Assignment

Question 1

a) We had learned to recognize the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) factors during all phases of SDLC and again, in Week 10, we had learned more about HCI (HCI history, user interface, usability, human factors, feedback, etc.) The HCI is a very important aspect in computer information technology and it is considered as a layer of communications and interactions between humans and the computer.

We had been discussed in Week 10 and understood about the reasons why the study of HCI has become increasingly important for all four phases of SDLC: Planning, Analysis, Design, and Implementation. Please identify and explain in at least one example to see what would happen to the next phase and/or the entire project if systems analysts do not include users in one of these four phases.

b) You are a project manager at L & D Inc., specialized in information technology and network engineering. One of your junior systems analyst came to you for an advice of a technology to capture user information requirements. He described to you that he had talked with his client several times in the past week to define user information requirements. Each time he thought he had captured user information requirements, they've already changed. Finally, he thinks his clients do not even know what they want for their system.

1. Give your junior systems analyst an advice of a technology that he could use to capture user information requirements.

2. Explain to him how this technology can help him to better define users' information requirements.

For this question, please limit your response to a maximum of one page.

Clarification:

Students should take the word "technology" as being defined in several dictionaries as a scientific method, technique, theory, or practice to solve a practical problem. I copy here some definitions of the word "technology" from several dictionaries that you might refer to answer your question.

• The application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives.
• The scientific method and material used to achieve a commercial or industrial objective.
• The application of practical sciences to industry or commerce.
• The methods, theory, and practices governing such application a highly developed technology.
• The use of scientific knowledge to solve practical problems, especially in industry & commerce.
• The specific methods, materials, and devices used to solve practical problems.

c) As we learned in Week 5 lectures, Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) are used to describe communications between the system and the outside entities and the flow of data or information into and out of a system. There are 4 main elements that are used to construct context-level diagrams, level-0 diagrams, level-1 diagrams, etc.

1. List these 4 main elements and briefly describe their functions?

2. Identify which elements could or could not be in the context-level diagram and which elements could or could not be in the level-0 diagram?

Question 2

Michael, who is a restaurant owner, wants to be able to receive clear feedback on the systems used to manage his restaurants.

Design a display that shows an acceptable way to tell Michael that input to his system was accepted. Make sure that all three types of following of feedback messages are covered.

1. Action successful.
2. An error in the user entry.
3. Please wait messages, indicating that a response time of more than 5 to 10 seconds will elapse.

Question 3

A summary of business activities of a "Course Registration System" for enrolling courses for students and for enrolled class lists for faculty members at an online university is as follows:

An academic department provides information on offered courses. Students request enrollment in offered courses and the system sends to each student an enrollment schedule. Faculty members receive enrolled class lists when the registration period is complete.

1. Draw a context-level diagram for the "Course Registration System"

2. Explode the above context-level diagram by drawing the logical data flow diagram level 0 showing all the major processes.

Question 4

A local community is hosting several charity events during Spring 2017 and you are tasked to design an entity-relationship diagram (ERD) for the situation described as follows.

Many volunteers can participate in many different charity events and one person, called the charity events coordinator, assumes the role of overseeing these charity events.

You must (1) draw the ERD, (2) handle many-to-many relationships, if any, in the ERD using knowledge learned in Week 7 lectures and (3) identify primary keys for each entity in the ERD.

Question 5

Consider the following agent sales report in which:

1. Each agent covers only one state but each state may be assigned to many agents
2. Each agent may have many customers
3. Each customer has only one store but each store may service many customers
4. There is a one-to-one correspondence between "Customer ID" and "Customer Name" and between "Store ID" and "Store Location".

AGENT-SALES-REPORT

Perform the normalization process to convert the above un-normalized table to

1. First normal form (1NF)
2. Second normal form (2NF)
3. Third normal form (3NF)

Please show all your work. Please show each step along the way and identify primary keys, if any, in each table in each step.