Course Brief

An engineering approach for building enterprise-wide systems requires methods and tools to ensure that systems are built and integrated in the most effective way. In order to fully utilise corporate data a system must be well designed and well understood. This course will develop all aspects of designing an information system by using a CASE tool. Tools for Object Oriented design and Structured design will be used. To be able to use these tools creatively the student will need a sound knowledge of the techniques and methods employed in the design of information systems. The course will also concentrate on business process modelling and modelling and automation of the work flow.
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By the end of this course students will:

A. Have a sound knowledge of design methods for modelling and developing an enterprise wide Information System.

B. Understand the modelling requirements for integration of systems.

C. Be able to effectively use case tools to design systems using both objected oriented methods and structured methods
D. To critically analyse the business process that needs to be supported by a system.

E. To construct models at varying levels of abstraction to present proposed solutions.

F. To store and retrieve models in a central repository using a CASE tool.

G. To use a CASE tool to integrate the various models and check for consistency.

H. To develop a system that fits into an existing business environment.

Business Process modelling.

The alignment of Business with IT.

Structured Design Methodologies and Methods.

Object Oriented Design Methodologies and Methods.

Using a structured case tools to design and document systems and generate SQL code and Forms.

Use an Object Oriented case tool to design a system.

Concepts will be introduced during lecture or classroom sessions featuring lecturer presentations and problem solving sessions sing individual and group work to enable students to develop design skills, discuss concepts and plan software development. Supervised laboratory sessions will be used to provide students with the technical skills required to design systems and to gain experience with design tools. Specific laboratory exercises will be provided. Time will be divided equally between lecture presentations, problem and laboratory sessions.

Coursework – 50%
A coursework based on the analysis and design of an Information System using CASE.

Examination – 50%
2 hour final examination.
Assessing all learning outcomes.

The aims of this course are:

To advance the student’s knowledge of design methodologies and how CASE tools can be used to aid the designer.

To develop the student’s practical skills in the use of case tools to design systems.

To address the difficulties and intricacies of large scale system development and system integration.

To develop the student’s ability to choose the most suitable modelling technique for different problems.