CO6027 Advanced Systems Analysis and Design Project

This document outlines a project assignment for the course Advanced Systems Analysis and Design (CO6027). The project requires students to apply systems analysis and design principles to develop a Human Resources Management System (HRMS) for a growing software company. The assignment includes tasks such as determining the degree of business change, evaluating different system development methodologies, creating use case diagrams and entity-relationship diagrams, discussing requirement gathering techniques, and commenting on the use of project management tools. Students are also required to research commercially available HRMS and discuss DevOps practices. The project aims to assess students' understanding of systems analysis and design principles and their ability to apply these principles in a practical context.

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Department of Computer Science
Module No
CO6027
Module Title
Advanced Systems Analysis and Design
Academic Year
2017-18
Assessment No
1
Date Out
Dec 2017
Submission date
12:00 midday, Tuesday, 2nd May, 2018
Assignment Title
Application of Systems Analysis and Design practices
Learning Objectives Assessed
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles underlying current approaches to systems analysis and design
2. Apply these principles to the development of accurate systems models
3. Generate comprehensive solutions using appropriate tools and techniques
4. Critically assess the role of Systems Analysis and Design in the software development process
Submission Information
Submit all documentation via a single Word file using the appropriate Turnitin link. Please ensure that you incorporate
all the material e.g. Visio diagrams, MS Project files etc. into a single Word file. Do not submit a zipped file.

Assignment Brief
This assessment requires you to apply different concepts and techniques you learned in
class to help a growing software house to implement and/or develop a Human Resources
Management System (HRMS).
Background
Three Computer Science graduates started their own start-up software house. This business
focused on delivering high quality software. Success followed success, and the company
started to grow in both size and profitability. They created different departments and teams
and turned into a well-established software house. At this point they realized that had not
focused on developing their supporting functions as much as their technical teams (analysts,
developers, testers, etc). Their financials management and human resources management
started to get complicated and a new system was required. As the founders of the business
are very people oriented, they have a strategic decision to give HRMS highest priority. They
feel that retaining satisfied employees is vital for delivering continued success. You have
been nominated as Lead Business Analyst to deliver this project.
The functionality required for the system at a high level is:
1. Employees can access and update their personal data.
2. Employees can request training courses and raise the request to their manager to
approve. HR team can generate a list of approved nominees and do the class and
trainer logistics and preparations. HR can also circulate a feedback form about the
training to attendees.
3. Managers can create a set of targets for every employee in their respective teams.
These are to be called ‘performance plans’. This happens at the beginning of the
year. The performance plan is sent to each employee to work on it throughout the
year. There is a 1-2-1 review by mid-year, with completion progress and notes added
to the system. By the end of the year, the employee fills in the achievements made
through the year against the targets. An updated performance plan is sent back to
the manager to either agree or challenge. The dialogue between the manager and
employee could have multiple iterations, i.e. a performance plan could have multiple
versions stored in the system.
Assessment Tasks
Considering the above case study, answer the following questions.
1. For the proposed system, determine the following:
- Anticipated degree of business change after implementing the system, and justify
your selection. (5 Marks)
- Adopted System Analysis and Design methodologies in undertaking project work:
Waterfall; Rapid Application Development; Agile, and critically evaluate the
effectiveness of the approach or approaches adopted. (15 Marks)
2. State whether a process-centred, data-centred, object-oriented, or an integrated
approach to system modelling was adopted, and critically evaluate the effectiveness of
this approach. (15 Marks)
3. Develop a Use Case diagram for the performance management process (requirement
no. 3) (10 Marks)
4. Discuss the most effective technique for gathering detailed proposed system
requirements. (5 Marks)
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5. Comment on the effectiveness of the use of Microsoft Project. (5 Marks). Build baseline
project work plan for the HMRS proposed system covering all phases of SDLC. (10
Marks)
6. Build an Entity Relationship Diagram for the Database of the proposed system. (15
Marks)
7. Select any commercially available HRMS and summarize its features related to training
and performance management areas (5 Marks)
8. Discuss how DevOps practices that support Software Organizations using agile
methodologies to deliver better performance. (15 Marks)
Assessment Criteria
To obtain a pass mark, answers should demonstrate that all three questions have been
completed satisfactorily:
 Responses should be supported by relevant references placing the practical work
undertaken in an appropriate theoretical context.
 The response to question 3 should provide clear evidence of practical engagement in
relevant activities. The response should provide insight into the effectiveness of
these activities within the overall project and their role within the wider approach to
Systems Development adopted by the project team. Specific deliverables used as
evidence in question 3.1, such as system models, should be included in appropriate
appendices.
Additional marks will be awarded for more detailed and accurate completion of these tasks
showing insights into the effectiveness and limitations of the techniques utilised and
demonstrating a critical awareness of the theory underpinning the work.
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