Monash University Handbook 2014 Undergraduate - Units

At the completion of this unit students will have -

An understanding of:

• the relationship between a problem description and program design;
• the management of problems using recognised frameworks;
• the use of design representations;
• the semantics of imperative programs;
• the object oriented paradigm as represented by Java;
• the sequence of steps that a computer takes to translate source code into executable code; and
• primitive data types and basic data structures.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• adopt a problem-solving approach;
• recognise the importance of programming and documentation conventions;
• appreciate quality parameters in program development;
• accept the code of professional conduct and practice; and
• act in accordance with best practice, industry standards and professional ethics.

Developed the skills to:

• use diagrams to design solutions for programming problems;
• apply problem solving strategies;
• use pseudo-code to design algorithms;
• design object oriented solutions to simple problems using multiple user-defined classes;
• create and test programming solutions to problems using the Java programming language;
• edit, compile and execute a computer program;
• analyse and debug existing programs; and
• write a test plan.

Demonstrated the communication skills necessary to:

• produce formal documentation for a program; and
• explain an existing program.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A theoretical and conceptual understanding of:

• basic concepts of information, including organisational and social issues relating to the ownership and control of information;
• basic concepts of information systems, including their role and importance in organisations and society;
• basic concepts of organisations, including organisational structures, the roles of individuals and groups in organisations, the role of communication in achieving organisational objectives, and the nature of communication in organisations;
• basic concepts of IT as it is used in organisations and society, including the evolution of the role of IT in organisations and society;
• information technologies and information technology infrastructures employed by organisations;
• the business and information management processes and functions for which IT is used in organisations, and in which IT professionals are involved;
• opportunities, risks and liabilities arising from the usage and application of IT in organisations;
• processes of acquiring, developing and managing IT in organisations;
• techniques and tools for describing and analysing information management processes in organisations;
• the roles of IT workers in organisations and the range of ethical and professional rights and responsibilities associated with them; and
• organisational and social issues arising from the use of IT in organisations, including privacy and civil liberties issues.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• recognise the importance of information to organisational processes and functions;
• recognise the opportunities and limitations of the role which IT can play in managing information in organisations; and
• appreciate the importance of the IT practitioners role in organisations and society, and the responsibilities it entails.

The skills to:

• document organisational information-related functions and processes;
• assess the potential scope for using IT as part of the solution to an organisational information problem;
• identify and discuss issues, problems and opportunities in using IT in organisations;
• identify and discuss the organisational and social impacts of IT, and the ethical dimensions of IT-related decisions;
• recognise the team skills necessary for successful development and implementation of IT solutions to information problems in organisations; and
• appreciate the importance of the inter-relationships between IT professionals and the stakeholders in IT-based systems in organisations.

At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• explain the motivations behind the development of database management systems;
• describe the underlying theoretical basis of the relational database model and apply the theories into practice;
• develop a sound database design;
• develop a database based on a sound database design;
• construct queries that meet user requirements;
• use data modelling and database development tools effectively.

At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• discuss network architecture standards for open systems;
• describe OSI reference Internet models;
• explain fundamentals and technologies of physical, data-link and network layers;
• describe the functions and architectures of LAN and WAN;
• analyse and design LAN architecture for organisational requirements;
• analyse data communication networks;
• cooperate effectively within small groups;
• present their work in various forms.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• typical sources of data such as: market research surveys, mandatory reporting, census and Consumer Price Index, commercial sources;
• sampling techniques, sampling error;
• fundamental statistical concepts such as: probability, mathematical expectation, the Central Limit Theorem, hypothesis testing, correlation and regression.

At the completion of this unit, students will have skills in:

• techniques for basic statistical analysis including: the calculation of summary statistics, graphic display of data including stem-and-leaf plots, boxplots and histograms;
• calculations required for problems based on concepts given in point-3;
• calculation of probabilities by: direct calculation from probability distribution, use of tables and spreadsheets;
• the use of computer software (eg SYSTAT) to perform all statistical techniques covered;
• communicating the results of descriptive statistical analysis through a written report.

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

• implement and modify common data types such as stacks, queues, lists, trees, priority queues, heaps and hash tables using a variety of data structures such as arrays and linked nodes. Implement simple algorithms that manipulate these data types. Construct new basic data types;
• compare and evaluate different implementations of a basic data type and evaluate their implications regarding time complexity, functionality, and memory usage;
• design and implement simple recursive algorithms and data structures, including those manipulating lists, trees and heaps. Assess the relationship between recursive and iterative algorithms, their advantages and disadvantages;
• calculate the best case and worst case big O time complexity of simple iterative and recursive algorithms (including all those studied in the unit);
• explain the differences between compilation, interpretation and hybrid compilation methods. Identify different compilation targets, including abstract machine code, assembly language, object code, and machine code. Manually translate simple high-level code containing if-then-elses, loops, arithmetic and function calls into the assembly code used by a particular computer architecture such as MIPS R2000.

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

• analyse a software engineering scenario and identify advantages and disadvantages of alternative SE life-cycle models;
• recognise and describe the components of a SE life-cycle model and apply them to a simple problem;
• produce and evaluate object-oriented software designs represented in a standard SE design formalism;
• perform basic black-box and white-box testing on a piece of software;
• describe and compare common SE team structures;
• work collaboratively to carry out simple software engineering tasks;
• analyse a professional scenario with respect to the SE Code of Ethics and/or sustainability;
• synthesise an SE topic and present it to their peers.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• code web pages using a full range of client-side technologies including: HTML, HTML5, CSS and JavaScript;
• use a range of software tools for development of a website and make the pages available by uploading them to a server;
• explain and implement key JavaScript programming concepts including: control structures, variables, functions and events;
• deliver optimised digital media online including: images, audio and video;
• describe the role of internet standards and protocols, in particular the importance of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C);
• critique a company website for user experience design for accessibility according to W3C standards;
• write a proposal for a web development project including detailed planning of the technical implementation, visual design and costing all aspects of the process;
• work in a team with differentiated roles to create and publish a complex website.

At the completion of this unit, students will have:

• A sound knowledge of spreadsheet applications which will provide an understanding of business spreadsheet modelling for analysis, reporting and presentation of organisational data;
• learnt to construct applications using VBA as the language for enhancing the appearance and usability of spreadsheet and database systems;
• a knowledge of the use of relational databases for analysis, reporting and presentation of organisational information;
• an appreciation that a knowledge of programming can be used to enhance the utility of office productivity software packages.

At the completion of this unit students will:

• understand concepts from several areas of Computer Science not covered in their normal curriculum;
• know where to find further information on a range of topics on computer programming and computer science;
• understand, from their own experience, some of the difficulties that can arise in larger programming tasks;
• be able to learn new programming languages and tools on their own, without formal instruction;
• be aware of the diverse range of tools that can be used to solve computing problems;
• be aware of the breadth of the Computer Science discipline;
• have an appreciation of the nature of Computer Science;
• have skills in using a programming language or technology not covered in their normal curriculum;
• have experience demonstrating a computer program;
• have experience giving an oral presentation of a computing project.

At the completion of this unit, students will have -

Knowledge and understanding of:

• the value of information within today's society and the critical role played by information technology to gather, generate, store, process, store and distribute information;
• technology, software and hardware of computing and of the uses of computing in the business environment;
• the dimensions and scope of information technology;
• the change from an industrial to a knowledge driven society;
• the nature, role, technology and functions of various types of hardware and software which form a computer system including simple software tools to more advanced integrated systems such as CRM or Supply Chain Management.

Developed skills in:

• development of spreadsheet modelling.
• development of small database models.
• development of an information rich web application such as a mashup.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• appreciate the wide variety of skills required in analysis, design, implementation, maintenance and management of computer systems. A professional attitude to aspects of ethics and standards.

At the successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• describe an algorithm consisting of basic structures (sequence, choice, iteration, modules) at the level of detail required for a particular audience;
• demonstrate how basic data structures (list, graphs, trees, sets, tables) function;
• create simple recursive and iterative algorithms;
• evaluate different possible strategies for developing an algorithm and be able to select an appropriate one to solve a given problem;
• apply standard patterns to develop algorithms;
• break problems down into simpler problems;
• determine the complexity of simple algorithms;
• recognise the limitations of algorithms.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• recognise the business activities of a typical organisation;
• perform basic accounting calculations for a business: balance sheet, including: profit and loss, cash flow, pricing, stock valuation, costing models;
• describe and analyse document operations and financial flows using various representations;
• critically analyse the functioning of an accounting information system in an organisation;
• describe how web based systems are used by modern businesses;
• recognise the legal aspects of a contract;
• plan the function and systems of a business;
• analyse and interpret the financial statements of a business.

On completion of this unit, students will be able to:

• understand basic computer structure and operation and demonstrate use of the associated vocabulary;
• demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of data representation, computer arithmetic and Boolean algebra using appropriate methods of implementation;
• demonstrate detailed knowledge of Internal bus and memory;
• describe the internal operation of the CPU and explain how it is used to execute instructions;
• differentiate between machine language and assembly language;
• identify factors that affect computer performance;
• demonstrate an understanding of the basics of operating systems and system software;
• understand basic networking concepts;
• discuss communication and networking models such as TCP/IP and OSI;
• describe the concept of transport layer services and principle of congestion control;
• describe routing strategies and commonly used LAN topologies, and
• adopt a problem solving approach, accept the code of professional conduct and practice and act in accordance with best practice, industry standards and professional ethics.

At successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

• deploy 3D design applications over a range of digital media;
• navigate the simulated spatial environment and taxonomy of the 3D discipline;
• interpret issues involved in the 3D development process;
• use 3D modelling and 3D imaging as a medium of digital graphic creation;
• design, create and detail 3D models and scenes for various outputs;
• evaluate and assess techniques used in the 3D creation process;
• manage and implement efficient 3D modelling production workflows.

Upon successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• describe the geometric meaning behind vectors and be able to solve mathematical problems using their relevant operations;
• describe the geometric meaning behind matrices, Euler angles and quaternions, and be able to solve mathematical problems using their relevant operations;
• demonstrate how these mathematical principles are used in computer game functions, such as player movement, cameras and collisions;
• demonstrate the ability to implement these principles practically in game programming.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• identify and apply the formal processes undertaken for preparing and documenting the design specification and prototype development stages of a multimedia application;
• construct a functional interactive project given a specific brief using a graphical authoring environment (eg: Adobe Flash CS6);
• identify, design and develop appropriate assets for the creation of a functional user interface using an appropriate navigational structure;
• execute a range of special effects which are commonly required for interactive design in multimedia applications (eg: animation, visual and audio feedback, etc.);
• demonstrate intermediate programming techniques using the required authoring language (eg: ActionScript 3.0) using an object-oriented approach to programming development;
• identify and interpret the nature of technical issues that are encountered during the development and testing of a multimedia application;
• modify or adapt learned programming techniques to extend these skills across multiple languages.

On the completion of this unit, students will:

• know and understand basic concepts of information and information systems relating to their role and importance in organisations and society;
• know and understand basic concepts of organisations and organisational processes in relation to their information needs and the application of IT-based systems to support them;
• know and understand basic concepts of IT and IT-based applications as they are used in organisations and society;
• know the key information technologies and information technology infrastructures employed by organisations;
• understand the organisational and social issues arising from the use of IT in organisations, including privacy and civil liberties issues;
• be able to recognise and analyse opportunities, risks and liabilities arising from the usage and application of IT in organisations;
• be able to apply appropriate techniques and tools to the tasks of identifying, describing and analysing information management processes in organisations.

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

• describe the fundamental concepts of information and its use;
• explain the impact of organisational and other contexts upon information needs and uses;
• explain the basic IM tools (eg classification and metadata) that have been developed to manage information and meet user needs;
• evaluate information and its sources critically;
• apply basic IM tools to create, represent, store, access, retrieve and use information;
• demonstrate the teamwork skills necessary to identify particular information needs, prepare relevant resources for a target audience, and present their findings.

At the completion of this unit, student will be able to:

• understand different components of a typical ICT infrastructure;
• understand the different roles of devices in supporting human activities through exploration of ICT history;
• identify different devices used in ICT, their usage, interfaces, operating systems and connectivity support;
• understand the role of each device in building an ICT infrastructure;
• design a basic ICT infrastructure for a given real world problem.

On completion of this unit, students will:

• know the technological capabilities and limitations of the world-wide web and understand their impact on the development process for web-based application systems;
• know the main processes and tasks required in the development of IT-based systems;
• recognise and understand the need for formalisation of development processes and techniques to address the issues arising during the development of an IT-based application;
• be able to specify an appropriate development process to meet the needs of a given application development problem;
• understand the principles of good practice with respect to the management of information systems development projects;
• recognise the range of skills and competencies required in the development of web-based application systems;
• be able to identify the range of technical and systems expertise needed in the development of a web-based system for a given set of circumstances;
• be able to perform the basic information analysis and design tasks required during development of a web-based application system;
• be able to interact with system users and with other members of a team in the tasks involved in the development of an application system.

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

• recognise the relationship between a problem description and program design;
• implement problem solving strategies;
• construct and test simple computer programs;
• analyse and debug existing programs;
• recognise the importance of programming and documentation;
• apply good programming practices in accordance with industry standards and professional ethics.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• participate as a member of a research group;
• explain how IT research is conducted;
• design, implement and critically evaluate a solution to an advanced problem in IT;
• demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate project outcomes both orally and in writing.

At the completion of this unit students will have

A knowledge and understanding of:

• the roles of systems analysts and designers in agile system development;
• the criteria that can be used to evaluate the quality of a model of a system;
• the purpose of different types of models in the UML;
• the role and application of automated tools in systems modelling.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• appreciate that a range of valid solutions exist for any given problem.

Developed the skills to:

• interpret and evaluate systems analysis and systems design models created using UML;
• create analysis and design models using the main elements of UML; namely class, use-case, sequence and robustness diagrams;
• create system test plans and test cases, and conduct system testing;
• create and evaluate models and prototypes of a user interface using storyboards and wireframes;
• apply problem solving techniques at different levels of abstraction and understand the effect this may have on a system specification.

Demonstrated the communication skills necessary to:

• explain the interdependence and relationships between all stake-holders in the systems development process;
• create and understand RFP documents.

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

• recognise and apply modern methods of project network representation and calculations;
• recognise, interpret and understand basic financial statements using management accounting techniques;
• recognise and understand special accounting techniques and issues relevant to projects;
• analyse and evaluate a range of projects for decision making;
• explain risk management, quality management and human resource management;
• explain contract administration and contract law.

On completion of this unit, students will understand and demonstrate what it means to be an IT professional. They will:

• be familiar with the variety of roles available to IT professionals;
• understand the role and function of professional associations;
• demonstrate an understanding of the ACS code of ethics and the rights and responsibilities of IT professionals;
• identify and discuss the organisational and social impacts arising from the use of IT, and the ethical dimensions associated with IT-related decisions;
• be able to explain and demonstrate the elements of effective communication and interpersonal communication skills;
• be sensitive to and demonstrate understanding of cultural differences to improve intercultural communication;
• be able to select and use strategies for effective and efficient productive (speaking and writing) and receptive (reading and listening) communications;
• describe the purpose, protocols, roles and procedures for meetings and interviews;
• understand the need to and demonstrate the ability to work co-operatively and manage conflict;
• demonstrate the ability to make effective use of technology in oral and written communication; and
• develop information gathering, critical evaluation (information and sources) and problem solving skills.

At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• analyse general problem solving strategies and algorithmic paradigms, and apply them to solving new problems;
• prove correctness of programs, analyse their space and time complexities;
• compare and contrast various abstract data types and use them appropriately;
• develop and implement algorithms to solve computational problems.

At the completion of this unit students will:

• understand object-oriented concepts such as: association, aggregation and composition; polymorphism and generalisation; messaging and object interaction, state and lifespan of objects; encapsulation, connascence, domains, encumbrance, cohesion, coupling;
• know the finer details of syntax and semantics of the Unified Modelling Language with respect to modelling class diagrams, interaction diagrams, state machine diagrams, package diagrams, activity diagrams, deployment diagrams, timing diagrams, interface and component diagrams;
• be able to consider advanced topics in relation to use cases and specifications when analysing a system;
• understand the role of software architecture, and be able to employ several common architectural such as tiered computing, client/server, pipes and filters, P2P, Layered implementation, publisher/subscriber, to design systems;
• understand the role of patterns and pattern languages in designing systems, and be familiar with a range of structural, creational and behavioural patterns;
• be able to apply theoretical concepts and techniques for problem solving, to design complete software systems in a range of settings;
• be able to justify system design decisions with reference to a models quality, limitations, scope for future extension, and to theoretical concepts;
• utilise IT practitioner tools to support the process and documentation of systems design;
• be able to communicate the design of a system through electronic documents including UML models, other diagrams, and supporting text;
• have an awareness of the process by which object-oriented system analysis and design is performed using a framework such as the Unified Process.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• the role of processes in organisations;
• process management lifecycle;
• process modelling and process modelling techniques;
• process simulation techniques;
• workflow and process implementation;
• process measurement and benchmarking;
• popular and leading edge modelling, simulation, workflow and measurement tools.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• recognise the value of process orientation within an organisation;
• adopt a critical approach to process design and management in a business context;
• appreciate the value of modelling and simulation as effective process design tools;
• appreciate that a designed business process is not an implemented business process (i.e. appreciate the limitations of process modelling and the necessity of implementation methodologies and techniques);
• appreciate the risks and benefits of the influence of IT infrastructure on process design.

Developed the skills to:

• create process models;
• perform process simulation;
• select an appropriate process design methodology;
• assess process performance;
• analyse appropriateness of process-based KPIs;
• use popular and leading edge modelling, simulation, workflow and measurement tools.

Demonstrated the communication skills necessary to:

• document and communicate a process model;
• work in a team during process design and management;
• communicate during, and coordinate the process management life cycle.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

• the ability to analyse simple algorithms to work out an order of magnitude estimate of running time and space;
• familiarity with some of the most common data structures: stacks, queues, lists, priority queues, tables, sets, collections;
• the ability to implement these data structures using various common data representations: arrays, linked lists, heaps, trees (including balanced trees), hashing;
• the ability to evaluate which implementation would be most appropriate for a given data structure and application;
• the ability to apply the same principles used in implementing the common data structures to implement other data structures;
• ability to design and implement new data structures;
• an understanding of some more advanced algorithms in areas such as: graph theory (shortest path etc), pattern searching, data compression (precise selection of advanced algorithms will vary from year to year);
• the ability to design new algorithms to solve new problems;
• an enjoyment of programming as an intellectual exercise;
• an appreciation of the elegance of certain data structures and algorithms as a form of art;
• an interest in understanding how data structures and algorithms are implemented rather than merely using other peoples implementations (and consequently a preference for open source software.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• identify and apply the formal processes undertaken for preparing and documenting the design specification and prototype development stages of a multimedia application;
• construct a functional interactive project given a specific brief using a graphical authoring environment (eg: Adobe Flash CS6);
• identify, design and develop appropriate assets for the creation of a functional user interface using an appropriate navigational structure;
• execute a range of special effects which are commonly required for interactive design in multimedia applications (eg: animation, visual and audio feedback, etc.);
• demonstrate fundamental programming techniques using the required authoring language (eg: ActionScript 3.0) using a procedural approach to programming development;
• identify and interpret the nature of technical issues that are encountered during the development and testing of a multimedia application.

At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• use propositional logic, predicates and quantifiers to represent and analyse problems in the theory of computation;
• construct Finite Automata, Nondeterministic Finite Automata, Context-Free Grammars, and Turing Machines to describe languages;
• convert Regular Expressions into Finite Automata;
• convert Finite Automata into Regular Expressions;
• find a Regular Grammar for a Regular Language;
• find a parse tree, leftmost derivation and rightmost derivation for a word in a Context Free Language;
• know how to show a Context Free Grammar is ambiguous;
• use Turing Machines to represent computable functions;
• demonstrate the limitations of the models of computation considered;
• show a language is not regular, or not context-free, or not recursive;
• show a problem is NP-complete.

At the completion of this unit students will have:

A knowledge and understanding of:

• the role of business decision making in organisations;
• the decision making lifecycle;
• model building techniques;
• model solving techniques;
• model results presentation and interpretation;
• the role of interactivity in decision modelling;
• popular and leading edge decision modelling tools.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• recognise the value of effective decision making within an organisation;
• adopt a critical approach to decision models and their use in a business context;
• appreciate the value of modelling and simulation as effective decision making tools;
• appreciate the limitations of formal decision models and the necessity of post-solution interpretation stage;
• appreciate the risks and benefits of interactive computer-centred decision making.

Developed the skills to:

• create interactive decision models;
• interpret the results produced at model solving stage;
• select an appropriate decision modelling technique;
• assess models limitations;
• analyse appropriateness of modelling environments;
• use popular and leading edge decision modelling tools.

Demonstrated the communication skills necessary to:

• document and communicate a decision model;
• work in a team during model design and results interpretation stages;
• communicate during, and coordinate the decision making life cycle.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• the role of a network administrator;
• the configuration and management of network infrastructure protocols used in internets (such as ICMP, DHCP, DNS, LDAP etc);
• host computer and user management;
• network application protocols used by network management systems (such as SNMP, RMON);
• factors involved in and be able to manage the security, reliability and performance of computer networks.

The ability to:

• adopt a problem-solving approach;
• independently research topics and resolve problems associated with network management;
• understand and use a range of hardware and software tools for network and systems administration;
• install, configure and manage network application services such as name, database, mail and web servers;
• act in accordance with best practice, industry standards and professional ethics.

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

• describe the ISO OSI reference model;
• analyse physical layer for networking;
• understand the architecture of data link layer for networking;
• analyse the main functions and design issues of the network layer;

describe the operation of IPv6;

• analyse the operation of TCP;
• understand integrated and differentiated services architecture;
• understand network management architecture;
• understand the basic concepts of multimedia communications and QoS.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• the Personal Software Process and its benefits, including the need for planning, estimation, recording time, product and defect metrics, reviews, and reflection;
• the importance of, and the relationship between, a quality process and a quality product;
• reinforcing and extending their knowledge of OO programming concepts by learning how they are implemented in another programming language;
• the software engineers' role in software development and maintenance and working with large systems;
• the Team Software Process and how it relates to the Personal Software Process.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• develop a positive professional attitude;
• recognise the importance of adhering to software engineering principles in designing and implementing systems;

Developed the skills to:

• make personal estimates and work plans, produce work logs and diaries, produce product and defect metrics, and participate in technical review meetings;
• monitor, reflect upon, and improve their own productivity and effectiveness;
• use a new object oriented programming language to construct systems consisting of many interacting classes;
• analyse, debug and perform maintenance on large existing object-oriented programs.

Demonstrated the communication skills necessary to:

• be able to produce reports on their plans, progress, and reviews;
• be able to work effectively in small teams, and cooperatively with other teams.

At the completion of this unit students be able to:

• develop a project management plan for delivering an audio-visual product;
• use sound and video recording hardware and software to create a video based product;
• work collaboratively in a team environment;
• communicate project progress to stakeholders;
• document and report on project progress.

At the completion of this unit students will have:

A theoretical and conceptual understanding of:

• the purpose and objectives of the systems design and implementation phases of the systems development lifecycle, and the activities which they involve;
• the purpose, strengths and weaknesses, and the use of the main techniques which are used in systems design and implementation;
• the key issues involved in systems design and implementation.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• recognise the value of a team-based approach to the development of information systems;
• value the importance of the systems design and implementation phases of the systems development lifecycle;
• appreciate the importance of a systematic approach to the design and implementation phases of systems development.

Developed the skills to:

• prepare suitable design and implementation approach alternatives to the development of a business system;
• use basic design techniques in the development of elements of an information system;
• prepare and present a design specification for a business system;
• prepare and present an implementation plan for a business system;
• construct and implement a quality business system;
• develop expertise in IT practitioner tools.

Demonstrated the communication skills necessary to:

• work effectively as part of a team responsible for carrying out systems design and implementation activities;
• present oral and written design and implementation deliverables with confidence to the relevant stakeholders.

At the completion of this unit students will:

• have an understanding of the fundamental principles and breadth of commercial, e-business and e-commerce programming tasks;
• have experience in using their programming skills in a number of different environments such as Linux, Unix or Windows, while being aware that their fundamental programming approaches remain valid;
• have their understanding of and skills in top-down code development enhanced;
• have knowledge of mark-up languages and scripting languages, and skill in creating applications using these;
• understand the client-server paradigm;
• be able to develop and code solutions to typical web-based commercial programming problems using markup and scripting languages, in a client-server paradigm;
• further develop skills in creating suitable and thorough test harnesses;
• have a sound understanding of the fundamental principles of web service strategies;
• be aware of basic security issues when developing and hosting Internet-based applications.

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

• set achievable and measurable goals;
• apply what was learnt in prior classroom studies in real work situations;
• develop initiative, communication, interpersonal and teamwork skills in a business environment;
• develop solutions to business problems using information technology and other techniques;
• prepare documentation and written reports of a professional standard;

address performance improvement opportunities identified by industry supervisors particularly in the mid-placement evaluation;

• complete business tasks, participate in work teams, comply with the norms and rules of the industry partner, recognise personal strengths and weaknesses particularly after feedback from industry supervisors, cooperate within groups, and adopt and practise professional ethics that influence work behaviour; and
• practice information technology, oral and written skills in a complex, corporate business environment including local and international business phone calls, business emails, business process modelling, operating software applications quickly and accurately, performance enhancement of installed software, updating current software and the development of new software.

On successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

• identify and apply principles of computer modelling to various business problems;
• formulate models of a range of real-world business problems, including static and probabilistic problems, and implement them using spreadsheets and other software;
• apply and analyse sensitivity analyses of computer models;
• interpret the results obtained from computer models and sensitivity analyses, and communicate these results to business and technical audiences;
• apply various decision analysis models to enhance individual, business and group decision making;
• explain, apply and be able to differentiate between various forecasting techniques with appropriate data.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• implement basic programming concepts through designing and constructing simple programs using Java as the implementation language;
• explain object-oriented concepts such as inheritance, polymorphism, and abstract classes and interfaces and interpret how they are implemented in Java;
• apply the object-oriented design principles to a multiple-class object-oriented program;
• construct Java programs that include graphical user interface with event handling, collection classes, exception handling and files for persistent data storage;
• identify a range of modern tools to support the process of programming complex software systems.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• produce well-organised and clear technical documentation;
• explain the purposes and uses of the different types of technical documentation, including code documentation, internal design documentation, external design documentation, reference manuals, guides, and tutorials;
• distinguish between the different types of tools for producing documentation (text editors, formatters, typesetters, desktop publishers, graphics tools, printing and viewing tools) and select tools that are appropriate for specified applications;
• produce technical documentation that is written in an appropriate style and at an appropriate level for different classes of readers, including fellow software engineering professionals, managers, clients, and end-users;
• evaluate the correctness, appropriateness, and usability of written documentation, and apply strategies to improve these;
• correctly use specified software tools to create and publish technical documentation.

At the completion of this unit students will:

• understand concepts from several areas of computer science not covered in their normal curriculum;
• know where to find further information on a range of topics on computer programming and computer science;
• understand, from their own experience, some of the difficulties that can arise in larger programming tasks;
• be able to learn new programming languages and tools on their own, without formal instruction;
• be aware of the diverse range of tools that can be used to solve computing problems;
• be aware of the breadth of the computer science discipline;
• have an appreciation of the nature of computer science;
• have skills in using a programming language or technology not covered in their normal curriculum;
• have experience demonstrating a computer program;
• have experience giving an oral presentation of a computing project.

At the completion of this unit students will have:

• an understanding of game entities and formal games program structures;
• an understanding of the notion of the programming game loop and how to set it up;
• a working knowledge of basic DirectX, including textures, displaying sprites, animation, text, and rendering;
• a working knowledge of physics in the games programming context, including basic movement and interaction;
• a working knowledge of Direct 3D rendering, including geometry, models, cameras, textures and lighting;
• an understanding of scene management in games;
• the ability to express these concepts in a working Microsoft Windows game prototype.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• the principles and practice of the emergent field of web content management;
• the relative roles and responsibilities of webmasters and other professionals in a web or intranet development project;
• user information needs and information seeking behaviours within the web environment.
• information retrieval principles (eg precision, recall, relevance, specificity) and their application in the web environment;
• issues and challenges in organising information for effective retrieval on web sites and intranets;
• organisation systems, schemes and structures for web/ intranet content management, and how these organisation systems are represented in the key components of web information architecture;
• the application of information design and usability principles to labelling, navigation and search functions on a web site or intranet;
• commonalities and differences in information architectures in public web, intranet and extranet environments;
• phases and processes in planning and implementing a web content management project or program;
• tools, techniques, and software that are commonly used for web content management.

Developed attitudes that enable them to appreciate:

• the range of specialist expertise amongst professionals involved in a web site/ intranet development project, and the importance of effective communication and collaboration amongst these groups;
• the centrality of the user in defining an information architecture for a web site or intranet and the difficulties users experience in finding relevant information on the web;
• that business imperatives and user requirements are the key drivers of web content management, but that reconciling the two may be no easy task;
• that findability is a critical factor in determining web usability, and the role effective organisation systems play in this process;
• that effective organisation systems tend to be largely invisible to web or intranet users.
• their own growing confidence in their information retrieval skills.

Developed skills in:

• conducting a business requirements analysis and a user needs analysis, in connection with developing an information architecture for a web site or intranet;
• developing an effective information architecture for a web site or intranet, taking into consideration unique business and user information requirements, and information retrieval, information design and usability principles and guidelines;
• constructing a taxonomy; applying facet analysis to thesaurus construction; and designing a metadata schema for a web site or intranet;
• planning, designing, documenting, testing and evaluating labelling, navigation and search systems for a web site or intranet;
• utilising a range of tools and techniques (eg blueprints, wireframes, card sorting, affinity diagrams, content maps, personas), and software in the process of developing the information architecture for a web site or intranet;
• undertaking usability/findability testing of users using prototypes and a range of evaluation techniques and interpreting findings;
• evaluating information architectures, and software products for web content management.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• the role of operating systems in the architecture of computer systems;
• the practical considerations involved in the use of the Unix operating system; specifically memory management, process management and file system implementations;
• the role, utility and syntax of Unix scripting languages;
• considerations and techniques for securing the Unix operating system;
• the responsibilities of and tasks undertaken by Unix system administrators;
• points of contrast and similarity between Unix and other operating systems in widespread use.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• appreciate Unix operating system as it is implemented in modern computer systems - Unix system file system, memory management, and networking, and practical functions;
• know how to solve many systems problems using Unix scripting and system facilities;
• appreciate Unix system programming, research and development, and security.

Developed the skills to:

• use important Unix utilities to monitor Unix systems and Unix networks; construct Unix shell scripts to solve many system problems;
• implement security controls in the Unix environment;
• use Unix utilities for data processing, system development and research;
• install and configure the Unix environment;
• use Unix OS for important network servers and tailor their Unix systems to provide important system and network services.

Demonstrated the communication skills necessary to:

• understand the need to balance requirements of users in multiuser operating system environments;
• confidently discuss issues in groups with regard to the implementation of Unix;
• articulate opinions in group environments with respect to the implementation of operating system environments.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• combinatorial and sequential logic, Boolean Algebra, Karnaugh maps, and hazards;
• counters, ripple adders, tree adders, memory/addressing, computer busses, logic and bus speed, and Direct Memory Access;
• data representation for integers and floating point operands;
• machine arithmetic, microprogramming;
• storage hierarchies, caches and cache architectures, performance impact of caching;
• virtual memory and translation look-aside buffers, performance impact of TLB caching;
• vectored and polled interrupt handling;
• pipelined architecture, superscalar architecture, data dependency, and hazards;
• CISC, RISC, VLIW machine architectures.

Developed the skills to:

• model combinatorial and sequential logic circuits using a simulator tool;
• perform programming tasks in assembly code.

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

• analyse and evaluate various strategies used by an operating system in managing the system resources and running applications efficiently;
• analyse and identify parameters that can improve the performance of multi-programming operating systems;
• apply the principle of synchronisation in developing distributed applications; and
• show the applicability of OS techniques and mechanisms to the wider context of computing.

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

• construct and compile working programs using C++ syntax fundamentals;
• apply object-oriented design principles, including inheritance and polymorphism, to solve programming problems;
• create C++ programs using pointers to demonstrate an understanding of efficient memory use and management;
• troubleshoot C++ program code using an Integrated Development Environment and its tools.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• recognise and describe the diversity of educational theoretical and conceptual frameworks which contribute to the current research on technology assisted learning and to communicate that understanding to their peers via a short presentation to the class;
• apply relevant educational theory to the design of immersive, engaging and interactive technology assisted learning experiences;
• analyse a body of content and the needs of a target audience of learners in order to design appropriate learning experiences;
• create documents relating to the conceptual development of a technology assisted learning environment to ensure quality assurance in production processes; and
• create the content, media and the application required to implement a technology assisted learning environment.

At the completion of this unit students will have:

• an understanding of the key principles of game design;
• an understanding of critical factors that serve to balance game design and playability;
• an understanding of implementation techniques for narrative structures in interactive environments;
• developed attitudes that enable them to be aware of the ethical issues involved with games development;
• developed attitudes that enable them to appreciate effective forms of narrative construction employed in a game environment, such as embedded and emergent game narratives and the mapping of plotlines and interactive story structures;
• developed attitudes that enable them to explore new directions in the rapidly emerging discipline of game creation;
• developed the skills to prototype a game level and implement balancing techniques to eliminate design flaws and improve player experience;
• developed the skills to analyse, identify and implement key elements in game design and narrative structures;
• demonstrated the teamwork skills necessary to develop group working skills as a member of a project team.

At the completion of this unit, students will:

• know and understand the impacts of advances in information technologies on organisations, their structures and the way they use and manage information to support their operations;
• know and understand how the needs of organisations and the marketplace influence the path of technology evolution;
• know and understand some of the key factors which contribute to the success or failure of technology-based innovations in organisations;
• recognise the strengths and weaknesses of information technology for performing a variety of common information tasks;
• be able to evaluate the merits and disadvantages of a technology-based solution to an organisational information need or problem;
• be able to carry out a critical analysis of an area of technology and make an assessment of its likely future impacts on an organisation.

At the completion of this unit, students will:

• know and understand the business imperatives which drive organisational needs in key areas of information management and information systems acquisition and development;
• know and understand the key principles and contemporary practices in the development and implementation of information management strategies in organisations;
• know and understand the key principles and approaches to the development, acquisition and implementation of IT-based systems in organisations;
• recognise the need and understand the importance of taking an integrated approach to tasks of information management and systems development in organisations;
• be able to analyse needs and specify solutions for a range of organisational information management and systems development problems;
• be able to critically evaluate the relative merits and disadvantages of different information management and systems development strategies for a given situation.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• explain the need and importance for system developers to have skills in this area of IT applications;
• describe and compare the key basic technologies which underlie the development of web-database applications;
• evaluate and assess the key technological issues confronting developers building applications of this type;
• implement the key features of programming languages which are commonly used for developing web-database application;
• analyse, design, develop and implement a web-database application using a well-known programming language;
• evaluate and critique proposed web-database solutions to a business problem.

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

• design a database model, from a given scenario, using the Extended Entity Relationship model;
• demonstrate a fluency with relational algebra commands;
• create triggers, procedures and functions to enhance the logic stored in a database;
• analyse SQL query operations to optimise their performance;
• create XML documents and schemas to represent a given scenario;
• implement and manipulate XML structure in a database;
• describe the role played by Data Warehouses and Business Intelligence (BI) with respect to "Big Data".

At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• critically assess threats, vulnerabilities and risks to an organisations information assets and propose control technologies and techniques which can be applied to reduce the security risk;
• apply cryptographic techniques to develop methods to disguise information to ensure its integrity, confidentiality and authenticity;
• describe the ethical, legal and criminal issues relating to the security of information systems;
• apply information security concepts in the analysis of information systems security issues;
• apply risk management techniques to the planning and management of security of information systems;
• implement access control mechanisms to create a security architecture to protect the assets of the information system.

On successful completion of this unit, you should be able to:

• critically analyse data visualisations;
• create effective data visualisations;
• describe the main applications of data visualisation in business, engineering and design, and the social and physical sciences;
• describe the advantages, drawbacks and pitfalls of the visual presentation of data as compared to its presentation using other media.

At the completion of this unit students will:

• know the basic aims and purposes of information architecture and understand its importance to the management and use of information in an organisation;
• know a variety of approaches commonly used for the development of information architectures, and understand the key principles behind them;
• be able to conduct a business requirements analysis, and a user needs analysis, for the purposes of developing an information architecture;
• be able to critically evaluate an information architecture and assess its suitability for a given range of user needs;
• know the phases and processes involved in planning and implementing an information architecture (IA) project or program;
• recognise the contribution which the varying perspectives of different disciplines and professional groups can make to the development of an information architecture;
• be able to use a range of IA tools and techniques (eg blueprints, wireframes, card sorting, affinity diagrams, content maps, personas), and IA software in the process of developing an information architecture.

On successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

• perform object oriented design and coding to create, test and debug non-trivial, working mobile applications that are maintainable and use the best practices of the development platform;
• upload these applications to an appropriate marketplace;
• describe the current software technologies and standards used in mobile application development;
• describe the current platform and ecosystem landscape in the mobile application space.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• participate as a member of a research group;
• demonstrate how to conduct IT research;
• critically analyse and assess previous approaches to solve a particular research problem;
• formulate a research hypothesis and chose an appropriate methodology to evaluate that hypothesis;
• conduct the experiment and/or implementation in order to evaluate the hypothesis;
• demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate their research findings both orally and in writing.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• critically analyse and assess computer science research;
• recognise the main research methodologies used in information technology research and explain those used in computer science research;
• choose the appropriate research methodology;
• describe the most common data collection and analysis methods used in computer science research;
• explain the ethical and professional issues that may arise in research;
• communicate both orally and in writing;
• describe the professional environment and different kinds of roles in which information technology research is conducted.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• critically analyse and assess information systems and information management research;
• recognise the main research methodologies used in information technology research and explain those used in information systems and information management research;
• choose the appropriate research methodology;
• describe the most common data collection and analysis methods used in information systems and information management research;
• explain the ethical and professional issues that may arise in research;
• communicate both orally and in writing;
• describe the professional environment and different kinds of roles in which information technology research is conducted.

At the completion of this unit students will have:

• an understanding of the paradigms behind the development and application of computer generated 3D characters;
• an understanding of the principles of 3D animation theory and implementation, including character specific studies;
• a theoretical understanding of established and emerging procedures for 3D character modelling, detailing and preparation for animation;
• developed attitudes that enable them to appreciate the theories and practices adopted for complex 3D topology, modelling and animation techniques, including production pipelines;
• developed the ability to evaluate and implement suitable processes for 3D character creation and animation;
• developed the skills to design, model and texture original and geometrically efficient 3D characters;
• developed the skills to prepare (rig and bind) 3D characters for animation;
• developed the skills to animate and render 3D characters and objects.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• the motivation and the need for data mining;
• characteristics of major components of the data mining process;
• the basic principles of methods and operations for data mining;
• case studies to bridge the connection between hands-on experience and real-world applications;
• key and emerging application areas;
• current major research issues.

Developed the skills to:

• use data mining tools to solve data mining problems.

At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• design multi-dimensional databases and data warehouses;
• use fact and dimensional modelling;
• implement online analytical processing (OLAP) queries;
• explain query optimisation and its impact on multi-dimensional design;
• create business intelligence reports using data warehouses and OLAP.

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

• develop a project management plan for delivering a video product that showcases a combination of live action and visual effects;
• use sound and video recording hardware and software to create a video based product that incorporates digital compositing and manipulation of video and graphic elements;
• demonstrate aesthetic and technical skills in creating motion graphics that impart clear and specific information;
• create media content that demonstrates skill and understanding of compositing techniques.

At the completion of this unit students will:

• understand the various ways in which a database application may be scaled to the enterprise level, including: applications being split between clients and servers; servers being split between application servers and database servers; application servers being split into clusters of application servers;
• be able to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of single-tier, two-tier and multi-tier architectures;
• be aware of some of the pitfalls (and ways to avoid or minimise them) of distributed applications, including: performance problems due to network latency and bandwidth; security problems when transmitting data over an untrusted network; transactional problems when transactions must be distributed over multiple servers;
• be able to evaluate when it is appropriate to use enterprise programming techniques, and when simpler solutions will suffice.
• be able to configure an enterprise application and application server to take advantage of advanced capabilities such as: hot deployment; clean shutdown; clustering; farming; load balancing; automatic fail-over;
• be able to design and implement an enterprise application that makes appropriate use of the following: DBMSs; distributed components; messaging services; security (authentication, authorisation and encryption); transactions; fat clients; thin (web) clients;
• be familiar with a selection of software tools (both GUI and command-line) to speed enterprise application development;
• accept the importance of client and server operating system platforms other than Windows, and therefore the need for technologies that support multiple platforms;
• appreciate the value that an application server adds to an application with remarkably little additional coding effort.

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

• articulate the role and importance of formal modelling and verification;
• develop Event-B specifications;
• apply Rodin to analyse an Event-B specification and verify proof obligations;
• distinguish and evaluate the trade-offs in system modelling using Event-B and temporal logics;
• develop basic specifications and formulate properties in temporal logics;
• utilise a model checker to verify such properties.

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

• understand how IT applications are developed, including all aspects of the development process;
• understand the roles and responsibilities of clients, system users, management and developers in a development project;
• apply, in a practical setting, aspects of the theoretical work covered in their course;
• develop an IT application using a prescribed methodology, conducting all activities associated with the development methodology;
• work with clients or client representatives, communicating effectively with them to meet their requirements;
• operate effectively as a member of a development team.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• the relationship between IT and organisational management and current trends in IT and IT management;
• operational management requirements of a system and their inter-relationships;
• evaluating the philosophies and processes behind IT resourcing.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• consider ethical issues in IT and IT management.

Developed the skills to:

• access resource management strategies and applying these in case studies;
• identify the processes and potential problems involved in IS development and IT planning.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A theoretical and conceptual understanding of:

• the basic concepts of human visual perception and its impact on cognition;
• the functions of visualisation with respect to amplifying cognition;
• the properties of data and the rules for mapping data to images;
• the role of factors such as pattern, space, colour, interactivity and animation in visualisation;
• the range of applications to which visualisation approaches can be applied, particularly with respect to geospatial data.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• critically select from the range of available visualisation techniques and apply the one that is best for the domain at hand.

Developed the skills to:

• evaluate a given data set and infer valid conclusions based on a supplied visualisation;
• design and construct an appropriate type of visualisation for a given data set;
• manipulate visual variables such as colour and size to optimise a visualisation;
• identify the principle components of a map and describe map projections commonly used;
• import, display and manipulate data within a Geographic Information System (GIS).

Demonstrated the teamwork skills necessary to:

• work as a member of a project team.

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

• develop a comprehensive knowledge about global information infrastructure;
• understand the threats to electronic commerce on the Internet and potential security problems;
• understand the process for the design of secure systems;
• demonstrate the understanding and need for security protocols and procedures;
• understand the security issues and vulnerabilities of eCommerce servers and know the defensive strategies;
• be aware of the problems arising from active content technologies;
• be familiar with the XML standard and examine how it can be applied to develop ecommerce applications;
• be familiar with the mobile commerce technology and the services it offers.
• understand and evaluate electronic payment mechanisms;
• appreciate the privacy and legal issues and be familiar with anonymity technologies;
• understand the applicability of intelligent software agents in electronic commerce;
• appreciate the importance of a secure information infrastructure in conducting electronic commerce;
• appreciate the privacy and legal issues;
• grasp the on-going development in emerging electronic commerce technologies including mobile commerce;
• develop skills in XML to produce small applications.

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

• recall the history of mobile platforms and the development of software for those platforms;
• describe the MVC design pattern and explain the importance of this design pattern in mobile applications development;
• analyse and distinguish between the design considerations for mobile application interface development and traditional interfaces;
• analyse and implement the use of graphic and audio components in the development of mobile applications;
• design, construct and publish applications for mobile platforms with particular focus on Android and IOS.

At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• describe OSI security architecture and apply common security standards and protocols for network security applications e.g. electronic mail, IP, web and network management;
• critically assess threats, vulnerabilities and risks to an organisations information assets and propose control technologies and techniques which can be applied to reduce the security risk;
• apply cryptographic techniques to develop methods to disguise information to ensure its integrity, confidentiality and authenticity;
• describe the ethical, legal and criminal issues relating to the security of information and network systems;
• implement cryptographic algorithms and security protocols to provide security over networks and the Internet;
• design system security against intruders and malicious software;
• apply security configurations to computer and network based applications.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• strategies for developing a non-trivial programming, hardware, or theory-based project.
• how to locate and utilise prior research and methods on a particular topic;
• how to cite bibliographic references the student has used to understand various components of the project, support claims on knowledge, events, hypotheses and theories;
• how to document software development from a user and application programming perspective;
• software development methods: analysis, design, implementation and testing applied to the design and development of a non-trivial project.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• acknowledge the importance of attending and contributing to meetings as a method of gaining important information and ideas about the project;
• understand the basic requirements of software development from both user and developer perspectives;
• appreciate the importance of correctly acknowledging the work of others in researching solutions to problems;
• value the role of work books in documenting a projects progress and keeping track of its development.

Developed the skills to:

• search, access, and analyse research literature as part of the process of developing solutions to problems;
• understand the importance of analysis, design, documentation, and testing in developing a non-trivial software project;
• write a moderately detailed report explaining methodology, outlining their contributions and the contributions of others, documenting the developed project from developer and user perspectives.

Demonstrated the communication skills necessary to:

• understand the role of the client (or user) in the software development process;
• appreciate the importance of written communication in documenting project development;
• understand the importance of assessing time and resource requirements in the successful completion of non-trivial projects;
• appreciate the importance of time and resource management in order to deliver non-trivial projects to deadlines.

At the completion of this unit students will have:

A knowledge and understanding of:

• the continuing software crisis, problems encountered in the development of large software systems: poor quality, late delivery and budget overruns;
• techniques used in software engineering to counter these problems;
• the role of software lifecycle models in project control and planning;
• different categories of software metrics;
• software estimation methods;
• methods for specifying real-time systems;
• techniques and tools to support configuration management;
• strategies for testing software;
• the roles and responsibilities of project team members.

Developed the skills to:

• apply techniques for scheduling and control of large projects;
• construct and validate a software specification;
• formal methods specification of software systems;
• functionally design of software systems;
• describe large software systems using appropriate language and technical specification techniques to suit the intended audience;
• be aware that quality software is not a luxury but essential in solving the software crisis.

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

• develop a project management plan for delivering a multimedia/game application or product;
• create a game/multimedia application or product OR create a working prototype of a game/multimedia application or product;
• work collaboratively in a team environment;
• communicate project progress to stakeholders;
• document and report on project progress.

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

• develop a project management plan for delivering a multimedia/game application or product;
• create a game/multimedia application or product OR create a working prototype of a game/multimedia application or product;
• work collaboratively in a team environment;
• communicate project progress to stakeholders;
• document and report on project progress.

At the completion of this unit students will have:

• knowledge of the Unix philosophy at shell and system call levels;
• comprehension of Unix shells and the POSIX standard;
• knowledge of the variety of tools available and understanding of a core selection of them;
• knowledge of the Unix system call interface and associated systems programming;
• programming skills at the Unix shell level using pipelines and shell scripts applying a number of tools;
• programming skills at the system call level for systems programming.

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

• set achievable and measurable goals;
• apply what was learnt in prior IT classroom studies in real work situations;
• identify where approaches consistent with theory, or contrary to theory, were used;
• identify any useful theoretical knowledge that has not so far been covered in the course;
• develop initiative, communication, interpersonal and teamwork skills in a business environment;
• develop solutions to business problems using information technology and other techniques;
• prepare documentation and written reports of a professional standard;
• address performance improvement opportunities identified by industry supervisors particularly in the mid-placement evaluation;
• complete business tasks, participate in work teams, comply with the norms and rules of the industry partner, recognise personal strengths and weaknesses particularly after feedback from industry supervisors, cooperate within groups, and adopt and practise professional ethics that influence work behaviour;
• develop information technology skills (including business process modelling, performance enhancement of installed software, updating current software and developing new software) oral and written skills (including local and international business phone calls, and business emails) in a complex, corporate business environment; and
• develop communication skills, teamwork skills and leadership and management including time management skills.

At the completion of this unit students will:

• know the general purpose and functions of operating systems;
• understand the hardware and software mechanisms used to carry out these functions;
• be familiar with the principal differences between common major operating systems such as Windows and Linux;
• be able to install new operating systems on PC hardware;
• be willing to select operating systems based on their merits rather than their marketing.

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

• understand how IT applications are developed, including all aspects of the development process;
• understand the roles and responsibilities of clients, system users, management and developers in a development project;
• apply, in a practical setting, aspects of the theoretical work covered in their course;
• develop an IT application using a prescribed methodology, conducting all activities associated with the development methodology;
• work with clients or client representatives, communicating effectively with them to meet their requirements;
• operate effectively as a member of a development team.

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

• understand how IT applications are developed, including all aspects of the development process;
• understand the roles and responsibilities of clients, system users, management and developers in a development project;
• apply, in a practical setting, aspects of the theoretical work covered in their course;
• develop an IT application using a prescribed methodology, conducting all activities associated with the development methodology;
• work with clients or client representatives, communicating effectively with them to meet their requirements;
• operate effectively as a member of a development team.

At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:

• assess the potential scope for using decision support systems as part of the solution to an enterprise operational finance problem;
• describe and explain how to apply decision support systems to help solve the operational finance problems of an enterprise;
• explain and apply analytic Hierarchy process framework for investment portfolio construction;
• explain the use of Fuzzy Expert System to represent explicit financial knowledge;
• explain the selection of artificial intelligent tools to be used for financial decision support.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• some of the main security concepts and issues involved in the development of software, including: Software security versus other aspects of computer security; goals of secure and trusted software; vulnerabilities versus threats; best software development principles and practices; buffer overflows; security of programming platforms; authentication and authorisation; principle of least privilege; security features are not equal to secure features; secure use of encryption; user input validation; reliable software components; data privacy; auditing and logging; security testing;
• the importance of developing secure software in today's electronic world.

Developed the skills to:

• design applications with security in mind;
• validate user input;
• implement secure authentication mechanisms;
• authorise users access to various protected resources;
• encrypt files and hash passwords;
• store session data securely in web applications;
• perform secure database access;
• set up secure transfer of data;
• create security logs;
• test software for security vulnerabilities.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• the underpinning theories relevant to HCI;
• the principles and practices of HCI in designing user interfaces;
• the importance and role of usability and evaluation in systems design;
• the issues relating to user diversity, different types of systems, interaction styles, devices and environments.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• appreciate the development of systems from a user perspective;
• differentiate between good HCI practice in systems development from other development practices;
• formulate attitudes which enable them to interact effectively with users;
• empathise with all users particularly those with specific needs.

Gained practical skills to:

• recognise the principles of HCI design required in systems development;
• gather user requirements effectively;
• design an effective user interface;
• conduct appropriate evaluation of systems from a HCI perspective and interpret the outcome.

Demonstrated the communication skills necessary to:

• work in teams to complete assessment tasks;
• empathise with users particularly those with some form of disability.

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

• explain the business processes that recordkeeping activities support, and the evidential requirements for business activities in various organisational settings;
• explain at an operational level how systems are designed and implemented to meet business needs and evidential requirements;
• identify and discuss the suite of policies, standards and best practice guidelines that relate to quality records management;
• undertake basic forms of business analysis in support of records management activities;
• contribute to the design and implementation of recordkeeping systems; and
• advise team members and function managers on records management programs and recordkeeping systems for business purposes.

At the completion of this unit students will have -

A knowledge and understanding of:

• modelling and design of flexible software at the architectural level. Basics of model-driven architecture;
• Architectural styles and patterns, Middleware & application frameworks;
• product lines. Design using COTs software;
• configurations and configuration management;
• in-depth look at software design, design patterns;
• design of distributed systems using middleware;
• design for qualities such as performance, safety, reusability etc;
• evaluation and evolution of designs, reverse engineering.

Developed attitudes that enable them to:

• apply variety of design pattern;
• appreciate analysis fundamentals;
• analyse well-formedness (completeness, consistency, robustness, etc);
• analyse correctness (eg. static analysis, simulation etc.);
• analyse quality requirements (eg. root cause analysis, safety, usability, security, etc.).

Developed the skills to:

• take requirements for simple systems and develop software architectures and designs at a high level;
• use configuration management tools effectively;
• apply a variety of frameworks and architectures in designing software.