BA370 Group Assignment

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BA370 Group Project -- Fall 2006

Deliverables
Points	Assignment	Format
Required	List Group Members	Email
Required	Plan Group Work	Hard Copy
50	PRJ1 - Create Narrative Description	Hard Copy
*	Diagram Activities (Individual)	Hard Copy (One submission per group member)
75	PRJ2 - Diagram Activities	Hard Copy
50	PRJ3 - Identify Controls	Hard Copy
50	PRJ4 - Design Data Structures	Hard Copy
50	PRJ5 - Design Reports	Hard Copy
50	PRJ6 - Design Forms	Hard Copy
Required	Evaluate Group Members	Hard Copy (One confidential submission per group member)
175	Complete Project	Hard Copy and Electronic Version (Word Doc or PDF) Packaging is very important for your project grade. Please review these pointers in addition to the requirements listed in the project description.
Total: 500	(30% of course grade) ** Late Deliverables

During the term, I may ask teams to show off one of their deliverables in class to practice presentation skills and promote collaborative learning.

* Individual UML diagram is graded pass/fail for effort. Failing to turn it in will reduce your final course grade by 2%.

This assignment is intended to practically explore course material, provide a meaningful and challenging IS-related group experience, and reinforce professional communication skills. Because students have generally been enthusiastic in project participation in previous terms, most groups have worked hard and done well on the assignment. Grading is intended to follow the following general guidelines:

95%+ = Exceptional work including all assigned elements and demonstrating mastery of related material.
93% = Good work including all assigned elements and demonstrating a good understanding of related material.
85% = Good work including most assigned elements and demonstrating a good understanding of related material.

Group members list

Students should form into groups of 3-4 students. Please begin team building right away. I encourage you to choose classmates with a variety of backgrounds, skills, and experiences. However, regular (weekly and sometimes more) meetings will be important so you might ask about schedule preferences.
Send in an email listing:
  - Your team members (last name, first name)
  - Team member email addresses
  - A proposed company name for your group project
email this to the instructor by Thursday September 28th

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Initial Work Plan

The group work required in this class is extensive. It is everyone's responsibility to ensure that group work is well done and turned in on time.

Prepare a document listing each assignment, its due date, a short description, and an estimate (wild guess :)) of how many hours the assignment might take.

For example: Individual UML diagram, due April 27th: Create an individual UML overview activity diagram based on our company narrative from PRJ1. We estimate this will take two hours per team member: about 10 person hours.

Include the following certification and have each team member sign the document:
I have read our initial work plan and noted the due dates.

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Business Documents

A few things to keep in mind:

A business document as a whole, and each part separately, should be structured to help the reader gain the most in the least amount of time.
Headings and paragraph topic sentences should accurately guide the reader.
Tables and figures
- should be presented in the body of the text not in an appendix,
- should be referenced in the text, and
- should have a descriptive caption as well as a name. Many readers only look at the pictures and captions. Make sure they get the main ideas.
Include a title page. Every business project write up should tell who created it and who the work was done for.
HAVE SOMEONE ELSE PROOF READ IT!
Poor organization, typos, bad grammar, and unclear writing characterize unprofessional work. Unprofessional work cannot receive better than a C.
FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. Business organizations like innovation but they do not tolerate work that does not cooperate with organizational protocol.

Format requirements:

Use headings and separate your text in logical blocks and segments.
Number pages (Title page has no number; First page with content has page number 1).
Integrate figures and tables into the text; do not add them as an appendix in the back of the report.
Caption figures and tables (use Microsoft Word support for this).
Spell check (both automatically and manually!).
Grammar check!
Peer review!!

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PRJ1

From Chapter 2, Jones and Rama, page 57-58, complete all 4 questions (DB2.1, DB2.2, DB2.3, and DB2.4).
This part asks you to create a business scenario and describe a business process.
Grading Criteria (out of 50 pts):

How good is the writing? (20)
Is the scenario reasonable? (10)
Do the process descriptions (DB2.2, 3, & 4) contain enough material to relate to several important PRJ concepts? (10)
Do the tables reflect good analysis? (10)

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Individual UML Activity Diagram

Each student is to attempt questions DB3.1 and DB3.2 for themselves first before you meet as a group to hammer out an answer.
The PRJ1 narratives are bound to be inadequate so each student will need to make some assumptions. Hopefully, you will have different ideas which are resolved in a collaborative process. Individual student diagrams are graded only as pass/fail with any reasonable attempt receiving a pass. Failing will result in a 2% reduction in the student’s final course grade.

PRJ2

From Chapter 3, Jones and Rama, page 102, complete all 4 questions. Turn in DB3.1, DB3.3, and DB3.4. This part asks you to create UML Activity diagrams for the business processes. Please create at least two detailed diagrams in addition to the overview diagram.
At this point you should begin preparing your draft revisions. As you do each new part of the project, you will need to go back and expand or change the previous documents. In your "draft revisions" document, write a brief paragraph describing the needed changes and include the relevant portions of the updated documents.
Grading Criteria (out of 75 pts):

Annotated copy of the narrative from DB2.2 (15)
Overview Activity Diagram (30)
Detailed Activity Diagrams (30)
Diagrams are scored for: Presentation (1/4), Correctness (1/2), Relevance to PRJ (1/4)

PRJ3

From Chapter 4, Jones and Rama, page 151, complete all 5 questions.
This part asks you to consider controls and risks for your system. DB4.1 asks you to generally describe the most important risks associated with your system. How could your company lose money to fraud or error in this documented process? What kinds of safeguards (controls) are needed to address these risks?
Revise PRJ1 and PRJ2 as appropriate. If you have created a scenario or selected a process which does not significantly involve controls, you will likely get a poor overall grade unless you adapt your scenario now.
Grading Criteria (50 pts): 10 for each question, analysis quality (6) and writing (4)

PRJ4

From Chapter 5, Jones and Rama, page 199, complete both questions.
This part asks you to create a class diagram. Identify the appropriate primary keys and relationships. Include 3 or more rows of sample data for each proposed table. PRJ4, PRJ5, and PRJ6 are all turned in together because they are closely related. However, I encourage you to prepare PRJ4 in advance and show me an advance copy. A few project teams are likely to experience difficulties as they attempt to create an appropriate set of tables. If the table structure is not correct, it will be very difficult to prepare high-quality reports and forms in PRJ5 and PRJ6.

For suggested formatting, please see the examples in the text on pages 213-214 and 240-241. They show the deliverables needed: A UML diagram, an entity/attribute list, and a set of sample data. Although you may create additional documents as you work through the process of creating a data design, only these three items need to be turned in. I should add that from my perspective, the examples the text have some flaws: On page 213 I think the sale table needs to include a deposit# if a relationship is to be charted between deposits and sales; on page 240, an additional field is needed to substantiate the relationship between the service_request and invoice tables. Corresponding changes are needed in the attribute lists and sample data.

Grading Criteria (50 pts):

UML Diagram (20),
Entities/Attribute list(15), and
Sample Data(15)
For the diagrams and tables I will consider
- accuracy (did you sensibly and consistently organize the items),
- coverage (have you included enough entities to meet the needs of the system), and
- completeness (did you include all the needed attributes).

PRJ5

From Chapter 6, Jones and Rama, page 258, complete all questions. Report layouts can be prepared in Excel. Design exemplary reports.
Grading Criteria (50 pts): I will consider conceptual understanding (accurate report types 1/3), completeness (data sources align with displayed data 1/3), and formatting (professional and well organized 1/3).

PRJ6

Base the work for PRJ6 on the methodologies presented in Jones and Rama Chapter 7.
List the events identified PRJ1 noting which events should be recorded in the information system and which tables will contain the data.
Create a Use Case diagram (not a use case description) which shows the forms (computer input/update screens) needed to support the activities in your system. (include no more than 10 forms).
Choose at least 3 forms for deeper analysis. Each system is likely to have far more than 3 forms. The idea is to learn to analyze forms thoroughly rather than to completely document all the forms in the system. The goal is for you to choose a few interesting forms to explore the material.

List all the tables used by each form labeling them as master, transaction, or junction tables.
Specify the form type using the categories from the chapter.
Specify if one or many rows from each table are used in the form.
Specify the fields used to select and join tables to get data for the form.
Identify the administrative roles which should be authorized to perform the form's functions.
Write a use case description for the form.
Document the control features used in the forms. For an idea on this, see Key Point 7.3, Panel C. on pg. 266. A minimum of 5 controls must be included in your set of forms, more are expected.
Make a mock-up of the form (in VB, VBA, Access, or VISIO, etc...). Be sure and include (and label) command buttons, pull down boxes, radio buttons, etc. as appropriate in your form layout. Include these annotated mockups as pictures in the document. Please note, the mock up does not access any data. It is for displaying the interface elements. The data structures do not have to be created in any database system for this project.
Selected forms must access at least 3 different tables.
At least one of the forms must access more than one table.

Grading Criteria: (50 pts):

Event list, form list, form types, and UML use case diagram (10)
Form layouts (5)
Administrative roles (5)
Description of data used (10)
Control features (10)
Use case descriptions (10)

Final Draft Packaging

The group project has four main parts: the narrative; the UML activity diagrams; the data, form, and report designs; and the final packaging. The final packaging requirements are extensive. Consistency between deliverables is an important grading criterion.

Write an executive summary for your report.
Executive summary means a one-page maximum description of the report. Pack in pertinent details where possible. The idea is that this one short section captures the essence of the project. A reader could read just this to learn the most important information and decide if the rest is worth reading. Here is an example:
This report presents our design of the sales support process which is part of the revenue transaction cycle for Dunavant of California. Our narrative and diagrams break the process into 11 events which help Dunavant execute and monitor the delivery and hedging of cotton sales. Several control steps protect the company from inaccurate position information which could potentially cause significant losses. For example, the position report is monitored daily and a numeric sequence is used to avoid misplaced sales information. Sales and position data stores are needed to support the process. Our UML Class diagram lists the tables and attributes. The matching of sales to tradable futures is a key feature of the data design. Each sale is assigned a growth attribute and the delivery months are kept first in the sale and later in the booking files to support matching to appropriate cotton contracts on the futures market. Our use case diagram and the supporting reports and form documentation emphasize the key user interactions with the system. Notably, sales and trade entry forms include look ups, defaults, and range input controls to increase the accuracy of data entry. Our change log notes eight changes made to previous documents, providing insight into the development process. It includes our addition of the commercial invoice to the system description. This modification of the original project scope was important in providing a complete picture of the control environment. We learned a lot about business process modeling and would want to improve on our delegation and record keeping skills if asked to go through such an exercise again.
Create a Table of Contents.
Write a 1-2 page summary of the work you did. Include comments on the controls embedded in your system and key evaluation points to be considered in governing the information system you describe. For example, what are the most important risks and how might they be controlled.
This will certainly repeat information from the executive summary.
- Describe the steps you went through. In PRJ1 we created a narrative describing...
- Summarize the controls which should apply to your process. This may well overlap with the control paragraph done in PRJ4 DB4.1 but it should also include elements which are not directly included. Cash handling, employee screening, change management...
- Discuss IT governance issues relevant to your project. For example: Software change management concerns are particularly important to the position system because traders rely on them to make financially significant decisions. Data security is also very important because if Dunavant’s competitors were to know its market position, significant losses might be incurred...
Include a final revised version of all project parts. (Do not include the individual UML diagrams or your original work plan.)
Draft Revision Log: As you do the various exercises, expand and/or update the previous deliverables. This is a way to help your team apply the concepts from class and to expose you to the system documentation process. A thoughtful and systematic draft revision log will enhance your learning as well as your grade. A good project will demonstrate many of the principles covered in the course. Don't get caught saying "Our scenario didn't involve any of that." Be positive, you chose your scenario and you can change it.
Write a 2-3 page summary of the lessons learned while doing this project. Be honest about things you could improve or could have done better.
Even if only one of you learned something, you can put it in.

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Group Member Evaluations:

Being a good group member is important!
Each group member is to complete 2 team member surveys: one after completing PRJ3, and one at the end of the term. Each team member is to create their own survey labeled with their name and group name. Emailed submissions will not be accepted. Describe, in one sentence, the contribution of each group member (including yourself). Also, rank each member's contribution as:

1 - small or none
2 - less than expected
3 - acceptable contribution
4 - above average
5 - exceptional

Failing to complete a required group member evaluation will result in a deduction of 2% against your final course grade. These confidential surveys will only be considered in the unlikely event that a team has a serious problem. I reserve the right to assign lower individual grades to under-performing students.
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Late Deliverables

Occasionally projects run late. A small amount of lateness can be overlooked (one class session at most) if 1) You tell me in advance you are running behind (keep me in the loop), 2) you have a good explanation, and 3) if you only turn in one or two parts late. Otherwise, you will be penalized 10% per week. Individual diagram assignments will not be accepted late.

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This page is maintained by Byron Marshall. Send E-mail to (byron.marshall@bus.oregonstate.edu)