Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Objectives On completion of this subject, students should be able to describe the principles of systems development; describe various categories of information systems and their role in a business; recognise the need for a development methodology and be able to describe the characteristics of some common methodologies; and design modules that exhibit good structured programming characteristics.
Synopsis The subject aims to examine and explain the nature of information and its use in decision making; the way that information is organised, stored and processed by modern information technology; the processes of systems development, analysis and design of information systems; some guidelines for good program development. The detailed syllabus includes the systems development life cycle illustrated with case studies: problem definition; feasibility study; current system analysis; new system design, logical design, physical design; programming, debugging, testing; implementation and evaluation; maintenance. Analysis and design tools: interview and questionnaire; organisation charts; systems flow charts; data flow diagrams; entity-relationship diagrams, structure charts; documentation standards; forms design and screen formatting; file design; data dictionary; structured methods, prototyping, CASE tools.
Assessment Examination (3 hours): 60% + Other assessment modes: 40%