RESIT COURSE WORK (OCT 09) IN KEY ISSUES IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT CRN 28176 Email Address: ki@basden.demon.co.uk ** Please note: This work is marked as as though it is an exam. This work is the only means by which students obtain marks. In some countries 'assignment' refers to unmarked material, but here 'assignment' refers to work that is marked and contributes to your degree mark. ** THE TWO ASSIGNMENTS The module 'Key Issues in Information Systems Development' has no examination. Instead, the assessment involves two written assignments. You must undertake whichever ones you need to resit. Assignment 1 is replacement for the group assignment and meant to be undertaken in a group consisting of yourself alone. Assignment 1 reports on aspectual analysis of what people say about ISD. Assignment 2 is to be undertaken invididually. Assignment 2 discusses what you have learned in the module. Each assignment contributes 50% of the final mark. The Difference About Masters Assignments Please see Appendix 1 for an analogy that one student found useful. Important: Masters assignments are not like an undergraduate exam. In an undergraduate exam you might get marks for writing down correctly what was in the lecture notes or said during the lectures, because an undergraduate exam is partly a test of memory and retention. But an assignment at masters level is a test of your ability to think for yourself. In the assignment, especially in this module, you are expected to write down the results of your own thinking. You will gain marks for original thinking that is of good quality. You will NOT gain marks for material that I find elsewhere unless that material is enclosed in "double quotation marks" and the source of the material is given as a reference. (See below for how to reference.) » In the Group Assignment, evidence of thinking for yourselves is found in the quality of passages you have selected and how well you can identity which is the main aspect of each. It is also found in what you write in your Individual Reflection handed in with the Group Assignment. » In the Individual Assignment, evident of thinking for yourselves is found in your discussion of what you have learned, in what you write that shows you found it valuable or interesting, and in what you write about how you intend to apply what you have learned. If you write down the wording in the lecture notes and CCM book, you are likely to lose marks rather than gain them; instead, you should think about what was in the lecture notes and CCM book and re-express those thoughts in your own words. >pa ASSIGNMENT 1: ASPECTUAL ANALYSIS This assignment contributes 50% of the marks the student will receive for the module. The deliverable from this assignment is a report resulting from undertaking an aspectual analysis. The educational aim of this assignment is to give the student practical experience of aspectual analysis of some issue in ISD and reporting on that analysis. The object of the assignment is to use Dooyeweerd's aspects to analyse the advise or expertise in a textbook on some part of information systems development. You will be allocated a book to study. If for any reason this is not available, please contact me urgently on the email at the start. You must then read and analyse this book according to Dooyeweerd's aspects presented during the module, and to identify which of the four main ISD activities is present. The Research Each of you will be allocated a book on some ISD topic. You must read parts of the book (the group must decide which parts are read by which members). For those parts, I recommend that you should do the following. See Appendix 3 for an example. » I recommend that you go to the library and borrow a copy of the team's allocated book on a long loan. » Find short pieces of text, from 2-6 lines long, which give advice about one of the activities of ISD: » Advice about The Overall Whole Project » Advice about Anticipating Use » Advice about Knowledge Acquisition » Advice about Creating the IS and identify which of the above it refers to. Copy out the words of the passage in quotation marks with its page number, and identify which activity it is. (NOTE: Please be assured, this copying out is NOT plagiarism, since I am asking you to do it and doing so is part of the work of the assignment.) » You should find 20 such pieces of text. » For each piece of text, the you should identify which ISD activity it gives advice about. Explain why you believe it is this activity. » For each piece of text, you should identify which aspects it is giving advice about, and write a short discussion of what advice it gives about functioning in these aspects. Explain why you believe it is for these aspects. » Then add your name (or initials) at the end, as 'Contributor'. » Once you have 12 such passages reflect on whether you have chosen the right aspects or ISD activity. Study the Dooyeweerd Pages http://www.dooy.info/aspects.html to help you. » Then rewrite their discussion of each aspect if necessary. ** Remember to add you name to each one that you have written. ** » Then sort all your passage discussions according to type of ISD activity. See Deliverable below. Deliverable for Group Assignment You should deliver to the MSc office, by the deadline, one copy of the Assignment 1. This should be printed double-sided. Do NOT waste paper by creating a contents page. Also an electronic version should be emailed to the email address given at the start. The following is the Contents I expect. 1. Your Details Your Name. Name of Book studied. List of chapters and pages you read. 2. Aspectual Analysis of Whole Project Activity This section contains all the passages the group found about Overall Whole Project. Make sure that each entry contains the name of the member that contributed it. 3. Aspectual Analysis of Anticipating Use This section contains all the passages the group found about Anticipating Use (including user requirements analysis). Make sure that each entry contains the name of the member that contributed it. 4. Aspectual Analysis of Knowledge Acquisition This section contains all the passages the group found about Knowledge Acquisition. Make sure that each entry contains the name of the member that contributed it. 5. Aspectual Analysis of Creating the IS This section contains all the passages the group found about Creating the IS, both the programming and the creation of documentation etc. Make sure that each entry contains the name of the member that contributed it. 6. Conclusion of Group Report. Add here anything else the group wishes to say. Groups of one (people working on their own) will also submit each item. Marking Those who print double-sided will gain a couple of extra marks. This is to indicate that what is taught on this module is not just theory, hut is supposed to be put into practice and to add to responsibility in our ISD and elsewhere. Being environmentally responsible in lots of small ways (such as printing double-sided) is one important aspect of ISD project overall (think: which one?). Criteria that will be taken into account in marking Group Assignment include (but are not restricted to): » understanding of the aspects, and to what extent the aspects are well-covered » relevance and quality of discussion of aspects of the passage » the number of passages » correct identification of ISD activity >pa ASSIGNMENT 2: INDIVIDUAL ESSAY This assignment contributes 50% of the marks the student will receive for the module. In this assignment you must write an essay of around 2,500 words, that is a critical reflection on your learning experiences resulting from the Key Issues module. TITLE: My Learning Experience of the Module 'Key Issues in Information Systems Development'. This work is to be undertaken by yourself, individually. You must NOT work with others on this assignment (though you are allowed to discuss each others' assignments and offer advice to each other). What you write should highlight any themes or emergent ideas you consider to be of importance. These themes should be developed in two ways: (1) by reference to wider reading and (2) with particular reference to your current or previous work experiences or your life experiences in general. To execute this essay, the following resources should be employed: » 'Client Centred' book, from the beginning of the module » The modules handouts » The notes you made during the lectures module, and what you remember from the lectures » The notes you made while undertaking Assignment 1 » The discussions you had during Assignment 1 » Papers and books read during the module - you are expected to seek other material related to your especial interests. Deliverable for Individual Assignment This assignment must be all your own work, and must not be shared with others. You must not copy the work of anyone else: no part of the assignment may be a copy from any document, whether amended or not, except that it is a short quotation in quotation marks and a reference is given to where it came from. You should deliver to the Masters office on or before the deadline, a paper copy printed double-sided. Also you should email an electronic version to the email address given at the start. What gains marks is your own original thinking and your good understanding of what you have learned, and NOT material copied from the lecture notes or others. I suggest you write the Individual Assignment with the following sections, for which a guideline is given for how words are appropriate. 2.1 My Background and Expecations Here, briefly summarise your background and what you expected from the Key Issues module. About 200 words. 2.2 What Important Things I Have Learned from the Module. Here you should describe briefly what you learned, if anything, from each part of the module: » the CCA book » the lectures and lecture notes and other handouts » the research undertaken by the group » aspectual analysis » anything else you believe you learned during this module. For each thing learned discuss why it is important to ISD. To discuss this, you should read other books and papers on ISD and give references to these. This is one of the parts that usually gains better marks. DO NOT JUST GIVE THE DETAIL OF WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED BUT SUMMARISE IT AND DISCUSS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO ISD. EXPLAIN THINGS IN YOUR OWN WORDS AND IN YOUR OWN WAY. Marks are given for the quality and amount of work you do. So » Do not copy text from another assignment (e.g. a group member or a previous student). You will get zero marks for this. » Do not reproduce material from another assignment (copying but changing words). Again, you will get very few marks for this. » Do not merely reproduce what is in the Client Centred book or lecture notes, or papers you read. You will get few marks for this. This is because none of those provide evidence that you have really learned it. It is evidence that you have learned things well that gives marks. To give evidence that you have learned things well, you should seek to understand them well and explain them in your own way. So you should ensure that you really understand topics like aspects, the four activities of ISD, client centred, etc. well enough to be able to explain what you have learned in your own way. You can include text from other sources (such Client Centred book or lecture notes of papers) but when you do, you must enclose it in "double quotes" and give the reference. About 800 - 1200 words. 2.3 The Value of What I Learned Here you should discuss in what ways you found what you learned particularly valuable - useful, important, interesting or fascinating. Discuss *why* you found them valuable. If you want to get good marks here, this should not be a mere list of things, but the reason why you found each thing valuable should be discussed. In this discussion, you are advised to make reference to (a) your own personal experience (b) papers and other articles that you have read, discussing how each relates to the value of the things you learned. Note: You can also discuss some of the things that were NOT valuable, but if you do so, you MUST discuss why this was so, preferably with reference to papers you have read. About 400 - 800 words. 2.4 How I Intend to Apply What I Learned in Future Discuss how you intend to apply some of the things you learned. You could apply it to your previous experience or learning in ISD. Or to your future intentions in ISD or professional life. Or to your personal life. Or anything else you wish. Discuss in what ways you intend to change the ways you do things. BE SPECIFIC about what you intend to apply. If you do not intend to change the ways you do things, nor to apply anything from the module, then discuss why not. About 300-600 words. 2.5 Conclusion Anything else you wish to say, about the module or about either of the assignments. 2.6 References Make a list of any references that you have used in your Individual Report. For each reference you should provide the following information (as far as possible): » Names of authors. » Date of article. » Title of article. » Source. (For a book, this is the name of the publisher. For a journal article, this is the name of the journal, with volume number and page numbers. For a chapter in a book, this is the name of the book, and the names of the authors and the publisher. For a web page, give URL and date it was accessed.) Marking Those who print double-sided will gain a couple of extra marks. This is to indicate that what is taught on this module is not just theory, hut is supposed to be put into practice and to add to responsibility in our ISD and elsewhere. Being environmentally responsible in lots of small ways (such as printing double-sided) is one important aspect of ISD project overall (think: which one?). Criteria that will be taken into account in marking the Individual Assignment include (but are not restricted to): List 1: » Learning from all parts of module » Understands the parts well » Number and quality of learnings List 2: » That the student has internalised what they have learned » That the student has made meaningful links that I did not make » Excitement or appreciation » Significance of learning: widening, deepening, undergirding (i.e. more than learning mere facts, rules or theories) » Openness to new approaches » Their learning is meaningful to them (a) "I used to think xxx but now I realise yyy" (b) "I was surprised that zzz was the case" » Understands its place in the world (a) wider reading (b) application in life, e.g. work life, (c) intend to adopt it » Self-awareness, self-reflection, self-critique The second list is more important than the first. So a mere statement of what you learned is not impressive. In Appendix 2 you can find some advice I sent to a student who got low marks, on what is required at Masters level. It will help you see what is needed for good marks, and why this is. >pa WHEN TO DO WHAT You are free to carry out the assignments in any way you believe is appropriate, but for those who wish some guidance, the following detailed suggestions are offered. Assignment 1 begins immediately (it is assumed this assignment is handed out in week 2-3), and continues throughout, but assignment 2 starts around week 5 or 6. Week 3-4. Start Group Assignment. During this week, begin getting to know the aspects by applying them to your everyday life. Make notes of what you find, for your own use. Continue doing this through weeks 2, 3. As you do this, look at the aspects pages of The Dooyeweerd Pages on http://www.dooy.info/aspects.html If you wish to check your understanding of aspects with me, then email me at the address given at the start or contact me in class. Organise yourselves into groups of students who wish to work together. The groups must be no more than 7 students, but may be any size from 1 to 7; group sizes of 4 or 5 are often good. As soon as you form a group, please email me at the address given at the start list of students in group. If you are unable to find a group to belong to, and wish to belong to a group, rather than working alone, they you must email me to tell me. If you wish to work alone, please tell me so, and tell me which topic you wish to analyse. I will then check the groupings and attempt to assign any unattached students who wish to join a group, if I can. I will then publish the groups by two days later. Disclaimer: If you do not hear from me that you are part of any group, you should begin to undertake this work on your own. It is possible that you can join a group later if you wish. If you change the members of the group, please email me again. Week 5-6. Initial Research. Begin, both individually and in your group, to decide keywords for aspects (you may use those I have given in the lecture notes, but you might find it useful to add some of your own). Then begin Internet searches for these aspects of programming. Obtain articles and begin to extract passages (with their references). Discuss these with the group. Discuss the quality of each passage. Look to see if the passages are clear in the aspect they relate to, and say something significant. Decide for each which human activity of ISD each passage refers to. This will give you practice at finding the kinds of passages that are useful. If you cannot find good passages, change the keywords and try again. Week 7-8. Full Aspectual Analysis, and begin Assignment 2. Together, seek all the passages that you need. Decide for each which human activity of ISD relate to. Depending of group size, I would expect between 20 and 80 passages, spread across the nine aspects Analytic to Faith/Pistic. Compile a draft report of your findings together. Make sure that each passage has a reference as to its author, dates, title, source. Add list of group members and list what each has done. Distribute the report to each member of group. Also, begin Assignment 2, by collecting together notes of what you think you have learned or are learning. Weeks of Vacation. Assignment 1: In this period, each student should think about each passage, and what it implies for programming and ISD. Begin adding brief discussion to each passage as you believe to be appropriate. Assignment 2: Consider all you have learned. Write a draft of Part 2. Week 9: Writing The Final Report You should devote this period to writing your report. That is, you should complete both Parts 1 and 2 (for Assignments 1 and 2). You should ensure both parts say all that you want them to say, and then ensure they are correctly worded and well formatted. You should also add references and title page. The Report should be type written in 12 point font [minimum] on A4 paper, and all sheets should be stapled at the top left-hand corner of the document. Please use *double-sided printing*, because I want both you and the University to be environmentally responsible (not wasting paper or the energy that goes into making it). The reason for this is because responsibility is a fundamental Key Issue in ISD and students are expected to learn it not just in their minds but also in their activity. Extra marks are awarded for double-sided printing. The total word count of Part 2 should be around 2000 words. The count for Part 1 depends on what passages you have found. Please submit, by the Deadline: » A printed copy of Final Report » An electronic copy of Final Report by email to the address given at the start. Note on File Format: The electronic copy should be either in plain text format (pasted into the email) or in .doc format. It MUST NOT be in .docx (Word 2007) format; if it is in .docx format then you will lose a couple of marks. >pa APPENDIX 1 - ADVICE ON WRITING MASTERS ASSIGNMENT Writing a Masters assignment is like weaving cloth with a good pattern. Think of a master weaver at work: 1 He designs a good pattern, 2 selects threads of just the right colour and material, 3 which he has obtained from someone else, with either money or thanks, and for which he is willing to give credit, 4 He understands well how the different kinds of thread behave in cloth and in the weaving process, 5 and then he weaves them with skill so that the resulting cloth is as good as possible 6 but he is able to tell (with his expert eye) what is very good and what is flawed (like twists, knots and foreign bodies in the threads, and where he has woven the thread less well than he might wish) and why they are good or flawed and what should be done to prevent or overcome the flaws. This is what one would expect of a master weaver of good cloth. Writing an assignment of masters quality is like weaving good, well-patterned cloth. The assignment must demonstrate: 1 that the majority is a product of your own thinking, not that of somebody else's 2 that where you use pieces of other people's thinking you do so intelligently and appropriately, selecting what is relevant and leaving out what is not relevant 3 that where you use somebody else's thinking you reference them explicitly, to give due credit to them 4 that you have fully understood the you are writing about 5 that you have been able to manipulate and use what you have understood 6 that you can view what you have written about critically, knowing what is really good and what is poor, rather than just accepting things as they are. If you want, you can find direct similarities between the two cases: 1 It is all your own design overall. You need to show what *you* learned and in what ways *you* found it valuable and will use it. 2 The threads you use are the material you learned on the module and what you have read in books and papers, and you have selected them well. For example, in the case of 'What I Learned', the threads would be pieces from CCM, KBS, aspects, ISD, aspectual analysis in group, and anything else you read e.g. about programming. 3 Stealing threads is like passing off text or ideas from others as though they were your own. You must give due credit. For example, each piece you refer to, you say where it came from. 4 The threads you use, which are pieces of other people's thinking and what you learned on the module; you understand how well they will work in the assignment you are 'weaving'. So, for example, instead of writing down all the detail of the seven stages of CCM, you just name the stages and, in your own words, give one sentence about why each stage is important. 5 The way you use pieces of other people's thinking to make your argument and support your thought is expert and appropriate. This is the reason I asked students to tell 'How I intend to apply what I learned'. 6 The section 'In What Ways I Found Valuable' gives scope for discussing this kind of thing. Things or real interest or value are like the really good bits of weaving. Things like twists, knots or foreign bodies in threads are like logical inconsistencies or inappropriateness in pieces from others are, and things like flaws in weaving are things like places where you do not fully understand the coursework is; it is 'ok' to say "I did not understand xxx because of ...". All of these get marks in a Masters assignment. You get marks for: 1 Overall structure of your thought and the logical flow and feel of your argument 2 Intelligent selection of material to support that thought and argument 3 Good referencing and givig due to people 4 Showing you understand the material that you are writing about; this is shown when you put it in your own words, when you apply it correctly to examples from your own experience that were not made on the course, or express links between issues that were not made in the course, 5 Intelligent discussion of how the ideas you learned can be applied, and especially how you intend to apply them, and referring them to what you wrote about your background. 6 Making appropriate critical comments on the pieces from the course or other work. Or explaining *why* you found things valuable or interesting. >pa APPENDIX 2 - HOW TO REFERENCE Referencing is essential to a dissertation. It is also advisable in an assignment for a Masters module. Types of Literature Appropriate To Each Part There are at least the following types of literature: Books: - Academic monograph books, such as 'The Tacit Dimension' by M. Polanyi; these are books whose purpose is to introduce and discuss new ideas. Usually good for LR. - Textbooks: these are academic, but are intended to teach existing ideas rather than introduce and discuss new ideas. Most course texts are of this kind. - Reference books (encyclopaedias, dictionaries, etc.) - Factual stories or narrative books: For example, a book that tells what happened in the London Ambulance System IS disaster. These are good as literature source. - Company reports. - Government documents. Articles: - Academic journal papers, such as Int. J. Human-Computer Studies (in library); these are articles intended to introduce and discuss new ideas. Usually good for LR. - Professional journals; these provide serious, reflective material which is news, comment and opinion. Usually good for Introduction. - Magazines: these contain lighter articles. Usually good only as Literature Sources for primary research. - Newspapers: Internet Sources: - Web pages, sites: these can be used in Introduction and as Literature Sources, but should hardly ever be used in LR. - Emails: these can be used as sources for primary research. Other Media: - Radio, TV, Video clips (transcripts of). Citing in Text There are various ways to cite in text, and you can use any you wish as long as you are consistent. But I suggest cite by Author(s) plus Date. Here is an example: "There is a bewildering diversity of philosophies from which to choose and different ones are appealed to from within different I.S. disciplines. For example, in artificial intelligence, appeals have been made to the rationalist Leibniz (Brachman and Levesque, 1985) and the neo-positivist Brentano (Newell, 1982), in human factors appeals have been made to the existentialist Heidegger (Winograd and Flores, 1986), and recently the information systems community has appealed to the critical theorist Habermas (Lyytinen and Klein, 1985). Klein and Myers (1999) have examined I.S. research by reference to hermeneutic philosophy and phenomenology. While such diversity can be fruitful, our problem is that ISD, as the bridge between technology and its use, must concern itself with four major areas - usage and impact, process of development, the shape that technologies assume, and perspectives held on information systems in general (Basden, 2001). If the philosophies appealed to do not cohere, then ISD is hindered, for example, when positivistically inspired technologies are found inappropriate in the human context of use. Burrell and Morgan (1979) have argued for incommensurability between paradigms in research - the very research that generates the technologies, methodologies, theories and models that we use in I.S. While others (e.g. Lee, 1991; Willmott, 1993) have argued that this may be overcome in the practical research arena, incommensurability remains a problem (Falconer and Mackay, 1999)." Notice: - Always use surnames. - Sometimes names are part of the sentence, as in "Klein and Myers (1999) have examined I.S. research ..." Here I am using the authors as people. The reference is made by the date in brackets immediately after the name. - Sometimes names are not part of the sentence, as in "... has appealed to the critical theorist Habermas (Lyytinen and Klein, 1985)" The authors are not being used as people, so the reference in brackets must have author(s), then comma, then date. - Single author e.g. "(Basden, 2001)" - Multiple authors for one paper: link by commas with 'and' before final one, e.g. "(Lyytinen and Klein, 1985)" - Multiple references in single brackets: separate the references by semicolon, e.g. "(Lee, 1991; Willmott, 1993)" In e.g. company reports, government documents and web pages it might not be known who the author is. In that case, use the name of the organisation as author. e.g. "(DEFRA, 2006)" Reference Lists Reference lists occur at the end of the document. They list every reference you have made in the document, and no more. So every reference in the list should be cited at least once in the document, and every citation in the document must be included as a reference in this list. Books: Give the following in order: Author(s), Date, Title of book, Country and city of publisher, Publisher. e.g. Landauer, T. K. (1996). The trouble with computers: Usefulness, usability and productivity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press/Bradford Books. Winograd, T., & Flores, F. (1986). Understanding computers and cognition: A new foundation for design. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Dumas, J. S., & Redish, J. C. (1999). A practical guide to usability testing (2nd ed). Exeter, England: Intellect. Theses: As book, but publisher is a University. e.g. Kane, S. C. (2006). Multi-aspectual interview technique. PhD Thesis, University of Salford, U.K. Papers in journals, Magazine articles, etc.: Give the following, in order: Author(s), Date, Title of Paper, Name of Journal, Volume number, Part number (usually in brackets, if available), Page Numbers. e.g. Winograd, T. (2006). Designing a new foundation for design. Communications of the ACM, 49(5), 71-73. Basden, A., Brown, A. J., Tetlow, S. D. A., & Hibberd, P. R. (1996). Design of a user interface for a knowledge refinement tool. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 45, 157-183. Chapters in Edited Books (which contain collections of chapters by different authors): Give the following in order: Author(s) of Chapter, Date of book, Title of Chapter, Page numbers, "in", Editor(s) of Book, "(ed.)", Country and city of publisher, Publisher. e.g. Mitev, N. N. (2001). The social construction of IS failure: symmetry, the sociology of translation and politics. pp.17-34 in A. Adam, D. Howcroft, H. Richardson, & B. Robinson (Eds.), Re-)defining critical research in information systems. Salford, England: University of Salford. Papers in Conference Proceedings: As Chapter in book, but with name of ocnference: e.g. Castell, A. C., Basden, A., Erdos, G., Barrows, P., & Brandon, P. S. (1992). Knowledge based systems in use: A case study. In British Computer Society Specialist Group for Knowledge Based Systems, Proceedings from Expert Systems 92 (Applications Stream). Swindon, England: British Computer Society. Jones, G. O., & Basden, A. (2004). Using Dooyeweerd's philosophy to guide the process of stakeholder engagement in ISD. pp. 1-19 in M. J. de Vries, B. Bergvall-KÃ¥reborn, & S. Strijbos (Eds.), Interdisciplinarity and the integration of knowledge: Proceedings of the 10th annual working conference of CPTS, 19-24 April 2004 . Amersfoort, Netherlands: Centre for Philosophy, Technology and Social Systems. Web pages: Give the following, in order: Author(s) of web page, Date written, Title of web page, Full URL, Date Accessed. National Cancer Institute. (2005). Evidence-based guidelines on web design and usability issues. Retrieved October 19, 2005, from http://usability.gov/guidelines/ CONCLUSION These two assignments are designed not just to assess your learning during the module, but to give you actual practice at aspectual analysis and understanding a topic in ISD in detail, and to stimulate your reflection on what you have learned and to get you thinking about how you might apply it. They are designed to ensure that, as far as you wish to, you can take away with you when you leave the course, something that will be of value to you in the future. I wish you every success as you undertake these assignments. >pa APPENDIX 3 - EXAMPLE GROUP ASSIGNMENT This text below is supplied only and merely as an example of what I expect. It shows you the type of format I expect and the type of format. It shows only a few passage discussions. After the end, some notes are made to point out things. *** WARNING: NONE OF THIS TEXT BELOW IS TO BE COPIED. THE BOOK BELOW IS NOT TO BE USED FOR ASSIGNMENT. *** 1. Group Details NAMES: Andrew Basden, ... BOOK: Jan L. Harrington. Relational Database Design Clearly Explained. Second Edition. 2. Aspectual Analysis of Whole Project Activity Passage 1. Page 4: "Good database design means that you take time to plan your database before you put it into use. It means that you focus on the way your business works and tailor that database to your own organization's applications." This is mainly about the whole project, because it is telling us how to plan the major tasks of the project (focus, plan, put into use, etc.). But it also mentions other ISD activities as part of this overall plan, including creating the IS ("design") anticipating use ("focus on the way your business works"). Aspects: » The main message of this passage is that we should plan. This is formative aspect. » "Focus" is analytic aspect because it is distinguishing between what is important and what is not. » 'Business' refers to economic aspect, but this is only secondary. » Likewise 'organization' refers to social aspect but again this is only secondary. Contributor: AB. Passage 2. ... 3. Aspectual Analysis of Anticipating Use of the IS Passage 101. Page 5: "... the store began its mail order business. Watkins created a 'database' to handle the orders and sales. Customers were (and still are) enticed to order titles before the official release date by offering a 15 to 20 percent discount on preorders. ... The mail order database therefore needed to include a way to handle backorders so that preordered items could be shipped as soon as they came into the store." This passage is to do with anticipating use of the IS, in that the database will be used for backorders too. Aspects: » The main message of the passage is about what the database had to be able to do ("handle orders and sales ... handle backorders"). The concept of 'able to do' is mainly formative aspect. » Enticing customers is of several aspects, including economic (they give money early), aesthetic (enticement is to do with interest and fun), and juridical (there must be trust if customers will give their money up front). Contributor AB. Passage 102. Page 6: "The Lasers Only database has a considerable amount of duplicated data ... customer's name and address and phone number are duplicated for every item the customer orders ... When you have duplicated data in this way the data should be the same throughout the database. In order words, every order for a given customer should have the same name, address, and phone number, typed exactly the same way ... We want the duplicated data to be consistent throughout the database. As the database grows larger, this type of consistency is very hard to maintain." ISD activity here is anticipating use, because we are anticipating the growth of the database and difficulties with duplicated data. Aspects: » The main aspect of this passage is analytic. This is argued as follows. The main problem this passage is talking about is correct identification of customers ("consistency". Where data is duplicated errors can be made in identification. Identification is of the analytic aspect. » "very hard to maintain" is formative aspect, because both 'very hard' and 'maintain' are formative concepts. » Database growth is an analogy with growth in plants, i.e. biotic aspect. But really it is not biotic; what makes growth meaningful to us is the difficulty to maintain, which is formative. Contributor: AB. Passage 103. ... 4. Aspectual Analysis of Knowledge Acquisition Passage 201. Page 334: "When looking at the data that are to be stored about people, a database designer is immediately faced with a major decision before drawing a single entity: Should there be separate entities for IIA employees and informants, or should they be a single entity? When faced with a choice of this type of, you need to look carefully at the data that describe the entities." The main advice here is about acquiring knowledge. But it also relates to designing, and hence creating the IS. Aspects: » The main message is that the knowledge acquirer must "look carefully". This is the analytic aspect. » "major decision" is also analytic aspect. » Separation of entities is also analytic aspect. » So this passage is heavily analytic. Contributor: AB Passage 202. ... 5. Aspectual Analysis of Creating the IS Passage 301. Page 17: "When you first begin to work with entities, the nature of an entity can be somewhat confusing. ... Is 'inventory' an entity? No: Inventory is a collection of the merchandise items handled by the store. The entity is actually the merchandise item. Viewing all of the instances of the merchandise item entity as a whole provides the inventory." This is mainly to do with creating the IS (a database), but might also have some knowledge acquisition. Aspects: » The main aspect is analytic because the whole passage is about distinguishing entities. » There is also an economic aspect because the passage is talking about 'inventory' and 'merchandise'; this is the example application. » "Viewing all of the ... as a whole" seems to be aesthetic aspect because it is about harmony. (Note 'Viewing' might be thought of as psychic but it is not psychic here because it does not use the sensory organs, the eyes.) Contributor: AB Passage 302. Page 17: "consider a person's medical history maintained by a doctor: Like an inventory, a medical history is a collection of more than one entity. A medical history is made up of appointments and the events that occur during those appointments. Therefore, the history is really a collection of instances of appointment entities and medical treatment entities. The 'history' is an output that a database application can obtain by gathering the data stored in the underlying entity instances." This is mainly to do with creating the IS (a database), but might also have some knowledge acquisition. Aspects: » The application is medical, which is mainly of the biotic aspect. But this is not what the main message of the passage is about, because it is only an example. » The main message this passage is giving is about structure of the database. Structure is formative aspect. » Also, history is formative aspect, but in a different way. History is about the application. » There is also an analytic aspect in that the passage is talking about keeping entities clearly identified. » The quantitative aspect is mentioned in "collection of more than one", but this is only mentioned in support of the main message about formative structure. » The concept of "output of a database application" is lingual because it is about giving information to the user. Contributor: AB. Passage 303. ... 6. Conclusion of Group Report. In this book, 'Relational Database Design Clearly Explained', we found: 5 passages about Overall Project 21 passages about Anticipating Use 3 passages about Knowledge Acquisition 36 passages about Creating the IS This means that the book does not give much guidance about Overall Project, nor about knowledge acquisition. This suggests that if we use this book, then we cannot use it alone, but must also have other books to help us with overall project and knowledge acquisition. So is this book worth using, or should we find another book that is more complete? A lot of aspects were discovered, both main and secondary. Of the main aspects we found [these figures are completely fictitious]: Psychic as main aspect: 3 passages Analytic as main aspect: 22 passages Formative as man aspect: 27 passages Lingual as main aspect: 2 passages Social as main aspect: 3 passages Economic as main aspect: 5 passages Aesthetic as main aspect: 0 passages Juridical as main aspect: 1 passage Ethical as main aspect: 0 passages Faith as main aspect: 1 passage This means that the passages of the book gives direct advice mainly about clarity and about constructing the database. The secondary aspects we found were: Psychic as other aspect: 13 passages Analytic as other aspect: 35 passages Formative as man aspect: 40 passages Lingual as other aspect: 12 passages Social as other aspect: 24 passages Economic as other aspect: 32 passages Aesthetic as other aspect: 23 passages Juridical as other aspect: 12 passage Ethical as other aspect: 10 passages Faith as other aspect: 5 passage This means that although the book is mainly about analytic and formative, it is sensitive to a wide range of aspects of things that link with these. This means it is sensitive the realities of everyday life of ISD and IS use. What this means is that this book is certainly worth using, because it covers a lot of everyday aspects. ----------- end of example To Note About Example # At the start, remember to enter names of all students, and also the book details. # Each passage discussion has the following information: Page number. The passage itself. The ISD activities. Aspects. Contributor. # Notice how I sometimes shorten the passage by omitting portions of it in the original text that are irrelevant to this exercise; I indicate where I have done this by "..." (ellipsis). You should do the same if you omit parts of a passage. # Try to get your passages down to three lines or even less. But sometimes I have made the passage longer than 6 lines, because the text in the book contained sentences about examples. This should only done when the text contains examples. Examples usually make text longer. # Notice how a lot of the passages are of more than one ISD activity. Also notice how I discuss and explain why I think it is each activity. # Notice how I always identify which ISD activity is the main one. # In discussing aspects I have used bullet points, one bullet for each aspect. # Notice how I always identify which is the main aspect. It is best if the main aspect comes first, but occasionally it can come second. To identify the main aspect, ask yourself: What is the message that this passage is trying to give me? What is the main aspect of this message. # Notice how for each aspect I have a little explanation or discussion; I do not just name the aspect, but discuss *why* I think it is of that aspect. # Notice how, in the discussion of the aspect, I cite little phrases of the passage to make clear to the reader what part of the passage is of that aspect. # Notice how, occasionally, one aspect appears in the passage in two or more different ways. # Notice the two types of passage in 'Anticipating Use'. The first one tells us about the specific application, and what the IS must do. The second one tells us about more general issues, such as the problems of data duplication. If you have a choice, choose general issues. # Notice how, very occasionally, I include an analogical aspect, such as growth. Copyright (c) Andrew Basden. 17 February 2009, 12 March 2009, 22 July 2009, 12 October 2009, 26 October 2009, 30 October 2009.