CS3503 - Fall 2006 - Course Outline

For up-to-the-minute reading assignments and due dates, look in the class WebCT site or CS3503 Schedule.

Class Times: TTh, 10-11:20
Instructor: Dr. Jane Fritz
Office hours: TTh 8:45-9:45 a.m.
Whenever I am not in meetings, you can have an appointment. I am always accessible by email.
Office HE21 or Old Arts 101
email: jane@unb.ca
Objectives: At the end of this course you should have an understanding of, and appreciation for, the techniques required for a successful analysis and design of an information system. This will include understanding the strength of the analysis and design process as a generic approach, while being exposed to traditional structured, RAD, and other approaches. You should come away from this course with a strong appreciation for the business requirements that drive any information system.
Prerequisites: CS2513 with a C minimum and 70 ch, or at the discretion of the instructor.
Textbooks: Essentials of Systems Analysis and Design, Valacich, George, and Hoffer, McGraw Hill, second or third edition
Assignments:

 Most of the assignments in this course will be written documents. Effectiveness and clarity of writing is important to success in this course.
Exams:

The midterm and final exam will be almost entirely, if not entirely, in essay form. The exam will be measuring both your knowledge of the subject matter and your ability to reflect on what you have learned and experienced.
You must pass the final exam in order to pass the course. The exam will be scheduled by the Registrar's Office, and will be closed book. No calculators or other aids are permitted.
Teamwork: Most assignments will be done in teams. This can be frustrating for teammates in a student environment, but teamwork is an integral part of analysis and design. Hopefully you will find that your final design ideas as a team will exceed what you could have conceived as an individual.
Team Evaluation: In order to have final marks reflect individual effort as well as possible, teammates will evaluate the team effort of each member, including themselves. These evaluations will be taken into consideration when calculating final grades.
Attendance: Significant class time is usually allocated to preparing for the assignments. For this reason, students should consider attendance in this class to be virtually mandatory. Material presented in class is important for both assignments and tests - some of this material is not in the book. If you are going to miss a class for some reason, it is your responsibility to ask a fellow student to take good notes for you so that you will have access to this material. You are responsible for being aware of any announcements made during the lectures.
Participation: Systems analysis is learned most effectively by doing, not by simply paying attention. Classes are meant to be highly interactive and all students are encouraged to participate.
UNB Plagiarism Regulations: PLAGIARISM (from pages 44-45 of 2005-2006 Undergraduate Calendar)

Plagiarism includes:

  1. quoting verbatim or almost verbatim from a source (such as copyrighted material, notes, letters, business entries, computer materials, etc.) without acknowledgment;
  2. adopting someone else's line of thought, argument, arrangement, or supporting evidence (such as, for example, statistics, bibliographies, etc.) without indicating such dependence;
  3. submitting someone else's work, in whatever form (film, workbook, artwork, computer materials, etc.) without acknowledgment;
  4. knowingly representing as one's own work any idea of another.
NOTE: In courses which include group work, the instructor must define and warn against plagiarism in group work. Unless an act of plagiarism is identified clearly with an individual student or students, a penalty may be imposed on all members of the group.

Penalties for Deliberate Plagiarism In a case of deliberate plagiarism, the penalties are:

First Offence: If the student does not appeal, or if, on appeal, the Committee upholds the instructor's decision:

  1. A notation will be placed on the student's transcript of academic record concerning the academic offence. The length of time the notation appears on the student's transcript of academic record is to be decided when the penalty is imposed and will depend on the severity of the offence.
  2. The student may be required to submit a satisfactory and genuine piece of work to replace the one involving plagiarism. If the assignment is not resubmitted or is unsatisfactory, the student will receive a grade of F (zero) in the course. NOTE: If this penalty is assessed, the period of time allowed for the submission of the work will be determined by the Registrar in consultation with the faculty member making the charge, and, where appropriate, the Committee.
  3. The student will receive a grade of F (zero) on the piece of work and, depending on the severity of the offence, may receive a grade of F for the course.
  4. Other penalties as outlined in penalties for Other Academic Offences may be imposed.

Subsequent Offence: In cases where the Committee considers that the student has plagiarized again:

  1. The student will receive a grade of F in the course and a notation of the academic offence will appear on the student's transcript of record. The length of time the notation appears on the student's transcript of academic record is to be decided when the penalty is imposed.
  2. Other penalties as outlined in penalties for Other Academic Offence may be imposed.
Marking Scheme:
Proposed team project memo 0% (team)
Statement of Work and
Baseline Project Plan		 10% (team)
Requirements Specification
(Analysis) Report		 15% (team)
Design Document 15% (team)
2 small assignements 2.5% each (individual)
Presentation 10% (with team, but individual mark)
Midterm
in class 		15% (individual)
Final exam
Closed book		 30% (individual)
Last modified August 4, 2006