################################.4 <,8 0se o% So%t are .: marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:* <,' )rganisation and 0se o% ?anguage .' marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:* <,: 7iagrams and (llustrations .' marks/,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:* 5 &I&0IOG AP31###############################################################################.$
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2 APP)N!I8######################################################################################.$

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Introduction
&rief
5his unit $ro"ides you ith the o$$ortunity to com$lete a substantial $ro2ect in"ol"ing the $roduction o% an (C5@related system o"er an e&tended $eriod o% time, (n so doing, you ill enhance your trans%erable $ractical skills, (t is im$ortant %or your $ro2ect to ha"e a le"el o% com$le&ity and demand a$$ro$riate to the second year o% an A ?e"el, !egular in"ol"ement o% the end@user is essential to the success o% the $ro2ect, You ill need to $ro"ide e"idence to "eri%y this, 5he %ollo ing may hel$ to illustrate the range o% $ossible $ro2ects that could be undertaken, 5hey sho ho you might be able to ork on an individual or grou9 $ro2ect hilst still $roducing an individual 9roject re9ort that has your own wor: clearl; identified, You may, %or e&am$le, $roduceA a so%t are solution such as an e@commerce or multimedia system a training system, including training materials %or a client, 5his could, %or e&am$le, be %or a course %or someone orking %rom home a user su$$ort system, such as %or a user hel$ desk in a com$any or schoolBcollege, or a %ault logging system a system %or ensuring the security o% an organisation>s (C5 systems, An idea here ould be to %ormulate a $olicy to s$eci%y a$$ro$riate use o% a com$any or a school>sBcollege>s la$to$ com$uters and other mobile de"ices, or a database to record usage a system %or communication ithin an organisationC %or e&am$le, %or ho schools could use technology to communicate ith students ithin the school or a communal diary system a system %or e"aluating ne so%t are to be $urchased or %or a ne system to be installed, including hard are, so%t are, communications, consumables and ser"ices a backu$ and reco"ery system and a disaster reco"ery $lan %or an organisation a system %or managing relationshi$s ith customers

<or:ing together +with clients and other students(t is intended that you ill become in"ol"ed in real situations in organisations here you can a$$ly your skills, kno ledge and understanding o% (C5 to sol"e $roblems %or a client, An organisation is de%ined as any grou$ o% $eo$le ho use (C5 to achie"e their aims and ob2ecti"es, =&am$les o% an organisation include a local com$any, a retailer, a school or college, a charity, a club or society, or 2ust a grou$ o% $eo$le coming together to organise an e"ent, (t is ;uite acce$table %or you to ork in a team %or the same client, i% that is is re;uired %or the ork being undertaken, hat

5he team could consist o% t o or more students orking ith one or more members %rom the client organisation, 5his a$$roach is encouraged i% it allo s
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students to become in"ol"ed in larger more realistic $ro2ects can ork on $art o% a system,

here each student

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"sing software
5he $ro2ect should in"ol"e you using a$$lications so%t are %or a "ariety o% $ur$oses and should also introduce you to the %undamentals o% $ro2ect management, You ill be e&$ected to make %ull use o% the %unctionality a"ailable in ord $rocessing so%t are %or the $roduction o% the $ro2ect re$ort and, i% re;uired, to enable collaborati"e orking, 5he $ro2ect should encourage you to think creati"ely, inno"ati"ely, analytically, logically and critically as you consider and suggest alternati"e a$$roaches, in"estigate and discuss $ossibilities, and recommend actions to be taken, You ill $roduce a $ro2ect re$ort that ill be assessed internally by the school, to the criteria $ro"ided in this s$eci%ication, 5he school>s assessment ill then be moderated by A#A, For this reason, although collaborati"e orking is encouraged, it is im$erati"e that assessors are able to identi%y your o n contribution, and you must $roduce your o n $ro2ect re$ort,

Further 9roject ideas

5he %ollo ing may hel$ to illustrate the range o% $ossible $ro2ects that could be undertaken, and ho grou$s o% students could ork together, hilst still $roducing an indi"idual $ro2ect re$ort that has their o n ork clearly identi%ied, (t is $er%ectly acce$table to $roduce a s$readsheet or database solution to a $roblem i% that holds more interest %or you,

<ebsite= intranet site or e>tranet site

For any organisation .or e"ent/, students could $roduce $arts o% an intranet %or di%%erent de$artments ithin an organisation, orking collaborati"ely to establish house styles and consistency o% end $roduct, and in sharing their skills in the use o% the "ariety o% a$$lications so%t are needed to create the end $roduct,

Training ?aterials
5raining materials could be de"elo$ed %or a course ithin the centre or %or an e&ternal organisation, Daterials could take a "ariety o% %ormats and be created using a range o% so%t are, (ndi"idual students could ork on one as$ect or one %ormat, hilst the hole grou$ has to ado$t consistent styles and a$$roaches to de"elo$ment, For e&am$le, training could be needed inA a ne $iece o% so%t are using ne la$to$s, P7As or other $ortable de"ices using loan items such as digital cameras or recording e;ui$ment a ne security $olicy a backu$ and reco"ery strategy health and sa%ety legislation or guidelines en"ironmental $olicies, such as dis$osal o% com$uter e;ui$ment,

)ther students could $erha$s de"elo$ a system %or storing, cataloguing or loaning out training materials that ha"e been created,

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"ser su99ort and fault logging

A grou$ o% students could each ork ith a di%%erent ty$e o% user, or a di%%erent de$artment o% a school or other organisation, Daterials re;uired might be similar in $ur$ose, but need to be $roduced so as to best suit the indi"idual ty$es o% user, or some may ha"e s$ecialist needs hich need su$$orting, !ecording and storage o% re;uests %or maintenance, error re$orting or %ault logging could be built in,

,anaging relationshi9s with custo?ers

5his could in"ol"e a system %or the collection o% customer %eedback "ia a ebsite and a back o%%ice system that can collect, store and classi%y res$onses, $lus a system that results can be %ed into %or statistical analysis, (ndi"idual students could take on one o% the elements, here collaboration ould be essential to ensure e%%ecti"e data trans%er, correctness and accuracy,

,ulti?edia solutions
5hese can be used in a "ariety o% situations, 5hey can be e&tremely large systems and %re;uently need to be broken do n into manageable chunks, Se$arate students could ork on $arts o% an o"erall solution, 5his could include $roducing an interacti"e ma$, here sub2ect s$ecialisms or s$ecial interests could determine ith hat areas students became in"ol"ed, For e&am$le, one student could $re$are and incor$orate in%ormation on areas o% interest %or young adults, another on s$orting "enues, a third on %lora and %auna, 5his could be $roduced %or the local tourist board or to n council,

I?9ortant note about ?al9ractice

You need to be a are that teachers should in%orm candidates o% the A#A regulations concerning mal$ractice, Candidates must notA submit ork hich is not their o nE lend ork to other candidatesE allo other candidates access to, or the use o%, their o n inde$endently@ sourced source material .this does not mean that candidates may not lend their books to another candidate, but candidates should be $re"ented %rom $lagiarising other candidates> research/E include ork co$ied directly %rom books, the (nternet or other sources ithout ackno ledgement or attributionE submit ork ty$ed or ord@$rocessed by a third $erson ithout ackno ledgement, 5hese actions constitute mal$ractice, %or %rom the e&amination/ ill be a$$lied, hich a $enalty .e,g, dis;uali%ication

*ections of the 9roject

5he $ro2ect constitutes '9F o% the %ull A ?e"el ;uali%ication .*9F o% the A' year/, 5he $ro2ect is marked out o% 19 marks, Here is the breakdo n o% the marks %or each section o% the $ro2ectA Background and (n"estigation .8* marks/ Analysis and 7eli"erables .8- marks/ 7esign and Planning %or (m$lementation .8* marks/
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5esting and 7ocumentation o% the (m$lementation .8: marks/ ="aluation .1 marks/ Pro2ect !e$ort .1 marks/

3ints @ Ti9s
As e ha"e a tight time schedule %or marking your $ro2ect, you must ensure that you hand in your $ro2ect by each deadline, Kee$ a diary log o% all the occasions you met or talked and the reason %or the meeting, ith your client B user

!emember that $ro2ect rite@u$s are time consuming G 7on>t lea"e it until the last minute G ork on it throughout the $ro2ect, 7i"ide your $ro2ect into manageable sub@tasks .bite siHed chunks/ G set yoursel% intermediate deadlines %or each one and stick to them, Dake sure that you com$lete all sections o% the $ro2ect, )nly your rite u$ ill be seen by the moderator G you must make sure that it sho s e"idence o% e"erything you ha"e done G they ill not see your ork on com$uter, You must $ro"ide e"idence that your solution orks, %or binding, 7esign sketches and annotations should be done by hand, ?ea"e a le%t hand margin o% at least '9mm on all $ages to allo Annotated $rintouts, scans, diagrams, $ictures etc should be gi"en a fig number so that they can be re%erred to in the rite@u$, 7on>t be a%raid to ask %or hel$, i% needed, but any direct assistance gi"en by the teacher may a%%ect your mark, Pro"ide a clear and detailed record o% all sources o% in%ormation gathered and used throughout the $ro2ect, !ecord any ork done outside the su$er"ision o% your teachers, !ead through all documentation you recei"e so that you are clear o% e&actly hat is e&$ected o% you, Duch o% hat you learn in (NF): can be a$$lied in this (NF)* course ork,

!eadlines
You ill ha"e interim deadlines %or di%%erent $arts o% the $ro2ect throughout the year hen your ork ill be handed in and interim marked, 5he %inal deadline %or the com$leted ork is

First lesson after the )aster holida;s ,onda; /5th A9ril /A%/

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*9ecification
5he %ollo ing table has been co$ied directly %rom the A#A su$$lied s$eci%ication and e&$lains hat you need to include in your $ro2ect, (t is there%ore im$ortant that your $ro2ect re$ort co"ers all o% the sections listed in the table, You should re%er to this table %or hel$ throughout the $ro2ect $lus the detailed notes that %ollo , (n addition, you should re%er to the A' Nelson 5hornes te&tbook, 5he mark scheme has also been $ro"ided so that you can see hat you need to do ithin each mark range, *ection %# &ac:ground @ investigatio n .8* marks/ The 9roject re9ort should Include An introduction to the organisation, A descri$tion o% the current system .or e&isting situation/ and its en"ironment, (denti%ication o% client, users and audience, A business case .reasons/ %or change, ="idence o% the use o% rele"ant in"estigation techni;ues, !e;uirements o% the client, Statement o% sco$e, A?9lification 5his should include the ty$e and $ur$ose o% the organisation, and gi"e an idea o% its siHe and scale o% o$eration, Your contact ithin the organisation should be identi%ied, Do"ing do n in scale to describe the system .or e&isting situation/ ithin the organisationB%or the organisation hich is under in"estigation, 5he $eo$leBde$artments in"ol"ed, Who is it %orI Clear identi%ication o% client, users and audience . here a$$licable/, N,B, (t is likely that there is one client, but multi$le users, At this le"el o% study, it is e&$ected that this ill be the case, Why the $ro2ect is needed by the organisation, ="idence o%, %or e&am$le, $lanning, conducting, documenting and e"aluating meetings ith clients, inter"ie s, obser"ation, ;uestionnaires, research as a$$ro$riate, What is the $ro$osed system to $ro"ideI 5his should include any internal or e&ternal constraints on the $ro$osed system, 5hese may include hard are, communication technologies, so%t are, %ormat o% e&ternal in%ormation re;uirements, sta%%ing and en"ironmental %actors, 5his may take "arious %ormats but should include the bene%its %or, and likely im$acts on, the organisation, Again, the %ormat %or the documentation is not %i&ed but should be a$$ro$riate to the system being analysed, 7etails o% the skills o% the users o% the $ro$osed system, a$$ro$riate to the system,

/# Anal;sis @ deliverables .8- marks/

7escri$tion o% the $ro$osed system, 7ocumentation o% $rocesses, 7escri$tion o% the users o% the $ro$osed system,

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="aluation criteria, Agreed deli"erables, ="idence o% checking the %indings ith the client, ="idence o% in"estigating alternati"e design solutions, 7ra%t design ork, Final design ork, Plan %or im$lementation, testing and instalment, including $ro$osed time scales, 5raining re;uirements %or the ne system, 5esting strategy,

Both ;uantitati"e and ;ualitati"e criteria against hich the solution can be tested and e"aluated, 5hese should be deri"ed %rom the re;uirements o% the client, What is to be $roduced and handed o"er to the clientI 5his may be a $rototy$e system or a $artial system, Findings must be $resented in such a to be understandable to the client, ay as

.# !esign @ 9lanning for i?9le?enta tion .8* marks/

Should include in"estigating o$tions %or all elements o% an (C5 system as a$$ro$riate to the $ro2ect, 5o be able to discuss From ith client,

hich to im$lement,

5his may include hat documentation re;uired %or training the users,

ill be

5est $lan, 4# Testing @ docu?entat ion of the i?9le?enta tion .8: marks/ ="idence o% testing should include e"idence o% client andBor end user testing, ="idence o% testing,

Should set out hat testing is necessary, ho ill do it, hen and here, You should describe here any constraints on li"e testing that re;uire a simulated en"ironment to be used, 5he tests that ill be undertaken, hat the tests are testing, the order in hich the tests ill be com$leted, Where testing in the intended en"ironment is not $ossible, testing in a simulated en"ironment ill be acce$table $ro"iding this has been e&$lained and 2usti%ied in the testing strategy, 5esting should concentrate on the testing o% com$lete $rocesses and the system as a hole, ="idence o% %unctional or unit tests, %or e&am$le %or "alidation or %or the backing u$ o% one %ile, is not re;uired, As a$$ro$riate, de$ending on hether the client is also the end user,

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$# )valuation of the i?9le?ente d solution .1 marks/

6# The 9roject re9ort .1 marks/

Com$rehensi"e documentation o% the solution that ould allo the solution to be usedBmaintained or de"elo$ed %urther hich is a$$ro$riate %or the clientB users, A critical e"aluation o% the solution that ould allo the solution to be usedB maintained or de"elo$ed %urther hich is a$$ro$riate %or the clientBuser, An e"aluation o% the student>s o n $er%ormance, 5he com$lete ork should be submitted in the %ormat o% a $ro2ect re$ort,

7ocumentation could be technical or user documentation de$ending on the indi"idual $ro2ect undertaken and the agreed deli"erables,

5he solution should be critically e"aluated against the e"aluation criteria and the client needs, as de%ined during the in"estigation and analysis stages, ="idence %rom testing should be re%erenced,

5his should identi%y strengths and eaknesses in the a$$roach they ha"e identi%ied, ho they ould im$ro"e their $er%ormance on a similar $ro2ect in the %uture, 5he re$ort should be ell structured and should make use o% %acilities a"ailable ithin so%t are $ackages to enable this to be doneC %or e&am$le, by including a contents list, headersB%ooters, $agination, inde&es, e%%ecti"e use o% a$$endices and $resentation techni;ues, A$$ro$riate use o% technically accurate illustrati"e and "isual material %or e%%ecti"e communication, An a$$ro$riate style o% riting has been ado$ted, 5he standard o% your ritten communication ill be assessed in the re$ort,

7etailed in%ormation %or each section o% the re$ort is included on the %ollo ing $ages, 5he order o% some o% the items %rom the abo"e s$eci%ication has been changed to match the marking grids, Co$ies o% the marking grids are included at the end o% the guide,

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% &ac:ground and Investigation ?ar:s%#% Introduction to the Organisation

+%4
+/ ?ar:s-

+i"e a descri$tion o% the organisation that re;uires the ne system you are going to de"elo$, 5ry to build a mental $icture %or the reader o% hat the organisation is about, Suggested things to include areC o Com$anyBorganisation name o What do they doI o Ho long ha"e they been in o$erationI o Where they are locatedI o 7o they ha"e multi$le sitesI o Names o% any key $eo$le in"ol"ed, =,g, managing director, managers, sta%% using the current system o 5he name o% your contact ithin the organisation and hat their res$onsibilities are o A hierarchy diagram ith e&$lanation sho ing di%%erent le"els ithin the organisation .see cha$ter 8/ o Ho many em$loyees do they ha"eI o What are the di%%erent 2ob %unctionsI o Any rele"ant history e,g, are they a ne com$anyI o Any $hotogra$hs, $ictures, hel$%ul in%ormation to addI o Any $articular reasons hy they are looking to get a ne systemI o What do they antI

%#/ !escri9tion of the Current *;ste?

+. ?ar:s-

Write a detailed descri$tion o% the e&isting system G ho do they do things currentlyI o Who are the $eo$le in"ol"ed in the current situationI o What are the $roblems ith the current systemI o Ho did these $roblems come aboutI o (s there any background history to these $roblemsI o What in%ormation does it $roduceI Who uses thisI o (% there is no current system, then e&$lain hat ha$$ens no instead G e"en i% it is not a com$uterised system, o You can include data decom$osition diagrams and data %lo diagrams o% the e&isting system here, Dake sure you e&$lain any diagrams you include,

%#. Identification of Client= "sers and Audience ?ar:so o o o o

+/

7escribe the client, users and audience clearly +i"e names, 2ob roles and $ositions ithin the organisation Ho do these $eo$le use the current systemI What $roblems do these di%%erent $eo$le ha"e ith the current systemI 7o they ha"e di%%erent $roblemsI

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As $art o% your continuing contact ith your client and users, you should kee$ a diary record to record all your contact ith them throughout the $ro2ect, Dake a note o% ho you met, hen, here, the $ur$ose o% the meeting and any outcomes or %eedback %rom them, Also include any contact "ia $hone, email or other means, 5his diary log can be $resented in the A$$endi& and is $robably best laid out in a table,

%#4 A &usiness Case for Change

+/ ?ar:s-

=&$lain hy this $ro2ect is needed by the organisation, !easons %or change usually %all into %our main categories, o 5echnology G $erha$s a ne technology has emerged hich the business needs to embrace e,g, hen barcodes ere in"ented, or $erha$s e&isting technology is being $hased out and the current system ill no longer be su$$orted, (s their old system too slo so it is losing them customersI =conomic G $erha$s the e&isting system is too e&$ensi"e to maintain or the ne system ould introduce cost sa"ingsI Are they losing businessI (s it to sa"e moneyI 7o they ant to attract more customers as they need to make more moneyI Ha"e they got a com$etitor ho is taking all their businessI Ha"e they gro n ;uickly as a business and are %inding it di%%icult to maintain ade;uate recordsI ?egal G ha"e there been changes to legislation that means the system is neededI )$erational G does the e&isting system o$erate correctlyI Perha$s it does not ha"e the re;uired %unctions,

o o

%#$ Investigation TechniBues

+. ?ar:s-

5here are a "ariety o% techni;ues that you can use to in"estigate the current system and you need to include t o or more to gain higher marks, o (nter"ie s o #uestionnaires o )bser"ation o 5hought sho ers o !ecord searching B document analysis o Fact recording Dake sure you e&$lain hat techni;ues you are using, hy you are using them, hat data and in%ormation you can gain %rom them, ho the techni;ues are a$$ro$riate %or your $ro2ect and hat $eo$le are in"ol"ed etc, (nclude scanned co$ies o% any documents and re%er to them ithin your te&t, You could use $hotogra$hs o% obser"ations i% they are rele"ant,

%#$#%

"ser *:ills *urve;

At this $oint you should also conduct a sur"ey o% user skills, 7ocumentation o% this ill %ollo in the analysis section but it needs to be carried out no , You need to get a good idea o% the skill le"el %or each user .or grou$ o% users/ and determine e&actly hat they can and can>t do, hat skills they already ha"e, ho they $re%er to learn .sel% taught, in a classroom, %rom a colleague, %rom a book or cd etc/, Consider their business skills and non@technical skills too, not 2ust hat they can do on the com$uter, 5hink about ho you can %ind out this in%ormation e,g, by ;uestionnaire, inter"ie , obser"ation etc, (% a ;uestionnaire, then you

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need to think care%ully about the design o% the %orm and the ay you ord your ;uestions, !emember that users can be both internal and e&ternal to an organisation o internal J member o% o n ork%orce o e&ternal J e,g, member o% $ublic using e&tranet to buy goods and ser"ices

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%#6 Client

eBuire?ents

+/ ?ar:s-

You need to identi%y all o% the re;uirements %or the client, !e;uirements tend to be hat the system has to be able to do and hat it is to $ro"ide, 5hey may be a mi&ture o% ;ualitati"e .o$inion/ and ;uantitati"e .measurable/ re;uirements, (% you ha"e clear re;uirements this ill make it easier %or you to e"aluate your system at the end o% the $ro2ect, 5y$es o% re;uirements you should consider alongside the actual $rocesses o% the $ro$osed system o $er%ormance .e,g, time needed to com$lete a task/ o timing .any deadlines %or out$ut to be $roduced/ o archi"e .ho long %or, here, ho etc/ o system a"ailability .'*B1, 6@-, etc/ o %ailures .contingency, com$uter %ailure/ o System integrity . hat to do about errors/ =&am$les o% ;ualitati"e re;uirements .o$inion/ o 5he system should be user %riendly o 5he system should be easy to learn o 5he system should be easy to na"igate o 5he system should be $leasant to look at o 5he system should be easy to read and understand =&am$les o% ;uantitati"e re;uirements .measurable/ o 5he system should be able to look u$ a customer in & minutesBseconds o 5he system should be able to com$lete an order in & minutesBseconds o 5he system should automatically $rint out an in"oice on $a$er o 5he system should include a %acility %or the user to $ro"ide ritten %eedback o 5he system should include the com$any logo on all documentation o 5he system should use the cor$orate colours and styles (t is "ery im$ortant that you ha"e a logical numbering system %or your re;uirements because you ill be re%erring to them throughout the $ro2ect, You can number them in any ay you ish but be consistent e,g, o 8, ', :, * etc o A, B, C, 7 etc o !8, !', !:, !* etc 5he best ay to lay this section out so that it is clear is to create a table ith : columns .re;uirement number, short descri$tion, detailed descri$tion/, For each re;uirement gi"e some detailed e&$lanation that includesC o A more detailed descri$tion o% the re;uirement o 5he reason %or the re;uirement G hy is it neededI What does it do %or the userI o ?imitations G gi"e any constraints im$osed on the resolution o% the re;uirement 5y$ical constraints could include G hard areBso%t are, legal constraints, $olicy constraints, system@related constraints, %inancial constraints etc
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%#5 Ter?s of

eference

(t is ad"isable to create a 5erms o% !e%erence document %or your client although it is not s$eci%ically re%erred to in the s$eci%ication or marking grids, (t is hat ould ha$$en in a real business and it hel$s to set out all the initiation as$ects o% the $ro2ect so e"eryone in"ol"ed kno s e&actly hat is to be $roduced and hat is being omitted, (t should be a se$arate document and you should include it in the a$$endi&, (t is not usually a long document G $robably only a cou$le o% $ages, 5he client should agree your 5erms o% !e%erence and $ro"ide you ith signed a$$ro"al, $re%erably on headed note$a$er, A scanned co$y o% the letter should also be $laced in the A$$endi&, .See $age 8:9/, A 5erms o% !e%erence should include most or all o% the %ollo ing in%ormation .lea"e out any that are not a$$ro$riate %or your $ro2ect/C Background An introduction to the $ro2ect along ith rele"ant background in%ormation to set the scene %or the 2usti%ication o% this $ro2ect, (nclude re%erences to the current $roblems and errors in the e&isting system, Aims and )b2ecti"es AimC a clear statement o% the $ur$ose o% the $ro$osed $ro2ect, )b2ecti"esC set out hat the $ro2ect ill do in s$eci%ic, measurable terms, 5hey should be realistic and achie"able in the time a"ailable, 7eli"erables States hat the $ro2ect ill deli"er at each stage o% the li%e cycle, 7eli"erables are N)5 the same as re;uirements, .See analysis section %or %urther detail/, Sco$e States hat is included and hat is e&cluded %rom the $ro2ect, !esourcing What $eo$le are in"ol"ed, hen they ill be needed, %or ho long, in hat ca$acity etc, 5imescales )"erall timescales %or the $ro2ect including any s$eci%ic deadlines e,g, $ro$osed system design to be ready on ddBmmBccyy, and the $ro$osed end date hen the system ill be installed and %ully %unctioning, !e$orting arrangements States hen and ho you ill contact your client, Client and 0ser 7escri$tion o% ho the client and users o% the $ro$osed system are and hat their roles are,

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/ Anal;sis and !eliverables ?ar:s/#% *tate?ent of *co9e

+%$
+. ?ar:s-

5he sco$e o% the $ro2ect sets out e&actly hat ill be $roduced by the $ro$osed system and hat ill be e&cluded, (n other ords it states the boundaries o% the system, (% you do not e&$licitly state hat the boundaries are you cannot get : marks, You also need to discuss the constraints on the $ro$osed system and these can be internal or e&ternal constraints, 5hings to consider %or both internal and e&ternal constraints areC o Hard are o So%t are o Communication technologies o 5he %ormat o% in%ormation re;uirements o Finances o Sta%%ing o =n"ironmental %actors An internal constraint is something that can limit your ability to com$lete the $ro2ect, but is something that you may ha"e some control o"er, For e&am$le o 7o you ha"e $articular so%t are that you ha"e to use and hyI Perha$s the organisation has already licensed certain so%t are and don>t ant to buy other so%t are or $erha$s all their sta%% are already skilled in the so%t are they s$eci%ied, o 7o you ha"e a budget to ork toI 5here may be only a limited amount o% money to com$lete the ork, o 7o you ha"e $articular timescales in hich to com$lete the orkI o Sta%% may ha"e skills in $articular so%t are so you ha"e to use that so%t are to $roduce the solution, o You only ha"e a certain number o% sta%% a"ailable to you to com$lete the ork, An e>ternal constraint is something that is outside o% the business and that you may ha"e no control o"er, For e&am$le o Your ork is re;uired to be com$liant ith the acts o% la such as 5he 7ata Protection Act, 5he Co$yright, 7esign and Patents Act and the 7isability 7iscrimination Act, o You ha"e to ait %or deli"eryBinstallation o% something at some $oint in your $lan, (% that is delayed the $ro2ect ill be delayed, =,g, in a building $ro2ect, the installation o% the roo% ould be critical as inside ork could not start until this is com$leted, The teacher resource ban: on the ACA website has an e>a?9le of sco9e with e>a?iners co??ents# )ven though it is a well written= ver; long e>a?9le it onl; got / ?ar:s because the student did not define the boundaries of the 9ro9osed s;ste?#

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/#/ !escri9tion of the Pro9osed *;ste? and !eliverables +. ?ar:sAt this stage you are still describing the $ro$osed system in K=nglishL and you should not be re%erring to s$eci%ic $ieces o% so%t are e,g, s$readsheets, databases etc, 0N?=SS your client has SP=C(F(CA??Y asked %or a certain ty$e o% so%t are to be used and it is one o% your re;uirementsBconstraints, 5he Analysis section is all about WHA5 the system is going to do and nothing about H)W it is going to be done G that comes later in the 7esign section, 5he descri$tion should also consider the bene%its o% the $ro$osed system to the organisation and any im$acts .both $ositi"e and negati"e/,

/#/#%

!escri9tion of the Pro9osed *;ste?

You should consider the %ollo ing ;uestions $lus any others o% your o nC o What so%t are do you $ro$ose to useI .only i% this is a s$eci%ic re;uirement e,g, a ebsite/ o What hard are ill it run onI o 7oes it need any e&tra hard areBso%t are e,g, $rinter, scanner, barcode reader, Flash installed etc, o 7escribe any $articular key %eatures it ill ha"e o What ill the user be able to do ith itI o Ho ill the user and audience use itI o Ho ill it be u$datedI o Ho ill it be backed u$I o Will $eo$le be able to use it at the same timeI o Will it ha"e any $articular security on itI

/#/#/

&enefits of the Pro9osed *;ste?

7escribe hat bene%its the ne system ill bring to the client, user and audience, For e&am$leC o Will it make them moneyI o Will it im$ro"e customer satis%actionI o Will it make anyone>s 2ob easier G ho I o Will it bring more customersI o Will it raise their $ro%ileI o Will it make them more com$etiti"eI o Will it hel$ them to e&$and or mo"e into other marketsI o Will it make it easier %or customers to contact themI

/#/#.

I?9act of the Pro9osed *;ste?

For each o% the bene%its you ha"e identi%ied you should consider hat im$act each one could ha"e, o (n the case o% a business o$ening an online sho$, the e&tra business could secure e&isting 2obs or result in more 2obs being created, o (n the case o% a tourist in%ormation ebsite, the im$act could be more customers in the tourist in%ormation sho$ $ossibly re;uiring more sta%%, and more "isitors to the region resulting in an im$ro"ed local economy,

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/#/#4

!eliverables

7eli"erables are N)5 the same as re;uirements, A deli"erable is something you are going to $ro"ide to your client at "arious stages in the de"elo$ment o% your system and hat you ill hand o"er at the end, You need to be s9ecific hen listing the deli"erables so there is no con%usion o"er hat you intend to deli"er, For e&am$le, i% you say you are going to deli"er eb $ages, the customer may e&$ect the ebsite to ha"e been registered and be u$ and running, hereas you may be e&$ecting to 2ust hand o"er the %iles and it is u$ to them to %ind a host and register the 0!?, Some e&am$les could includeC o A $ro2ect $lan sho ing timescales, key milestones etc, o (denti%ication o% user skills and training re;uirements o 0ser documentation in the %orm o% a 0ser +uide o 7esign o% the system such as online %orms, $rinted re$orts etc o Dicroso%t Access 7atabase meeting set re;uirements o Administrator +uide o Website $ages to be handed o"er to customer to register 0!? and host, o Website ith registered 0!? and hosting included, o 7eskto$ Hard are .'+hH $rocessor, '+B memory, '9+B H77, 81L monitor/ o 8 eek training course bet een 8@- Se$t to train all sta%% on the ne system, o 8 $erson $ro"iding su$$ort %or 8 month a%ter the system is im$lemented, See $*< %or %urther e&am$les, You need to list all o% your deli"erables, e&$lain each one and gi"e a due date %or each one, (t is im$ortant to include the deli"erables ith dates in your 5erms o% !e%erence and get client a$$ro"al,

/#/#$

Project Plan

All $ro2ects need a $lan o% ho they are going to $roceed and your $ro2ect is no di%%erent, You need an o"erall $ro2ect length ith a de%ined total duration $lus start date and end date, 5hen sub@di"ide the $ro2ect into sections %or e&am$le, Analysis, 7esign, Construction, 5esting, (nstallation etc, For each section ork out a realistic duration, start date and end date, !emember that some tasks can be done at the same time and you don>t ha"e to be orking e&clusi"ely on one section %ully at one time so there can be some o"erla$, You may %or e&am$le do both im$lementation and testing o% di%%erent $arts o% the system at the same time, 5he easiest ay to sho this in%ormation is in a +antt chart, (nclude eek numbers and dates and sho any milestones such as design documentation or user training etc, 5hese are identi%ied by a diamond sha$e, You can use any so%t are, 5here is dedicated so%t are a"ailable %or $ro2ect $lanning but it is $er%ectly acce$table to create a table in Word or =&cel that ill be su%%icient %or hat you need, At this stage this is an o"erall $ro2ect $lan, (n the 7esign section you ill create a more detailed $lan by %urther de"elo$ing your +antt chart and adding more detail to encom$ass the sub tasks you ha"e designed and the di%%erent ty$es o% testing you ill undertake, A sim$le e&am$le o% a +antt chartC
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Anal;sis !esign Construct ion Testing Installati on

/#. !ocu?entation of Processes

+. ?ar:s-

As ell as a ritten descri$tion o% hat the ne system is going to do you should also consider using data decom$osition diagrams and 7F7 diagrams .data %lo diagrams/, 5hese can be created at di%%erent le"els .le"el 9, le"el 8 etc/ and hel$ to de%ine ho the data %lo s around the $ro$osed system, here it comes %rom, here it goes to, here data needs to be stored etc, You could also consider the use o% %lo charts to document the logical $rocesses in"ol"ed, =&am$les o% these can be %ound in the te&tbook Course ork %or A' (C5 by Barbara Wilson, You need to document all the in$uts, $rocesses and out$uts, (t is al ays easier to start ith the out$uts and then identi%y the in$uts and $rocesses needed to create that out$ut, For e&am$leC (NP05 Customer name and address (tem code and descri$tion #uantity Price P!)C=SS Dulti$ly $rice by ;uantity to get total cost o% items Add u$ all total costs to get o"erall total cost Calculate "at Add "at to o"erall total cost to get grand total )05P05 (n"oice %or a customer

(DP)!5AN5 G these must be non@so%t are s$eci%ic, 5he e&am$le abo"e 2ust lists data that ould be rele"ant, says ho calculations are done and hat needs to be $roduced, (t does not mention any ty$e o% so%t are at all and it does not im$ly here any data is stored, Also look at the acti"ity on $age 8:6 in your te&tbook, 5his ill hel$ you identi%y hat in%ormation ill be use%ul hen de%ining your $rocesses,

/#4 !escri9tion of the "sers of the Pro9osed *;ste? ?ar:s-

+.

0se the in%ormation gathered B ;uestionnaire you created in the in"estigation stage to document the user skills, (% there are multi$le users, describe each o% their skills indi"idually, 5his need not only be their technical skills e,g, ho ell can they use s$readsheets, but also hat business e&$erience they ha"e and

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wee: % / . 4 $ 6 5 2 4 %A % % % % % % % % % / / / / / % / . 4 $ 6 5 2 4 A % / . 4 date

ho ;uickly they can $ick u$ ne skills, (% the users ha"e com$leted the ;uestionnaires by hand then scan them into your ork, 5hings to consider %or each userC o (denti%y the 2ob role o What $arts o% the $ro$osed system are they likely to be usingI o What skill le"els ha"e you identi%ied %or these usersI o 7escribe hat skills .technical, non technical, business/ you think they ill need to use the $ro$osed system o What they can and can>t do ill in%luence ho you design the system and hat ty$es o% hel$ and su$$ort you may include, 7escribe ho you ill consider their skills and kno ledge hen creating your design in the ne&t stage o 7o you think they ill need any trainingI o What ty$es o% training ill be the most suitable %or themI !e%er to Section 3 in the te&tbook o What su$$ort do you need to $ro"ide %or them once the system is u$ 4 runningI o Ho ould they co$e ith $roblems that occur during useI o 7o they need user guidesI )nline hel$I etc !emember, anything you need to $ro"ide %or your user needs to be included in your test $lan later,

/#$ )valuation Criteria

+. ?ar:s-

="aluation criteria are a ay o% measuring the success o% the $ro2ect once it is com$leted, Must like re;uirements, they should be a mi&ture o% ;ualitati"e and ;uantitati"e measures, (t is im$ortant that your e"aluation criteria relate to your original re;uirements, =ach re;uirement should ha"e at least one e"aluation criteria, $re%erably more and they should be identi%iable e,g, numbered, For e&am$leC ) C 8 eBuire?en t 5he system must $rint out class lists %or each teacher )valuation Criteria 8,8 Class lists must be sorted into al$habetical order o% surname 8,' Class lists must be $rinted on A* $a$er in $ortrait %ormat 8,: Class lists must use the house style and sho the school logo in the to$ right hand corner 8,* Class lists must look $ro%essional and easy to read 8,- (t should take no more than 8 minute to locate the correct class and $rint it

Note that neither the re;uirements nor the e"aluation criteria s$eci%ically mention or im$ly a certain $iece o% so%t are, Sometimes it is una"oidable es$ecially %or e&am$le, i% your client has re;uested a ebsite, but try as %ar as you can to kee$ them generic and inde$endent o% any so%t are, ="aluation criteria categories that you could consider .see $8:*/C o Per%ormance e,g, o"erall time to com$lete a business $rocess o 5iming e,g, out$ut deadlines o Archi"e e,g, retention $eriod %or data o System a"ailability e,g, re;uired hours $er day
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o o

Failure measures e,g, contingency $rocedures System integrity e,g, error management

/#6 )vidence of Chec:ing the Findings with the Client

(t is no "ery im$ortant that you get some %eedback %rom your client to make sure that hat you ha"e described in your in"estigation and analysis is hat they actually ant, +i"e your client a co$y o% the rele"ant $arts o% your ork, 5hey need to gi"e you ritten %eedback and e&$lain in riting any changes that they need you to make, You should then u$date your ork to include the changes that they ha"e re;uested, 7escribe here hat documents and in%ormation you are $ro"iding %or your clients and hat changes they ha"e re;uested, Pro"ide e"idence o% letters, emails, scans etc,

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. !esign and Planning for I?9le?entation +%4 ?ar:s.#% Alternative !esign *olutions +/ ?ar:s-

You need to $ro"ide e"idence o% in"estigating alternati"e solutions to the $roblem, (denti%y t o or three di%%erent design solutions hich could be used to meet the client>s re;uirements, (t could be di%%erent ty$es o% so%t are .e,g, databases "s s$readsheets "s manual/ or it could be di%%erent ays o% sol"ing the $roblem ith the same ty$e o% so%t are, For each alternati"e o 7escribe the alternati"e solution o !e%er back to the client>s re;uirements and discuss hether or not this solution can meet the re;uirements and ho ell, 7iscuss ad"antages and disad"antages o% each solution, A clear ay o% $resenting your %indings could be in a table as belo , )$tion A )$tion B

!e;uirement

A%ter you ha"e com$leted the com$arison, state use and hy,

hich o$tion you are going to

.#/ !esign of the *olution

+. ?ar:s-

5his section ill $robably be a long sectionN You need to document the hole design o% your system, including the hard are and so%t are, and designing all the in$uts, $rocesses and out$uts .in other ords, H)W you ill do e"erything/, You ill also need to get user %eedback a%ter you ha"e com$leted this $art, $ro"ide e"idence that you ha"e consulted them and then incor$orate any changes into a %inal design, Ho you $ro"ide this e"idence is u$ to you, For e&am$le you may ha"e gi"en them some screen designs and they ha"e hand ritten comments and changes directly onto the $a$er, You could include these co$ies in the a$$endi& and describe the changes ithin the body o% your re$ort, )r you could include scans o% these documents ithin this section and sho the %inal design o% that %eature incor$orating their changes, )r you could ask the client to summarise all the %indings in a %ormal letter hich you then scan into your re$ort, 5he choice is yours, o o o o o What hard are needs to be used and hyI Where ill that hard are be locatedI What ty$e o% net ork structure ill be neededI What so%t are is needed %or the a$$lication com$onents e,g, o$erating system, 7BDS, a$$lications so%t are, communications so%t are etc What ty$e o% backu$s ill be neededI Where ill they be storedI etc

What else you include in this section ill again de$end on the ty$e o% system you are creating, !emember that these are designs o% hat you are going to createE you ha"en>t created anything yet .or you shouldn>t ha"eN/ so there%ore screenshots are unacce$table, Screen layouts and re$orts should be done by

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hand and scanned, Dake sure each design is clear each, You need to consider the %ollo ingC o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

ith a short descri$tion o%

Style sheets 7ata 7ictionary G all items o% data ithin the system 7atabase table designs G %ield names, ty$es, keys, siHes, descri$tions, restrictions etc 7ata de$endencies and relationshi$s 7ata ca$ture and 7ata in$ut Oalidation and Oeri%ication (n$ut %orms #ueries, searches, sorts, )ut$ut screens and re$orts 7ata backu$, security, archi"ing 0ser inter%ace standards Screen based interactions Hierarchy diagrams %or ebsite $ages .see $age 8*'@ %or %urther in%ormation/

.#. I?9le?entation Plan and Training ?ar:s.#.#% I?9le?entation Plan

eBuire?ents

+.

7i"ide your system design into manageable KchunksL or subtasks and describe hat each subtask is, You ha"e already created a $ro2ect $lan by using a +antt chart, You no need to e&$and it to include all o% the subtasks ithin your system, You need to allocate durations, start dates and end dates %or each subtask, 5his ill a%%ect the construction, testing and installation $arts o% the $lan, You also need to $rioritise each task and ork out hat order each task needs to be done in, 5hink about here user testing could be incor$orated and hether any user testing could be done at the same time as you are orking on other $arts o% the system, (% you co$y your original $ro2ect $lan you can add all the subtasks onto the same $lan, Dake sure you include an e&$lanation o% hat your $lan is sho ing, (t is not su%%icient to 2ust ha"e a +antt chart and nothing else, Also include user training, installation, con"ersion o% e&isting data etc in your $lans,

.#.#/

Training

eBuire?ents

You ha"e already in"estigated the skills o% your users and documented this, You no need to describe hat training needs the users ha"e and any su$$ort needs they may ha"e %or hen the system is com$leted and installed, Dore than one method may be needed and di%%erent users may ha"e di%%erent needs, Pro"ide 2usti%ication %or your choices, 5raining and Su$$ort )$tions could includeC o (nitial training "ia one@to@one tutoring or hole grou$ session o Printed Danual B 0ser +uide o C7@!)D 5raining +uide o Po er$oint Presentation o Website B online screens o )nline hel$ built into the system

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.#4 Testing *trateg;

+. ?ar:s-

A test strategy is an o"erall $lan %or all testing acti"ities that ill be carried out to check that the original needs ha"e been met, 5he strategy is concerned ith checking the solution as a hole and that all the original re;uirements are orking as they should, 5esting is carried out at se"eral le"els hich are listed belo and %or each le"el you need to consider the %ollo ing in your strategyC o Pur$ose, ty$e and sco$e o% the tests and hat deli"erables are e&$ected o Who is res$onsible %or these tests o Who ill do the testing .mention user in"ol"ement here a$$ro$riate/ o What acti"ities ill take $lace and hich $eo$le ill be in"ol"ed o Where the testing ill take $lace o When the testing ill take $lace o What resources are needed o Any constraints on li"e testingI o (s "olume testing re;uiredI o 7oes the system need to o$erate on a "ariety o% $lat%orms or di%%erent screen siHes .e,g, di%%erent screen resolutions %or dis$laying eb $ages/ o (s a simulated en"ironment neededI o Ho ill you test against the client re;uirements and e"aluation criteria you s$eci%iedI o Ho ill the %inished solution be installedI 7irect, $hased, $arallel, $ilotI See $15he di%%erent ty$es o% test you $*3/C o 0nit testing o (ntegration testing o Functional testing o Systems testing o 0ser testing o )$erational testing ill undertake %all into these broad categories .see

For e&am$le, i% you ere riting a com$uter $rogram that contained se"eral modules, each module ould be unit tested on its o n %irst and then integration tested to make sure the modules %it together correctly, 5hey are both concerned ith hat the actual code does ithin the $rogram, 5hen %unctional testing checks that i% you $ut KabcL in, you get K&yHL out, System testing ould then look at the system as a hole and tests ould be de"ised to consider di%%erent $ossibilities, e,g, i% e add a ne customer and choose $roducts to buy does the system $roduce an in"oice and send a con%irmation emailI 0ser testing is only started once the system is orking correctly and you are com$letely ha$$y ith it, You may ish to consider $rototy$ing here you gi"e your client a limited "ersion o% a solution e,g, a set o% eb $ages that ha"e %unctioning hy$erlinks but the te&t content o% the $ages is omitted, to gi"e them a %eel %or the solution, 5hey o%%er their comments and you then make changes, Your strategy should also consider backu$s %or hen the system is li"e, You ill need to check that the backu$ $rocess orks correctly hen you do your testingC o Ho ill the backu$s be doneI o Ho o%ten ill backu$s be done and hen ill they be doneI o What ill be backed u$I
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o Who ill be res$onsible %or doing the backu$sI o What medium ill be used and here ill they be storedI

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.#$ Test Plan

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A test $lan is a "ery im$ortant $art o% creating a solution and you must make sure it is thorough and com$lete, (t is im$ortant that you carry out unit testing %or e&am$le, "alidation settings, e&treme data, erroneous data etc to make sure the system orks, data can be %ully seen, all the correct in%ormation is $resent etc, though there is no re;uirement %or you to document this in the $ro2ect re$ort, 5he test $lan must %ocus on systems tests, user tests and o$erational tests . here a$$ro$riate/, A test $lan is created a%ter the design o% the solution has been com$leted, but be%ore the solution is actually created, (n a large organisation, di%%erent $eo$le ould be res$onsible %or the design and construction o% the solution so once the analysts ha"e com$leted the design, they ill $ass it o"er to $rogrammers ho ill create the solution, While the system is being created the analysts ill then ork on $roducing system test $lans and user test $lans so that they ill be ready to use once the system has been com$leted, 5he $rogrammers ould be res$onsible %or doing any unit and $rogram testing be%ore handing it back to the analysts, (t may be hel$%ul to break your system testing into the subtasks you identi%ied earlier, 5his ill hel$ you to %ocus on all the di%%erent as$ects o% your system and make sure nothing is omitted, You can use a logical numbering system to do this G make sure you e&$lain any numbering B organisation schemes you use, Also, don>t %orget to include tests %or all o% your client re;uirements and any rele"ant deli"erables e,g, a user guide, Your user test $lan should be on a se$arate $age to the system test $lan so that it can be gi"en to the user %or testing, 5he best ay to lay out your test $lan is to turn the $age landsca$e and use a table ith se"eral columns, 5his is one e&am$le though you may see "ariations, At this $oint, the last t o columns ill be em$ty, and ill be $o$ulated once you commence your testing, 5es t No, 8,8 8,' 7escri$tion (n$ut =&$ected !esults Actual !esults Comments

For your user test $lan, it is ad"antageous to contact your client B users and ask them to identi%y real li"e data that can be used %or testing $ur$oses, Sometimes this can be di%%icult because o% con%identiality, data $rotection rules etc, but it is orth trying to get them in"ol"ed i% you $ossibly can,

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4 Testing and !ocu?entation of the I?9le?entation ?ar:s4#% Testing the <hole *olution

+%.
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(t is im$ortant that you com$lete %ull unit testing to make sure your system orks, that all "alidation is correct etc be%ore you start %ormal system testing, 5here is N) re;uirement %or you to $ro"ide e"idence o% unit testing, (% you include it you ill not gain any credit %or it and A#A ha"e s$eci%ically stated that they only ish to see e"idence o% testing the hole solution, As there is no re;uirement %or unit testing, and you no longer ha"e to $ro"ide any e"idence o% creating the solution .im$lementation/, testing and documentation is the only $lace you ha"e to sho the ;uality and e&tent o% hat you ha"e created, 5he marker and e&aminer ill not see your %inished solution, only your $ro2ect re$ort, so i% you ha"e an Kall@singing, all@dancingL s$readsheet or database then you need to make sure there is e"idence o% it here, (% it is not a$$ro$riate to include it in the testing section, then consider hether it ould be more a$$ro$riate in the technical documentation section e,g, database structures, %inished eb $ages etc, Co$y the test $lan %rom the design section into this section and carry out each test systematically one at a time, For =O=!Y test you need to add hat actually ha$$ened to the Actual !esults column, You must $ro"ide e"idence "ia screenshots, scans o% re$orts etc $lus a descri$tion o% hat the e"idence sho s, (n the comments column you can add any modi%ications you had to make or include a re%erence to the $age number o% here the testing results can be %ound, Dake sure e"ery $iece o% test e"idence re%ers to the correct test number, Be%ore and a%ter screenshots may be a$$licable in some cases to $ro"e something orks, (% any test %ails, %or hate"er reason, you must retest it and sho e"idence o% it orking,

4#/ Testing with Client and "sers

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(t is essential you ha"e your client and users test the system you ha"e created, 5here needs to be e"idence o% their in"ol"ement and it is bene%icial i% you can get all o% your users to test the system, Print out the user test $lan you created in the design section and gi"e a co$y to your users .you should ha"e more than one user/, You may ha"e di%%erent tests being done by di%%erent users so make it clear hich users are doing hich tests, Ask them to do all the tests you ha"e identi%ied and to add their results and comments to the $age, (t is also sometimes bene%icial to gi"e the users a blank test $lan so that they can add any e&tra tests they think o% that you may ha"e o"erlooked, )r ask them to rite a short document about their %indings, .!e%er to sections *,-, -,8 and -,' regarding client %eedback/, 5hese documents can then be scanned into the a$$ro$riate $lace in your $ro2ect re$ort,

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4#. !ocu?entation

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5he ty$es o% documentation you could consider creatingC o 0ser +uide o 5echnical or maintenance documentation o (nstallation +uide o 5raining Danual o 5raining (nstructor>s Danual You ill $robably create 2ust the %irst t o o% these, unless you ha"e a s$eci%ic re;uirement %rom your client to create any o% the others, or to deli"er a training course, (nclude a $aragra$h in your re$ort o% ho you think your documentation .all ty$es/ meets the needs o% the clientBuser, Dake sure you re%erence here the documents can be %ound in the A$$endi&,

4#.#%

"ser Guide

A 0ser +uide should be a se$arate document $ro"ided %or your users and should be $resented in the a$$endi&, (t should be ritten in language that your users can understand .i,e, not technicalN/ and should be $leasing to the eye, 5ry and %ind some good and bad e&am$les o% manuals to hel$ in%orm your choice, What you include ill de$end on your system but you could considerC o A Front Co"er o A 5able o% Contents o An introduction stating hat the system is about and ho uses it o (nstructions on ho to load the system .and install it i% a$$ro$riate/ o !outes through menusB ebsite na"igation guide o An e&$lanation o% hat each o$tion on a menu does G using screen shots to illustrate o Sam$les o% out$ut G on screen and $a$er out$uts o Any s$ecial instructions on ho to in$ut data e,g, the %ormat o% a date %ield or the range o% acce$ted "alues %or a %ield o Ho to sa"e changes o =&$lanation o% error messages and hat to do i% they occur B FA#

4#4 Technical !ocu?entation

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A se$arate document that can be used as technical documentation is strongly recommended though it does de$end on hat ty$e o% system you ha"e created, (nclude it as a se$arate document ith its o n %ront co"er, table o% contents, $age numbering etc and include it in the a$$endi&, 5his is N)5 a guide on ho to use the so%t are .assume that the reader kno s the so%t are/E it is documentation to hel$ someone maintain your system and make changes to its structure, add ne %eatures etc, !emember hat as said in the testing e"idence, (% you ha"e a com$le& solution but it hasn>t been e"idenced "ery ell in testing or any here else, consider $utting it in the technical documentation, What you include ill de$end on your system but you could considerC o Hard are and So%t are re;uirements o (nstructions %or o$ening and con%iguring the system o 7atabase relationshi$ diagrams o 7atabase table structures o Oalidation and "eri%ication $rocedures o Dacros o Com$le& %ormulae, %unctions, calculations etc
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o o o o

Any $rogramming code you ha"e used Ho eb $ages link together .hierarchy diagram/ Ho to u$load changes to a ebsite (n%ormation about domains, eb hosting etc

4#$ A99ro9riateness of !ocu?entation

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You need to get %eedback %rom all o% your users so that they can comment on the documentation you ha"e su$$lied, You could do this "ia a ;uestionnaire i% you ish, (t could also be combined ith all the %eedback you need to get %or the hole solution, not 2ust the documentation, Write a concluding $aragra$h to back u$ your e"idence and e&$lain your conclusions, (nclude any client and user comments here ith e"idence e,g, scans, letters, emails etc,

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$ )valuation ?ar:s$#% )valuation of the <hole *olution

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Ask your client and users %or %eedback about your solution, 5his could be in the %orm o% a ;uestionnaire so you can ask s$eci%ic ;uestions, or it could be general comments %rom them, =ither ay, you must include some %eedback in your e"aluation and also re%er back to your testing to back u$ any statements you make, (nclude any ritten %eedback you recei"e in your re$ort, ?ook at the solution as a hole and identi%y the strengths and eaknesses o% the system, o What orks really ellI o What is not so success%ulI o (s the solution an e%%ecti"e oneI o What im$ro"ements and enhancements ould you suggestI o Are there any changes the user ould like to makeI WhyI

$#/ )valuation against Client )valuation Criteria

eBuire?ents and +/ ?ar:s-

No you need to e"aluate your system in more detail by re%erring back to the original client re;uirements and e"aluation criteria, Co$y your table o% re;uirements and e"aluation criteria into this section %rom the analysis section, For each re;uirement, comment critically about each o% the e"aluation criteria that relate to that re;uirement, Again re%er to client %eedback and your o n testing to back u$ your comments, You can include any suggested im$ro"ements here too, 0se the %our ;uestions abo"e to hel$ structure your comments,

$#. )valuation of *tudentDs Own Perfor?ance +. ?ar:sFinally you need to e"aluate your o n $er%ormance, You are re;uired to identi%y your strengths and eaknesses in the a$$roach you took and ho you ha"e learned %rom any $roblems or achie"ements, 5hen you need to consider areas %or im$ro"ement, Students usually %ind this $art ;uite di%%icult, A#A ha"e included an e&am$le o% a sel% e"aluation on the teacher resource bank o% the ebsite and you should ha"e a look at this %or ideas, Also, try the %ollo ingC o (denti%y an achie"ement, something you ere $leased ith, or $roud o%, in this $ro2ect o What ha"e you achie"edI What has changed %or youI (s there something you can do no that you could not do be%oreI (s there something you no understand that be%ore asn>t clearI o Why is this achie"ement im$ortantI What does it mean to youI o Ho do you kno hat you>"e achie"edI What s$eci%ic e"idence do you ha"eI 5his could be a skill you ha"e ac;uired in your $ro2ect, o Ho did you get thereI What s$eci%ic actions did you takeI o Can you build on hat you>"e achie"edI (s there a ne&t ste$I Are there still as$ects you ould like to im$ro"e that ould make an im$act on your $er%ormance in the %utureI o 5ry and ans er the abo"e ;uestions %or other achie"ements in this $ro2ect,
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6 Project ?ar:s-

e9ort

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6#% "se of *oftware

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0se styles to ensure all headings are consistent throughout the re$ort Dake good use o% consistent styles %or di%%erent Kle"elsL o% your ork 0se bullets, outline numbering techni;ues .i, ii etc/ Page numbers are essential in the %ooter and should be se;uential 0se headers and %ooters %or other rele"antBhel$%ul in%ormation Page layout .both landsca$e and $ortrait may be re;uired ithin the document/ 0se o% section breaks 0se consistent margins (nclude a table o% contents (nclude an inde& i% a$$ro$riate Ca$tions %or any illustrati"e material 0se an A$$endi& here a$$ro$riate e,g, %or 5erms o% !e%erence, 0ser +uide etc A$$endices should be used s$aringly

6#/ Organisation and "se of 0anguage

o o o o o o o

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0se the section headers detailed in this guide, this ill hel$ ith your organisation 0se a$$ro$riate technical language Dake sure you use the s$ell checker and that it uses 0K s$ellings not 0SA 0se correct grammar 7on>t use te&t@s$eakN +et someone to $roo% read your ork Check, check and check again, 5here is nothing orse as a marker seeing constant s$elling and ty$ing errors,

6#. !iagra?s and Illustrations

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(llustrate your ork as a$$ro$riate using o Photogra$hs and $ictures o scans o% original documents o sketches o screenshots o hierarchical diagrams e,g, in ebsite design or organisation structure o 0se ca$tions on your illustrations e,g, Fig 8 etc and re%er to them in your ritten ork

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5 &ibliogra9h;
(nclude re%erences to all sources o% in%ormation that you ha"e used e,g, te&tbooks, other books, $rinted material %rom your client, (nternet ebsites etc,

2 A99endi>
5he a$$endi& should not be huge, (t is "ery time consuming %or the markerBe&aminer to kee$ ha"ing to 2um$ around a $ro2ect re$ort trying to %ind the rele"ant material es$ecially i% it hasn>t been cross@re%erenced "ery ell, 5ry and kee$ all diagrams, scans, ;uestionnaires and client in"ol"ement e"idence etc in the correct $lace in your document, 5his ill ensure your numbering is se;uential and make it easier %or you to organise, For each document you need to add to the a$$endi&, make sure you ha"e a %ront co"er %or it and number the a$$endices se;uentially A$$endi& (, A$$endi& ((, etc, (% you use the heading styles consistent ith the rest o% your re$ort then they ill also a$$ear in your table o% contents hich is desirable, 5he main documents that you are likely to need to $ut into the A$$endi& areC o 5erms o% !e%erence o 7iary ?og o% ClientB0ser contact o 0ser 7ocumentation o 5echnical 7ocumentation

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