300585 - Systems Analysis & Design

Workshop 5
Workshops will run to cover the practical aspects of the topic each week via workshop case study
(that runs across the whole semester) and other examples via 2 parts

• Workshop Quiz
o Students to visit app.gosoapbox.com, click Join and use access code ‘wsquiz’ to
attempt the workshop quiz. Pls note this quiz is not assessable. Students must
attempt this quiz in the time allocated by the workshop facilitator/tutor, followed
by discussions on the student attempt and the topics
• Workshop questions
o This document contains 2 parts
o Part A contains Classwork case study and questions that are done in workshop
with the tutor in Groups of students. Task 1 would always refer to Workshop Case
study and some additional case studies in rest of the tasks and is NOT to be
submitted on vuws for marking.
o Part B contains questions and tasks related to case studies that individual
students need to answer in their own time and submit under link for Submission
for Workshop 5 answer, this will form part of as Portfolio exercises as per the
information given in Assessment 1 in the Learning guide.

Part A: To be done during the workshop

Task 1 Case Study: Willow brook School

Willow brook School is a small private school that has retained your services as a systems analyst
to assist in the development of a new information system for the school’s administrative needs.

Willowbrook School has decided to proceed to the systems analysis phase, based on the findings
and proposal you presented after the preliminary investigation. A summary of your fact-finding is
as follows:

Fact-Finding Summary

Registration for Willowbrook School has two components, regular daily students and children in
after-care. Regular daily students are divided into groups, dependent on whether the child is in pre-
school, kindergarten, or primary school. Children in after-care are divided into two groups, those
students who are pre-registered and those who use the service on a “drop-in” basis. Most of the
students who are pre-registered for after-care attend the school during the day but some are
bussed in from other schools. For a student to be registered, tuition payments must be in good
standing.

There are two payment options for tuition and the pre-registered component of after-care,
monthly or weekly. Regular daily tuition is based on the academic program in which the student is
enrolled. A discount of 5 percent is applied to fees for parents choosing the monthly payment
option. Parents who have more than one child enrolled at Willowbrook are eligible for an additional
5 percent multi-child discount on tuition for all enrolled children. Discounts are lost for any
payment that is overdue by more than seven days.

Charges for after-care used on a “drop-in” basis are based on an hourly rate, billed in fifteen
minute increments. Parents are billed monthly for regular students, and charges are added to the
monthly and weekly bills. New bills are generated weekly for “drop-in” care for children who are
not pre-registered for after-care or regular daily students. For parents who pay monthly, tuition
bills and after-care fees are due on the first of the month, and are distributed to parents one
week prior to their being due. For parents who pay weekly, payments are due on Mondays with
bills generated on Fridays. Parents who have more than one child enrolled in Willowbrook receive
a separate bill for each child. The student’s account must be in good standing for a student to be
registered. For the account to be considered to be in good standing, the tuition payment must
not be over seven days late. Tuition payments that are over seven days late may be overridden by
the director; these cases are handled on a case-by-case basis.

The current registration system is done using Microsoft Excel. Michelle Madrid, the administrative
assistant, sets up a new workbook for each academic year. Each month Michelle creates a new
worksheet in the workbook. The worksheet contains one line per student, and each line contains
the following registration and billing information for the student:

Student Name
Parent Name
Address
Academic program (pre-school, kindergarten, primary school grade 1-6)
After-Care (Yes/No)
Weekly tuition fee
Billing cycle (Monthly or Weekly)
Tuition discount
Multi-child discount
Amount of discount (calculated field)
Additional care, after-care “drop-in” fees
Total monthly fee (calculated field)
Payment received
Amount paid to date (calculated field)
Amount outstanding (calculated field)

The entry for each student is updated monthly when bills are prepared, each time a payment is
made, and when Michelle enters the data from the after-care reports detailing all “drop-in” hours
for each student. Michelle manually calculates the time and the spreadsheet calculates the
charges. Monthly statements are generated from the spreadsheets using the mail merge tool in
Microsoft Word.

A summary monthly report is generated for the Board of Directors from this spreadsheet
summarizing fee collections for tuition and after care. The financial committee, who provides
regular oversight for the Board, also receives separate monthly reports detailing payroll expenses
for all employees. Reports need to be ready for distribution at the financial committee meeting
that is scheduled for the second Tuesday of every month.

Michelle has indicated that the most useful new feature that could be added to the system would
be the ability to generate one bill per family, listing each student’s charges separately, and an
overall total. Also useful would be the ability to generate a receipt at the time payments are
recorded. This receipt should contain information required for reimbursement requests from
different types of dependent care and tuition accounts, including name, location, and federal tax
ID number of the school. In addition, parents have asked for a separate statement accompanying
their bill itemizing all drop-in after-care hours for that statement.

1. List the system requirements with examples for each category.

Output
Input
Process
Performance
Control
2. Identify the requirements from the given facts in the case study here and classify them
as Functional and Non-functional.
3. Are there scalability issues that you should consider? If so, what are they?

Task 2 Sandia Medical Devices (SMD) – Running Case study

Medical monitoring technology has advanced significantly in the last decade. Monitoring that
once required a visit to a health-care facility can now be performed by devices located in a
patient’s home, or carried or worn at all times. Examples include measures of glucose level (blood
sugar), pulse, blood pressure, and electrocardiogram (EKG). Measurements can be transmitted
via telephone, Internet connection, and wireless data transmission standards, such as Bluetooth.
A particularly powerful technology combination is a wearable device that records data
periodically or continuously and transmits it via Bluetooth to a cell phone app. The cell phone app
can inform the patient of problems and can automatically transmit data and alerts to a central
monitoring.

Health-care providers and patients incur significant costs when glucose levels are not maintained
within acceptable tolerances. Short-term episodes of very high or very low glucose often result in
expensive visits to urgent care clinics or hospitals. In addition, patients with frequent but less
severe episodes of high or low glucose are more susceptible to such expensive, long-term
complications as vision, circulatory, and kidney problems.

Sandia Medical Devices (SMD), an Albuquerque manufacturer of portable and wearable medical
monitoring devices, has developed a glucose monitor embedded in a wristband. The device is
powered by body heat and senses glucose levels from minute quantities of perspiration. SMD is
developing the Real-Time Glucose Monitoring (RTGM) device in partnership with New Mexico
Health Systems (NMHS), a comprehensive health delivery service with patients throughout New
Mexico.

SMD will develop the initial prototype software for smartphones with Bluetooth capability
running the Google Android operating system. If successful, NMHS and its patients will have free
use of the software and SMD will resell the software to other health systems worldwide.

• Sandia Medical Devices (SMD) and New Mexico Health Systems (NMHS) are developing the
system jointly. Project staff will include analysts, designers, and programmers from both
organizations. Three technical staff members from each organization have been assigned
initially, and the budget includes sufficient funds to add other personnel for short-term
assignments as needed. In addition, NMHS will assign a physician and a physician’s assistant
to the project one day per week.

• It is anticipated that SMD personnel assigned to the project will work primarily at NMHS
facilities in office space and with computer equipment dedicated to developing the Real-
Time Glucose Monitoring (RTGM) system.

• NMHS anticipates recruiting a handful of its own diabetic employees to provide

requirements and to test the prototype RTGM software.

• SMD and NMHS anticipate a six-month development schedule for an initial version of the
server software and Android-based client-side software. That will be followed by a three-
month period for evaluation and another three-month period for development of
improved software versions and support for a wider range of mobile phone operating
systems.

• The Real-Time Glucose Monitoring (RTGM) software on the client (patient) side apart from
tracking glucose level and alerting physicians will have the following features
1.The ability for the patient to view alerts received on the phone and also respond back to
the alerts received from the physicians.

2. Enables the patient to view historical data pertaining to glucose levels and alert sent and
received by the patient along with annotations/ detailed description of glucose levels.
 3. Provides a messaging platform for the patient to interact with the physician by sending
and receiving messages with the ability of voice control to read out messages.

The Real-Time Glucose Monitoring (RTGM) software on the client (patient) side apart from tracking
glucose level and alerting physicians will have the following features

1.The ability for the physician to view alerts received on the phone and also respond back to the
alerts received from the patient.
2. Enables the physician to set alert conditions to send alerts automatically to the patients. Example
– Have a rule setting to send low glucose level alert if glucose level falls to 65 mg/dl.
3. Provides a messaging platform for the patient to interact with the physician by sending and
receiving messages along with the ability of voice control to read out messages.

As the project began, interviews with patients and physicians about potential RTGM capabilities
and interaction modes identified several areas of concern that will need to be incorporated into
the system requirements and design. The relevant patient concerns include:

• Viewing and interpreting data and trends. Patients want to be able to view more than their
current glucose level. They would like to see glucose levels over various time periods, with
a specific focus on time periods during which their glucose was within and outside of
acceptable ranges. A graphical view of the data is preferred, although some patients also
want to be able to see actual numbers.

• Entering additional data. Some patients want to be able to enter text notes or voice
messages to supplement glucose level data. For example, patients who see a high glucose
alert might record voice messages describing how they feel or what they had recently
eaten. Some patients thought that sharing such information with their health-care
providers might be valuable, but others only wanted such information for themselves.

Physicians expressed these concerns:

• They do not want to be the “first line of response” to all alerts. They prefer that nurses or
physician assistants be charged with that role and that physicians be notified only when
frontline personnel determine that an emergency situation exists.

• They want to be able to monitor and view past patient data and trends in much the same
way as described for patients.

• They want all their actions to be logged and for patient-specific responses to be stored as
part of the patient’s electronic medical record

1. Who are RTGM’s stakeholders? Develop stakeholders map

2. Should NMHS’s patients be included in defining the system requirements? Why or why
not? Should RTGM interact with medical professionals other than physicians? Why or
why not?
3. If you were the lead analyst for RTGM, how would you determine the requirements? Be
specific in your answer. List several questions you need answered.
4. What are the primary functional requirements for the system as described so far in the
case?
Part B: Answers to these questions to be submitted on vUWS – will form part of
Portfolio

Task 1

On the Spot Courier Services, as an employee of a large international courier and shipping service,
Bill Wiley met almost every day with many companies that shipped and received packages. He was
frequently asked if his company could deliver local packages on the same day. Over several months,
he observed that there appeared to be a substantial need for courier services in the city in which
he lived. He decided that he would form his own courier delivery company called On the Spot to fill
this need.

Bill began by listing his mobile telephone number in the Yellow Pages. He also sent letters to all
those companies that had requested same-day courier service that his prior company had not been
able to serve. He hoped that, through good service and word-of-mouth advertising, his business
would grow. He also began other advertising and marketing activities to promote his services.

At first, Bill received delivery requests on his business mobile phone. However, it was not long
before his customers were asking if he had a Web site where they could place orders for shipments.
He knew that if he could get a Web presence he could increase his exposure and help his business
grow.

After he had been in business only a few short months, Bill discovered he needed to have additional
help. He hired another person to help with the delivery and pickup of packages. It was good to see
the business grow, but another person added to the complexity of coordinating pickups and
deliveries. With the addition of a new person, he could no longer “warehouse” the packages out of
his delivery van. He now needed a central warehouse where he could organize and distribute
packages for delivery. He thought that if his business grew enough to add one more delivery person
he would also need someone at the warehouse to coordinate the arrival and distribution of all the
packages.

1. Who are the stakeholders for On the Spot? How involved should On the Spot’s customers
be in system definition?
2. If you were commissioned to build a system for Bill, what fact finding techniques would
you use to determine the requirements and why would you use that technique? Be specific
in your answer.
3. Make a list of the questions you need answered while gathering information.
4. What are the primary functional requirements for the system as described so far in the
case?

Task 2

Personal Trainer, Inc.

Personal Trainer, Inc. owns and operates fitness centres in a dozen Midwestern cities. The centres
have done well, and the company is planning an international expansion by opening a new
“supercenter” in the Toronto area. Personal Trainer’s president, Cassia Umi, hired an IT consultant,
Susan Park, to help develop an information system for the new facility. During the project, Susan
will work closely with Gray Lewis, who will manage the new operation.
Background

During requirements modelling for the new system, Susan Park met with fitness centre managers
at several Personal Trainer locations. She conducted a series of interviews, reviewed company
records, observed business operations, analysed the Bumblebee accounting software, and studied
a sample of sales and billing transactions. Susan’s objective was to develop a list of system
requirements for the proposed system.

Fact-Finding Summary

• A typical centre has 300–500 members, with two membership levels: full and limited. Full
members have access to all activities. Limited members are restricted to activities they
have selected, but they can participate in other activities by paying a usage fee. All
members have charge privileges. Charges for merchandise and services are recorded on a
charge slip, which is signed by the member.

• At the end of each day, cash sales and charges are entered into the Bumblebee
accounting software, which runs on a computer workstation at each location. Daily cash
receipts are deposited in a local bank and credited to the corporate Personal Trainer
account. The Bumblebee program produces a daily activity report with a listing of all sales
transactions.

• At the end of the month, the local manager uses Bumblebee to transmit an accounts
receivable summary to the Personal Trainer headquarters in Chicago, where member
statements are prepared and mailed. Members mail their payments to the Personal
Trainer headquarters, where the payment is applied to the member account.

• The Bumblebee program stores basic member information, but does not include
information about member preferences, activities, and history.

• Currently, the Bumblebee program produces one local report (the daily activity report)
and three reports that are prepared at the headquarters location: a monthly member
sales report, an exception report for inactive members and late payers, and a quarterly
profit-and-loss report that shows a breakdown of revenue and costs for each separate
activity.

During the interviews, Susan received a number of “wish list” comments from managers and staff
members. For example, managers want more analytical features so they can spot trends and
launch special promotions and temporary discounts. Managers also want better information
about the profitability of specific business activities at their centres, instead of bottom-line totals.

Several managers want to offer computerized activity and wellness logs, fitness coaching for
seniors, and various social networking options, including e-mail communications, fitness blogs,
Facebook, and Twitter posts. Staff members want better ways to handle information about part-
time instructors and trainers, and several people suggested using scan able ID cards to capture
data

1. Using the information gathered during fact-finding summary given in the case, develop
system requirements checklist for any three of the five main categories listed in Lecture
Task 3 Appliance Warehouse case

Visit MindTap site Module 4/ Appliance Warehouse Case. Go through the navigation reading all
information, clicking on Next-> leading to Appliance Warehouse webmail client.

Read the message from Mae Roth ‘Welcome to Emily Johns!’. Next read message from Carlie
Davis ‘Requirements Gathering: Interviews’, it says…. You will need to talk to some of our
employees to better understand the functionality and requirements for the proposed system.
This is important because they are the key stakeholders of the system. You should make a list of
employees who you will want to interview.

Hint: Students will need to use the organizational chart given in workshop 3 Part B task 1. From
the emails, organizational chart, and Organizational Staffing document given in the Resource
Library, students will need to ascertain the best employees (or departments) to interview.

1. Question. Make a list of employees you could interview and chose any 3 that want to
interview.

2. In para 3, it refers to writing interview questions that should be open and closed ended.
Open ended questions need extended response and closed ended questions have a one
word specific answer.
Question: Write 6 questions (at least 4 should be open ended questions), 2 questions
each for any 3 employees chosen in Q1.