| CN2003 Software Analysis and Design |
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Questions about the Course Unit Which book do you recommend for the course? » Do I need to read all the chapters referred to in the lecture follow-up slide? » Are copies of the slides available on the web site? » I am unable to write down the 'text boxes' displayed on the lecture slides, can I obtain a copy? » There is talking in the class and I cannot concentrate » What is the difference between a primary and secondary stakeholder? » What is a Cause-Effect (or "fishbone") diagram? » How deep should a goal hierarchy be? When does a goal become so detailed it is a requirement? » What is the difference between an object life history and a state-transition diagram? » Which book do you recommend for the course? See the official Course Unit description for recommended texts. In category A books, where more than one is recommended, either book is suitable. The decision on which one to buy will depend as much upon availability and price, as anything else. Do I need to read all the chapters referred to in the lecture follow-up slide? A number of books are recommended reading for this Course Unit. At the end of each lecture, an indication of the relevant chapters in each book is given. These chapters are only a guide for follow-up reading. Only some material in each chapter indicated may be relevant to the topic. Are copies of the slides available on the web site? No. If you have missed a lecture, you will need to obtain a copy of the additional information provided from a fellow student. I am unable to write down the 'text boxes' displayed on the lecture slides, can I obtain a copy? There are no copies of the lecture slides available showing the full text boxes. The slides are shown for long enough for most students to record the additional comments displayed. This technique is used for educational reasons, i.e. writing down key definitions and concepts assists in the learning process. If you have a genuine disability, please contact the Course Unit leader to discuss your problem and to identify what actions can be taken to assist you.
It is difficult for the lecturer to hear talking in a large lecture room and may not be aware of the problem. Under these circumstances, speak directly to the lecturer, who will then endeavour to deal with the problem when it occurs.
A stakeholder is somebody (or an organisation) which has an interest in the development of an information system. A primary stakeholder is a stakeholder who will have direct interaction with a system- they might be a user of the system or directly receive the outputs from the system. All other stakeholders are secondary users. For example, consider the development of an ATM (cash machine). Primary stakeholders would include bank customers (who draw cash from the machine) and the staff who service the machine (refill it with money.
A Cause-Effect diagram is used to analyse the root cause of a problem. Place the problem at the right hand end of the diagram and then think about what factors might give rise to this problem. As a helpful guideline, start by thinking about whether the cause of the problem is to do with equipment, people, methods (the way people work) or materials (the things people using in carrying out their work). For each problem cause under the 4 categories above, draw another line and label it with the cause. Then take each cause in turn and as the question "why does this happen?". For each reason, draw another "bone" from the cause line. You can refine the causes to any level of detail you wish, but 2 or 3 levels is normally quite sufficient.
A common question in designing a goal hierarchy is how deep the goal hierarchy should become and when goes a goal become so detailed it is a requirement? The difference between goals and requirements is a grey area and requires a degree of judgement. As a guide, a goal can be judged as:
In contrast, requirements will be more discrete, requiring specific actions to meet a specific need and more relevant to the outcomes to be achieved by the information system.
An object life history models events during the lifetime of an object, whilst a state transition diagram models the states of an object. The link between an event and a state is that an event marks an object moving from one state to another and in a state-transition diagram, the 'transition' is an event. So for example, a person might be in the state of 'being single'. An event, such as 'get married', can change the state of the person from 'being single' to 'being married'. Notice in particular the tense of the verbs. A state is a continuous period of time (e.g. 'being single', 'being married') whilst an event is an instantaneous point in time which marks the transition, i.e. the point in a wedding ceremony at which you become legally married. |
Quick Tips Look carefully at this page to see if your question appears. If not, contact the Course init tutors for further information. |
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