The Faculty of Business and Economics specifies that BBusCom students with a major in eBusiness are to take four electives from the Faculty of Information Techology offerings. This unit is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the techniques commonly used for carrying out the analysis and specification of requirements for an information system as they might be applied by a business person rather than an application developer. The unit provides a focus on system analysis and design as a communicative process between people with expertise in distinct domains: managers (a specific organisational environment) and application developers/system integrators (information technology), and is oriented to students who see their future in the management domain.

The introduction of FIT 2001 into the common core, with a pre-requisite of FIT 1004 (DBMS), has created a need for an analysis and design unit suitable for students from other faculties who are interested in gaining a fundamental knowledge and understanding of the disciplinary content areas that underpin the field of information technology.

This unit builds upon the foundation established in FIT 1003 (IT in Organisations) or MKW 1601 (Introduction to eBusiness), and provides pre-requisite knowledge for more advanced units including FIT3021 (Infrastructure for eBusiness) and BEW 3640 (Project Management for Electronic Commerce).

Like FIT2001, this unit offers theoretical knowledge and practical application of system analysis and design methodologies. The fundamental differences lie in the assumptions of pre-requisite knowledge and a 'technology for managers' approach. As a 2nd-year core unit, FIT2001 is properly oriented to application development, and can work with the implicit assumption that students have taken 1st-year core units beyond FIT1004 (the specific pre-requisite). This unit has been developed with input from the School of Business and Economics to introduce students with a minimal IT background (including no knowledge of programming at all) to the way IT specialists communicate using standard graphic representations.

Information systems analysis and design is clearly considered to be a core competency of the FIT; it is therefore consistent with the Faculty's strategic and educational objectives to offer this to students pursuing degrees in other Faculties.

At the completion of this unit students will have knowledge and understanding of:

1. The purpose and objectives of the systems analysis and preliminary design phases of the systems development life cycle, and the tasks which are required to carry them out;
2. The key issues involved in gathering data about requirements, planning and problem definition for information systems;
3. The main types of modelling techniques which are used in systems analysis (process, data, and object modelling), and the purpose for which each is used;
4. The core concepts of client/server application design, and the need to maintain familiarity with current application development tools.

At the completion of this unit students will have developed attitudes that enable them to:

At the completion of this unit students will have the skills to:

At the completion of this unit students will be able to:

6 digit ASCED code for the unit: 020305

This unit will introduce students to the nature of modelling as an analytical and a communicative process, and give a broad overview of the techniques commonly used for carrying out the analysis and specification of requirements for an information system. This unit is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the processes seen principally from the viewpoint of a business person, rather than from that of an information technologist.

Key tasks in systems analysis will be studied as follows:

* Data gathering and fact-finding: a review of the main methods used in gathering data about the user requirements for an information system; * System modelling: students will learn to interpret and understand models created with the most common techniques - process, data, and object modelling.

Key concepts for preliminary design will be studied as follows:

* Client/server systems: the conceptual division of processing tasks, and the practical implications of alternative schemes in terms of capacity planning and user interface; * Implementation tools: an overview of common development environments and application genenerators.

Modelling as an analytical and a communicative process. Introduction to standard analysis and design methodologies applied to business information systems. Data gathering and fact-finding. Process, data, and object modelling. Conceptual division of processing tasks.

Initially available in on-campus mode

Lectures will support the cognitive objectives by providing an overall theoretical and conceptual picture of systems analysis and the basic techniques which are used to do it. Lectures will support affective and social domain objectives by offering demonstrations to students of the way in which systems analysis contributes to the systems development process.

Tutorials will include practical exercises and case studies which will require students to discuss and evaluate alternative system analysis approaches. This will support affective and social domain objectives through engaging students in the formulation of solutions to problems in conjunction with peers.

Assignments and lab exercises will require the students to carry out analytical tasks for straigntforward business systems. These tasks will support the psychomotor objectives by assessing and providing feedback to students about their ability to carry out analytical tasks.

Assignments: 40% Final exam (3 hours): 60%

To pass this unit students must:

Where a student achieves less than 40% for either the examination or assignment component, the final result for the unit will be no greater than '44-N'.

Assignments will explicitly emphasise the psychomotor objectives, implicitly recognising that these are closely tied to the cognitive and affective objectives.

The examination will assess the application of knowledge and concepts through factually based questions (cognitive objectives) and questions requiring interpretation/critical evaluation (affective and social objectives).

12 hours per week

On-campus mode will require lecture rooms with personal computer, data display, and internet connection.

Tutorials are listed in Strategies of Teaching above; unlikely requirements are Nil.

Laboratory sessions will normally require a lab equipped with the standard operating environment

Software used in FIT2001/FIT2002 will be appropriate for this unit.

There are no additional requirements as the unit content is already covered in existing units which are adequately catered for by existing library resources.

The unit will be presented by School of IT staff.

Unit objectives have been developed in conjunction with SBE (Malaysia) HOS and BBusCom course director; they will continue to monitor the detailed design of the unit. Summaries of these discussions are being provided to the SIT (Malaysia) School Education Committee for minuting.

Staff in Malaysia will take primary responsibility for detailed design and implementation of the unit, in conjunction with relevant staff at GSCIT and other participants in the broader Faculty dialogue regarding service units.

FIT1003 IT in Organizations or MKW1601 Introduction to eBusiness

thomas.odaniel@infotech.monash.edu.my