Information System Description Assignment Business Information Systems 100 School of Information Systems 17/3/10 v1 Introduction This assignment for BIS100 requires you to use the Information System Description Framework discussed in the Lecture 2 and practised in Workshop and Worksheet 3 to describe an information system you choose from your own world (e. g. from your work, home, community, or elsewhere).
For more information on how to do information systems description and what is required in an information system description please also see the unit materials and especially the “Information Systems Description Framework” document as well as the sample(s) of information systems description using this framework. The assignment also involves the use of a Web-based (or cloud) word processing and and drawing tool called “Google Docs” that is introduced in the Workshop and Worksheet 4.
Your assignment will be submitted by sharing it with your Workshop Leader’s Google account (details given below). Due Date and Marks This is an individual assignment and is worth 15% of your final mark in BIS100. This assignment is due by the Friday of week 6 of the semester (which includes the study break week). Do not leave this work or the assignment submission to the last moment. It will take some time to understand the concepts and learn the process to produce your solution.
It is suggested you adhere to something like the following timeline for the assignment: Week 2 – Choose Information System Week 3 – General Description of Information System Week 4 – External Description and View Diagram Week 5 – Internal Description and View Diagram Week 6 – Final Check and Submission There are penalties for late assignments, assignment that are modified after the due date, and academic misconduct. See the unit outline and University documentation for details of these. Learning Outcomes
This assignment is assessing your ability to achieve the following learning outcomes that you have been taught in the lectures or workshops and practised in the workshops and in the worksheets. Students should be able to · · · · Apply the information system description framework Use a Web-based (or cloud) productivity tool (word processor and drawing program) As part of the first learning outcome above, students should be able to analyse an information a general description of an information system system and provide 1 · · · · n external description of an information system a diagram representing the external view of an information system an internal description of an information system a diagram representing the internal view of an information system Remember, when describing the externals of an information system is is important not to include the information and communication technology infrastructure used to implement it (e. g. hardware or software). When you describe the internals of an information system you will describe the information processors and information stores i. e. the information and communication technology infrastructure.
Remember, not all information and communication technology infrastructure is computerised, people are information processors too (like computers), and filing cabinets can store information (like databases) Assignment Tasks Task 1. Choose an information system in your world that meets the information system choice constraints (see below). If you are in doubt please discuss this with any unit staff member as soon as possible. Task 2. Follow the information system description framework as taught and practised in the unit to describe your information system and do this work using Google Docs (see below) and one of the templates provided.
Task 3. Submit your assignment by sharing it with your Workshop Leader (see below) Information System Choice Constraints You can choose you own information system to describe (one that you see around you in your daily life or have been exposed to previously – don’t choose an information system you know nothing about). It is required, however, that the information system you choose have at least: · · · · One computerised information processor (e. g. a computer) One non-computerised information processor (e. g. a human information processor) One computerised data store (e. . a database or computer file) One non-computerised data store (e. g. a filing cabinet or folder) When choosing your information system make sure you keep it simple (follow the KISS principle). Generally, speaking if your information system seems simple then it is probably the right size (as long as it meets the requirements above). However, choosing your information system to be too trivial, in an attempt to do less work, may not allow you to demonstrate your complete knowledge and skills in the assignment, so try and find a balance.
Your information system doesn’t need to be exactly the same as a real world information system, or to describe all aspects of a real world system. You can simplify and reduce the size and complexity of the information system for this assignment. We are looking for you to be able to follow the information systems description framework and produce a description in the required format using the required tools, not for the most complex or most realistic description. How do I find an information system?
If you have problems thinking of an information system to describe then firstly just look around the your world – we are surrounded by information systems almost everywhere you look, that is if you know what you are looking for! Just think about the definition we have discussed of inputs, 2 outputs, information processing or storage and it doesn’t need to be a very complex information processing or storage. If you still have problems choosing an information system please talk with your workshop staff as soon as possible. Information System Description Framework
For details of the information systems description framework see the Learning Unit 2 lectures slides (Lecture 2) and the accompanying worksheet (Worksheet 3). Some discussion of information systems is also included in the textbook. Please also see the separate item entitled “Information Systems Description Framework” in Moodle that provides a textual overview of the information systems description process and format. One or more completed information systems description(s) will also be provided to give you an idea of what is expected for the assignment.
These may be of varying complexity and are only a guide. Web-Based Productivity Tools (Word Processor and Drawing) To complete and submit this assignment you are going to use web-based (or cloud) productivity tools (i. e. word processor, drawing tools). You will need a recent and modern Web browser and Internet access to use these tools. Instruction in the use of these tools was given in the workshop for Learning Unit 2 (Workshop 3) and more information may be found in the Moodle and on the Internet. The system you will be using is called “Google Docs. It is basically an office productivity suite (like Microsoft Office) that does word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations but it is available for free on the Web and accessible from anywhere on the Web. You need a Google account to use “Google Docs. ” You should already have a Google account as a result of completing Workshop 1 (if you haven’t done that then you should do it as soon as possible). Some information that may help you to use Google Docs for the assignment are included in the appendix and may be included in the Moodle item under “Information Technology Literacy” for “Google Docs Overview and Help”.
Please refer to that. Submission Details To submit this assignment you need to do two things: STEP 1. You need to share your assignment document with your Workshop Leader. For on-campus students this will be a Google email address CIC. BIS100. WorkshopLeaderN@gmail. com (where N is your workshop number, i. e. 1, 2, 3, … ). For CIC students please confirm your lecturer’s email address. (???? @learning. cic. wa. edu. au) Marking Guide Please note the marking guide has changed a little from the draft provided with the unit outline. The marking guide will be used by all workshop leaders to mark the assignments. Criteria General Description External Description of IS External View (Diagram) of IS Quality, Creativity and Complexity of External Desc. & View Internal Description of IS Quality, Creativity and Complexity of Internal Desc. & View Internal View (Diagram) of IS Raw Total Penalties (Incorrect submission, changes after submission etc. ) Days Late Late Submission Deduction Adjusted Total Final Unit Mark Max Mark 20 20 10 10 10 10 20 100 (5% per day, > 7 days late = 0 mark) 100 15% If you are unhappy with your mark you are allowed to discuss it with your workshop leader or the unit coordinators.
However, please be aware that if your assignment is remarked the mark may just as well go down as it may go up. Plagiarism, Collusion and Cheating This is an individual assignment. This means you cannot copy anyone else’s work, work with anyone else, or cheat in any other way (e. g. copying work from a textbook). Severe penalties apply for any of these up to and including expulsion from the University. If you have any questions about this policy please refer to the unit outline and the University’s policies on academic misconduct.
In particular, do NOT share your assignment document with anyone else, students or otherwise in Google Docs or by any other means. Doing so will be considered collusion or plagiarism and both parties will be subject to academic misconduct investigations. In the end, of course, if you do this the only person you are cheating is yourself. These assignments are to motivate you to learn the material and demonstrate your competency. If you cheat you achieve neither. This does not mean you cannot discuss the unit content with your colleagues or anyone else.
In fact, we encourage you to work together to better your understanding of the unit material. However, when you are applying this material to your assignment you need to do it on your own and without input from anyone else. Unit staff will be actively looking for cases of academic misconduct and reporting them to the University. Further Information If you have any further questions or require assistance please firstly check through this document and any other relevant unit materials including the unit outline, check the Assignment discussion board forum, and the Q & A section for the assignment.
If you still need assistance with the work within the assignment you should discuss it with your workshop leader (preferably in the workshop) or with the lecturers. If you need assistance with administrative matters related to this assignment then please contact the unit administrator. This assignment may be challenging but we also hope you find it interesting, worthwhile and enjoyable. Good luck with the assignment! The BIS100 Team. 4 5 Appendix A – Using Google Docs Generally though, the steps you will need to follow to use Google Docs are: Step 1.
Login to your Google account (using your Gmail username or the email address you gave when signing up) at if you are not already logged in. Step 2. Click on the “more” menu at the top towards the left of the page (when you are logged in) and choose “Documents” from the menu. Alternatively you can just go to straight to and login. Step 3. You should see an explorer-like page for your documents within Google Docs. (with a menu bar “New Upload Share … ” and some folders or similar on the left and possibly some document icons and their names on the main area of the page).
Figure 1 – Google Explorer Page Step 4. Create a document using one of the BIS100 Information Systems Description templates by choosing “New > From template … ” and then searching for the template and choosing to “Use this template. ” There are two templates for you to choose from for the assignment. The first is called “BIS100 Information Systems Description Template (With Directions)” and it contains the sections headings for an information systems description and text indicating where you should place your answers (i. e. directions).
The second is called “BIS100 Information Systems Description Template (Sections Only)” and it primarily contains the section headings for an information system description and blank spaces for your answers. This template does not contain directions. You can see both by just searching for “BIS100 Information Systems Description”. A template is just a document you can copy and use as the starting point for your work. Of course, instead of copying files from a disk with Google Docs you get them from the Web (cloud). The template is provided so you don’t need to start from scratch with your information system description.
The sections and even text describing what you need to do and some basic figures are included in the template. Step 5. Change the name AND title of the document to be “Information Systems Description – Your Name 09-2” where “Your Name” is, of course, your name. You can change the document name by clicking on the title (under “Google docs”). 6 Step 6. Complete the “Student and Workshop Details” section as required and then complete the rest of the assignment in the sections provided, including editing the figures to represent your information system.
The word processor in Google Docs is very similar to any other word processor (including Microsoft Word) although it is quite simple and accessible through the Web. It has a built-in help function accessible from the menubar. You can edit your assignment document many times and from anywhere with Web access (there’s no need to carry files around). Google Docs also keeps previous versions of your documents if you want to revert to an earlier version. 7 Appendix B – Sharing Your Assignment with your Workshop Leader Please Note: You will be doing this in Worksheet 4.
You should share your assignment document (in Google docs) with your Workshop Leader once you have created it from one of the templates. You should not wait until you have completed the assignment. The Workshop Leader will only mark the assignment after the submission deadline. To share a Google docs document with your workshop leader you need to: Step 1. Make sure you select the correct document in Google docs that you wish to be marked for your assignment. Open that document and check that it is the correct one and has the correct title (as described above).
Step 2. Click on the blue “Share” menu button towards the right corner at the top of the page and select “Invite people … ” A dialog box should appear. Step 3. Enter the email address CIC. BIS100. WorkshopLeaderN@gmail. com (where N is your workshop number) Step 4. Make sure the “To edit” option is checked (but NOT the “To view”) otherwise the workshop leader may not be able to make any comments in-line with your assignment (if they wish to). Step 5. Leave the Subject: the same as it is (it should be something like “… your document name … and if you wish to write any comments with your submission you can include them in the message (this is optional). Step 6. Select the “Send a copy to myself” checkbox so that a copy of this email will be sent to you for proof that you have shared the document and then select “Send” (do NOT click “Add without sending invitation”). Step 7. You can confirm that you have done this correctly by clicking on the blue “Share” menu button again and selecting “See who has access … ” to check if you workshop leaders is listed in there. Do NOT share your assignment document with anyone else, student or otherwise.
Doing so will be considered collusion or plagiarism and both parties will be subject to academic misconduct investigations. Remember also NOT to make any changes to your document after the submission deadline. Your Workshop Leader will be able to see when the document has been last changed and you will lose marks for this. Remember, you also need to complete the electronic assignment submission sheet within the Assessment section of the BlackBoard Web site for BIS100 once you have shared the assignment document with your Workshop Leader. 8
