Willowbrook School System Analysis And

Design Case Solution

Willowbrook School Case

Willowbrook School is a small private school that has retained your services as a systems analyst to
assist in the development of a new information system for the school’s administrative needs.

System Design Part A

The Willowbrook School staff accepted your interface, output, input, and data designs. Now you will
determine the system architecture, which translates the logical design of an information system into a
physical blueprint.

Tasks 1: Design a system architecture for Willowbrook School based on file server or client/server
architecture? Discuss advantages and disadvantages that should be considered when making this
decision within the context of Willowbrook School. Speak to the cost-benefit issues of file server and
client/server designs.
Tasks 2: Based on your chosen architecture from task 1, what physical and logical network topology
would you recommend for Willowbrook School?
Tasks 3: Now that you have developed a systems architecture and physical topology for the network,
make a list of the hardware that will be required for Willowbrook. Review the background information in
previous chapters to develop your list.
Tasks 4: Write a system design specification document for Willowbrook’s new information system.
System Design Part B
The systems design has been completed and design specifications approved. You are now beginning the
implementation phase of the SDLC, which includes application development, installation, and evaluation.
One of the parents at Willowbrook has extensive experience with the database package as a Database
Administrator at a local company, and has committed to providing 15 hours per week working with you to
develop and test the project. You should assume that the server, switch, and workstations discussed in
Part A have been purchased, installed, and networked.

Tasks 5: Choose an application development methodology for the Willowbrook system. Discuss the
advantages and disadvantages of structured, object oriented, and agile development.
Task 6: What types of testing should be performed? What types of test data should be used?
Task 7: Identify the specific groups of people who need training on the new system. For each group,
describe the type of training you would recommend and list the topics you would cover.
Task 8: Develop a plan for data conversion and system changeover that specifies which data items must
be entered, the order in which the data should be entered, and which data items are the most time critical.
Discuss what method should be used for system changeover.
Task 9: Presentation (cover sheet, clarity, and professionalism).

SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN:

WILLOWBROOK SCHOOL
Part A
Design of the System Architecture
The development of technology and the significant benefits and advantages that information systems
offer to companies and organizations has forced most organizations and companies to develop and
implement information systems. The system development process is a set of activities, methods, best
practices, deliverables, and automated tools that stakeholders use in the development and maintenance
of information systems and software. While these processes vary from one organization to another
depending on the needs of these organizations, there are common characteristics that can be found. One
of these characteristics is that the development process follows a seven-steps process including the
identification of the problem, analyzing and understanding the problem, identification of the requirements
and the expectations of the solution, identification of the different alternatives and selection of the most
appropriate alternative, designing the selection solution, implementation of the solution and evaluation of
the results with regard to the initial requirements (Whitten & Bentley, 2007). Willowbrook School is an
institution seeking to develop a new information system for their company.

The Willowbrook School seeks to develop a new information system in order to handle the requirements
of the institution as well as the students and staff. The system should allow students and staff to access
the information resources of the institution as well as allow the management of information and data. In
light of these requirements, a client server architecture favors this form of systems in a significant manner.
Though a file-server architecture would also work for the particular case, it will limit the flexibility and the
scalability of the system. Furthermore, it is important to note that there are many data transmission and
storage required due to the expected use of the system by both the students as well as the staff
members.

In a client-server system, most of the processing and data access control processing is performed by the
server (Zhang, 2013). The clients send requests to the server to access specified information from the
server. The server then processes the request and either grants access to or denies access to the file
based on the set configurations. In a client-server architecture, the files are stored in a central location
which makes the administration of management operations easy for the information technology
specialists. Secondly, the network peripherals are controlled from a central location. This centralization of
both resources as well as data makes the administration and administration operations easy to control.

Based on the discussion and explanation provided by Oluwatosin (2014), the following diagram
demonstrates a client-server system architecture. The clients can only access the data and the network
resources through the server. The server acts as an interface between the client applications and the
main data storage.

In comparison to the file server system, client server

offers a significantly high performance in processing and replying to the requests by the client
applications. According to Lin (2011), the clients request for services from the server which then
processes the data and the request and then sends back the results of the processing work back to the
clients who requested for services. High performance systems are required in the servers and as such,
the client machines required may not be as powerful and costly as the servers. In comparison, processing
operations are performed in the user machines in a file server system. This means that the system
becomes more and more expensive as more and more users need to connect to the system.
Logical and Physical Topology
Based on the requirements of the network system, I would recommend the application and
implementation of a hybrid topology. Hybrid topology is implementation and combination of more than one
network topology. As Bisht & Singh (2015) explains, each network topology has its advantages and
disadvantages. For instance, the bus topology is easy to implement and scale but has a major bottleneck
because heavy network traffic can significantly slow down the entire network system. The star topology
offers good performance and is easy to scale but is totally dependent on the central hub, a single point of
failure. The combination of these different network topologies results in more powerful and superior
network topology that combines the advantages of each of the network topology. A hybrid network
topology is reliable, scalable, flexible and highly effective and does not introduce the single point of failure
that is inherent in other network topologies.

Hardware requirements of the System

            As explained in the introduction, the information system of Willowbrook School will follow the
client-server approach and the hybrid topologies for the subnetworks. Another main consideration that
needs to be taken care of during the design is the issue of network security. According to the research
conducted by Prabakar, Marikkannan & Karthik (2012) though network systems provide benefits and
advantages such as the freedom of mobility and enabling users to connect to devices and systems far
away, they also bring in more threats to the companies than the traditional models of communication. As
such, network security is essential in every network system. As such, the following are the hardware
requirements of the proposed network system:
Two routers: The router connects the organizational network system to the internet. The use of a single
router introduces the single point of failure in the network system and this using two routers to connect to
the internet will eliminate the single point of failure challenge.

Three firewall systems: As explained above, security of the network system is essential. A firewall is a
hardware device used to reinforce security policies (Taluja & Dua, 2012). It does this by filtering content
into or out of the organizational network based on the content of the traffic.  These firewalls will be used in
the implementation of a dual-firewall demilitarized zone for the security of the network system.

Switches: Based on the total number of client devices required in each department, switches that
effectively connect all the devices on the department. Each department will be considered as a
subnetwork and thus will need at least one switch.

Access point: Being an institution, most of the students attend classes with handheld devices such as
tablets, laptops and smart phones. The Access point will be used to connect these devices through a
wireless connection.

Communication medium: The institution’s network system will be comprised of both cabled network
system and a wireless communication. To connect devices in the offices, CAT5E network cables will be
used.

Servers: As explained above, servers services the requests from the clients. Some of the main servers
required in the network include a database server, email servers, HTTP servers and others as may be
required by the institution.

Client computers: These are the computer systems that are used by the staff and students at the
company. Computers with a minimum configurations of 1.6 GHz processors, 2GB random access
memory and a 40 GB hard drive will be sufficient for the institution.
Fiber optic cable: To ensure high performance of the network system, a fiber optic cable will be used as
the backbone of the network system, connecting the various departments and buildings.

System Design Specification Document

Overview:
This is a system design specification that details on the network system for the Willowbrook School to be
used to connect the staff members as well as the students to the institution’s resources. The network is to
be designed following the client-server architecture with each department forming a subnetwork of the
entire network system.

Development tools:
            The main software system that will be used in the development is packet tracer software. Packet
tracer will be used during the design and implementation of the network system. SQL system will also be
used for the implementation of the database system of the institution.
Interface design:
Though a software system for the administration of the network system can be developed from the
beginning, this will not be cost-efficient. Today, the market has many cheap off-the-shelf software
systems for the management of network.  The most appropriate for this network system is the PRTG
Network Management Software that offers services for monitoring the bandwidth, the availability of the
different resources, performance and load monitoring (Paessler AG, 2016). The interface will be
developed by NetBeans Java software development platform.

Database design:
            An SQL database will be developed to store data for the institution. However, depending on the
needs of each department, different database systems will be developed for each department. A library
database will be developed for the library, an accounting database will be developed for the accounts and
finance department and a student’s database will be developed for the student registration department.
System security:
            The registration of users of the network system will be done by the network administrator. Each
user will be provided with a unique set of username and password through which they will gain access to
the network resources. Network firewalls and demilitarized zones will be implemented to ensure security
of the network system.
Implementation:
The system would be implemented as a secure, reliable and accessible system for all the authorized
users.

Part B
Selection and Justification of Methodology
            There are numerous different software development methodologies that are applicable in the
development of a software systems. However, each of these development methodologies is applicable
and most suitable for specified problems. As it was earlier explained, the institution’s system can be
broken down into several sub-systems and phases. As such, the iterative and incremental methodology is
the most suitable for this project. This methodology seeks to develop the application one step at a time in
the form of an expanding model (Duggana & Thachenkaryb, 2004). Basic on the initial instructions and
specifications of the project, an initial model of the application is developed. After its evaluation, the basic
model is expanded until the final system is completed. Unlike prototyping, the first prototype of the system
is not discarded. The feedback of the project owner is received after each of the iteration meaning that the
system development follows the required direction in meeting the objectives of the system developer. The
primary advantage of this methodology is that it mainly emphasizes on the design rather than the
documentation and deviations from the main research objectives can be depicted earlier in the
development phase (Despa, 2014).
 Testing
            Verification and validation are some of the main phases in system design and implementation.
According to Sommerville (2007), validation answers the question of whether the right product is being
developed while verification answers the question of whether the system is being developed in the right
manner. To ensure validation and verification, two types of testing shall be conducted including system
testing and release testing. Under system testing, the developers will conduct performance testing to
evaluate the performance of the system, unit testing to evaluate the operations of each component and
integration testing to ensure that the components operate as required when integrated. Under release
testing, the developers will conduct requirement-based testing to ensure all the requirements have been
met.
Training
Three groups of people will need training in this system. The students will need training on how to access
and make use of the institution’s resources during their learning. To achieve these, on class training will
be done as well as the production of training manuals for the students.

The other group is the group of institution’s staff members. The staff members in the institution will not
only be required to insert data into the system but will also be responsible for managing the data stored in
the system. As such, they will require training to be in a good position to carry out their operations in an
effective and efficient manner.

Finally, the last group that will require to be trained is the group of information technology specialists and
the members of the IT department in the institutions. As was explained, these are the main administrators
in the system. They can do all the operations that other people can perform.

Change over
There are mainly four different types of changeover techniques that can be applied in conversion of one
information system to another. These include the direct changeover, pilot changeover, phased
changeover and the parallel changeover. Each of these techniques has its advantages and
disadvantages and is suitable for some instances and not in others. The direct cutover is the direct
approach in which the services of the old system are directly cut and taken over by the new system
(Mallach, 2009). This approach is significantly risky and may involve losses in data. In parallel
changeover, the two systems are allowed to execute and be used until the new system is verified to be
operating as required, after which the old system is eliminated. In pilot changeover, the new system is
allowed to operate at a specified section of the organization while the old system continues operation in
the other sections of the organization (Mallach, 2009). After the system proves successful in the pilot site,
in is implemented fully in the rest of the organization. As it was explained earlier, this is a new system that
is expected to replace the existing system. Failure of correct operation of the new system can have
substantial impacts to the institution. As such, parallel changeover is the most appropriate for this system.
The two systems are allowed to operate until the new system is verified to be operating correctly after
which the old system is removed from operation.

References;
 Bisht, N. and Singh, S. (2015). Analytical Study of Different Network Topologies. International
Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, [online] 2(1), pp.88-90. Available at:
https://www.irjet.net/archives/V2/i1/Irjet-v2i120.pdf [Accessed 28 May 2016].
 Despa, M. (2014). Comparative study on software development methodologies. Database
Systems Journal, 3(1), pp.34-56.
 Duggana, E. & Thachenkaryb, C. (2004). Integrating  nominal  group  technique  and joint 
application  development  for improved  systems  requirements determination. Information &
Management, 41(4), pp. 399–411, DOI:  10.1016/S0378-7206(03)00080-6
 Lin, J.-C. (2011). Various Approaches for Systems Analysis and Design.
 Mallach, E. (2009). Information System Conversion Strategies: A Unified View. International
Journal of Enterprise Information Systems, 5(1), pp.44-46.
 Oluwatosin, H. (2014). Client-Server Model. IOSR Journal of Computer Engineering, 16(1), 67-
71.
 Paessler AG, (2016). Network management software – PRTG Network Monitor. [Online]
Paessler.com. Available at: https://www.paessler.com/solutions [Accessed 28 May 2016].
 Prabakar, D., Marikkannan, M. & Karthik, S. (2012). Various Security Threats and Issues in
Wireless Networks: A Survey. International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer Engineering &
Technology, 1(10), 296-300.
 Sommerville, I. (2007). Software Engineering. 8th ed. New York: Pearson Education Limited,
pp.516-520.
 Sultan, N. (2010). Cloud computing for education: A new dawn? International Journal of
Information Management, 30(2), 109-116.
 Taluja, S. & Dua, R. (2012). Survey on Network Security, Threats & Firewalls. International
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 Whitten, J. and Bentley, L. (2007). System Analysis and Design Methods. 7th ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill/Irwin., pp.28-35.
 Zhang, H. (2013). Architecture of Network and Client-Server model. arXiv
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