TOPIC 1

System fundamentals (20 hours)

1.1.1 Identify the context for which a new system is
planned.

• What is the problem that the new system is going to

solve?
• Alternative solutions
• Staffing: numbers, training
• Cost
• Time
• Compatibility with existing systems
• Infrastructure requirements, eg existing network
• Bespoke (custom-made) software versus off-the-shelf
TELOS
A school of 900 students wants to plan a new system. The school hopes the new system is a
secure web-based application which manages attendance data. The school administrators
want to carefully track attendance for the students so it can identify when students have been
absent for a customizable threshold. For example, the school might set a threshold of 5
absences within 30 days, which then automatically notifies the student, parent, and teacher
there is a problem with attendance. The threshold might be 3 times within 10 days, or
something like that. The system should keep track of attendance and tardies. The system
should have customizable attendance codes. For example, "absence" for school trip",
"excused absence", "medical absence" are all allowed absence codes.
School administrators expect to benefit by having data about attendance so they can support
students and parents to be in school. School administrators also expect to benefit by giving
parents and students information about attendance (so parents can support their children to
be in school). Finally, school administrators expect to benefit by using attendance data to
apply for government funding (as they can prove how many students were in class on a
specific day).
Parents expect to benefit by knowing when their children are in school or miss school. This
way parents can support their children to be in school. Being in school is a shared value that
the school hopes the parents share.

● Identify the relevant stakeholders when planning a new system.

1.1.2 Describe the need for change management.

• Communication of the need for and benefits of change

• Users may require training
• Recruitment may be necessary to bring in suitable
skillsets
• Stakeholder support
• Planning, milestones, completion date
• Dependencies between project stages/components
• Compatibility between old system and new system
• Testing
1.1.3 Outline compatibility issues resulting from situations
including legacy systems or business mergers.
• Legacy system: an old technology or computer system,
often one that is inherited by one company when another
company is bought out
• When two businesses merge, their computer systems
may be incompatible with each other eg in terms of
• Operating systems
• Data formats
• Hardware
• Legacy systems are not always immediately replaced for
a number of possible reasons:
• They might still work well
• It might be too costly to develop a new system
• Users are comfortable and retraining would be too much of an
upheaval
• Perhaps nobody understands how it works!
 Software-as-a-service is the idea that your software
1.1.4 Compare the needs are provided by a remotely hosted system,
that is managed by an ASP (Application Service
implementation of systems using Provider), rather than having your own hardware
and technical staff. Most organisations have some
a client’s hardware with hosting mix of in-house and outsourced systems.

systems remotely.
• This point is about whether you should buy hardware for your
system and manage it yourself (in-house), or rent the hardware
and have someone else host and manage it (outsourced)

In-house Outsourced
🗶 High initial cost (have to buy ✔ Low initial cost (hosting company
hardware) owns hardware)
🗶 Technical skill required meaning ✔ No technical skill required (hosting
recruitment costs and possibly high company has its own skilled staff)
salary costs
✔ Low ongoing cost (no rental or 🗶 High ongoing cost (rental of
management fee) hardware or management services)
✔ Full control 🗶 Loss of full control
✔ All data kept within the organisation 🗶 Potentially security/confidentiality
risk
 Let’s move
Mom , Dad, Rishik and Ridhima have just bought a new house in Exquisite. The
civil work is done, Carpentry and civil work is done and the family is ready to move
however they are not sure if they should move all their stuff at once, or move it
over a period of time.

Take the next 5 minutes to come up with different strategies for the family to help
them move.
 1.1.5 Evaluate alternative installation processes.
Parallel running Pilot running
Old system and new system at the same time. New system used by a some limited group, perhaps
• Very low risk because even if new system one office, rather than the whole company.
doesn’t work the old system is still there to cope • Again low risk because old system is still
with problems. running.
• May need extra employees to work both • Cheaper than parallel running in terms of extra
systems at the same time. More work and higher staff and extra work required.
salary costs. • Risk that new system problems won't be
detected because number of users and amount
of data is unrepresentative.

Phased conversion Direct changeover

Going from old system to new system in steps. "Big bang" or "flicking the switch". Going from old
• Longer period of time in which employees can system to new system overnight.
learn to use the new system. Lowest cost if all goes well.
• Low risk of large problems because each phase Substantial risk from problems with the new system
implies only a small change. because old system is no longer there to rely on.
• Not always possible. Some systems are all or
nothing and cannot be introduced in stages.
Task
Ms Sandra has decided to launch a new app/website on reselling used cars. Her
website is almost ready, recommend strategies for the website implementation

Table A: Direct

Table B: Parallel

Table C:Pilot

Table D:Phased

Discuss in pairs the Pros and Cons of each of the 4 methods of testing and present to the
class
Revise the topics you have covered till
now in class
Take the first formative
You will answer the questions in your
notebooks and submit screenshots after
done on managebac.
FORMATIVE 1
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CsG58O_itR2FKseu-y-
bOGMO8zbnrVDk/view?usp=drive_link
1.1.6 Discuss problems that may arise as a part of data
migration.

• Data migration is the process of moving data from one

system to another, usually an older system to a newer
one.
• Issues that can arise (according to the guide) are:
• Incompatible file formats, data structures, validation rules
• Incomplete data transfer
• International conventions on dates, currencies and character sets
• Data often has to undergo a conversion process before it
can be loaded into the new system.
Solve

The office manager decides to buy and install new software

and hardware.

● Outline one problem that may arise from the installation of

new hardware and software in the office.

The changeover to the new system can be achieved by

either direct changeover or phased conversion.

● Compare direct changeover and phased conversion.

What are some issues that relate to installation of a new system

What is meant by the term Business Merger?What are the 4 ways

of integration in business merger?

What is Software incompatibility?

What are Three advantages/Disadvantages of Saas?

What is change management?

What is TELOS?

What does each strand stand for?

Different types of data
 How important is testing? Implementation of a buggy
system can lead to loss of productivity, customer
dissatisfaction and can mean that users don't want
to use the system. This last problem can be very
difficult to undo.
1.1.7 Suggest various types of testing.
Consider how important testing is for each of the
implementation strategies in 1.1.5.

These are not mutually exclusive alternatives. There is some crossover

between them:
• Debugging: Ongoing. Happens during development
• Alpha testing: The first stage of testing, done by the programmers
themselves
• Beta testing: Later testing, done by future users when the system is almost
finalised
• Black-box testing: Testing what the system is supposed to do, from the
point of view of the user, with no knowledge of how the program does what it
does
• White-box testing: Testing the system from the point of view of the
programmer, with full knowledge of how it does what it does
• Unit testing: Testing the modules or components of the system separately
• System testing: Testing the system as a whole
• Acceptance testing: The last testing phase once the system is delivered to
the user
• Automated testing: Using software to test software
Validation and verification in relation to
data input
Validation is the process of evaluating whether data input
follows appropriate specifications and is within reasonable
limits.

Verification is the process of ensuring that the data input is

the same as the original source data.
A way of ensuring data verification is through double entry.
Verification vs validation software testing

Verification - confirmation that a computer product meets

identified specifications
Are we developing the system correctly?
Does the product comply with a specific regulation or
condition?

Validation- Confirmation that a computer product meets its

design function or is appropriate for the intended use.
Are we developing the correct system?
Does the product meet the customers needs?
1.1.8 Describe the importance of user documentation.

• Non-technical (as opposed to sytem documentation)

• Installation, operation, troubleshooting
• Sample data and screens
• One of the biggest difficulties with a new system is a
userbase that is unwilling or unable to adopt the new
system (old habits die hard)
• Good user documentation can go a long way to making a
new system successful by easing the transition
1.1.9 Evaluate different methods of providing user
documentation.

• Paper manuals:
• Don't need to be near a computer
• Need multiple copies
• Online manuals:
• Can make use of rich media
• Can search
• Always available
• Interactive tutorials:
• Makes the learning process more interesting
• Dedicated support teams:
• Can give accurate, focused assistance
• Increases salary bill
 1.1.10 Evaluate different methods of delivering user
training.
• Company must provide time • Self-study from printed material may be slow, boring,
inauthentic and requires users to be highly motivated.
for training and have a
• Learning in groups and classes can help users to feel more
training plan secure and involved, but it takes time out of the working day
• Basic computer skills – what and users might be unwilling to attend classes in their free
time.
does the system assume you
• Online/remote training or assistance can reduce travel costs
already know? but there can be problems with time zones
• Different training for different • Interactive programs make learning fun and don't need to be
roles, eg administrator, managed by a person. However, they may provide less
focused training and be unable to respond to a particular user's
superuser, end-user needs.
• Online interactive training • Practice with the system itself is the most authentic learning
programs experience but it could cause problems with live data.
• Allowing users to give feedback gives them a sense of
• A support department
ownership.
• "Hands-on" – practise with • Forums and FAQs allow the users to build their own
the system itself knowledgebase.
• A variety of training methods gives users a spectrum of
• Group activities and role play
learning experiences.
• Blogs, wikis, forums, FAQs • Dedicated support teams can give focused attention and
• Getting feedback from users provide a personal touch.
1.1.11 Identify a range of causes of data loss.

• Viruses, malware, deliberate deletion of data

• Natural disasters, such as fire, earthquake, flooding.
• Hardware failure
• User error (accidental deletion)
• Physical damage, eg dropping a hard disk
• Power failure can cause data that has not already been
written to disk to be lost. It can be mitigated by using a
UPS (uninterruptible power supply)

• Back-ups are essential but they present extra security

issues.
1.1.12 Outline the consequences of data loss in a specified
situation.

• Business activities may have to be suspended

• You can't deliver goods to your customers if you have lost all their
orders
• You can't bill your customers if you have lost their account details
• It is damaging to an organisation's reputation
• Customers may have to be notified

• There may be costs associated with replacing the data

1.1.13 Describe a range of methods that can be used to
prevent data loss.
• Back-up
• Removable media: Cheap, simple to install (USB), large capacity,
easy to move offsite.
• Offsite: Take back-ups offsite in case of disasters like fire or flooding.
• Online: Always available, need internet connection, possible security
risk.
• Antivirus: Prevent malware from deleting/editing data.
• Failover and redundancy:
• A redundant system is a clone of an existing that is kept up-to-date in
case the primary system fails
• Failover is the process of detecting a failure of the primary system and
switching users to the redundant system
• This is often done with large enterprise servers because of the high
cost that would be associated with a server outage
1.1.14 Describe strategies for managing releases and
updates.
• The software life cycle involves continuous monitoring, testing, bug-
fixing and re-development
• Hence the need for multiple releases and updates of software
• Reasons include:
• Bug-fix (often called a "patch")
• Security threat
• User requests
• Additional features
• Mechanism: Software compares current release with latest release via
internet. If the current release is out-of-date, the newer version is
downloaded and installed.
• Some software allows automatic update option, eg Windows update.
• Possible issue: How do you know that the update is genuine? How do
you know that it doesn't grant the software extra privileges that you
wouldn't have agreed to on first installation, eg accessing your contacts?
• Possible solution: On first install, Android apps have to declare the
privileges they require, and they can update themselves only if they do
not require extra privileges.
1.2.1 Define the terms: hardware, software, peripheral,
network, human resources.

• Hardware: The machines, wiring, and other physical

components of a computer or other electronic system
• Software: The instructions and data that can be stored
electronically in a computer system.
• Peripheral: A computer device, such as a CD-ROM drive
or a printer, that is not part of the main computer but
which is added to provide some extra function.
• Network: A group of two or more computers linked via a
wired or wireless communication medium.
• Human resources: The personnel or workers of a
business or organization, esp. when regarded as a
significant asset.
1.2.2 Describe the roles that a computer can take in a
networked world.
• Client: A computer on a network that makes requests to a
server.
• Server: A computer on a network that listens to and responds
to requests from clients. Examples are file servers, database
servers, web servers, etc.
• Email server: A computer on a network dedicated to sending
and receiving email.
• DNS server: DNS = Domain Name Service. A computer on a
network that translates between user-friendly names of network
resources and their numerical IP address. Example: User-
friendly name: www.yahoo.com, IP address: 206.190.36.150.
• Router: A computer on a network that is responsible for
sending network packets to the right host, subnet or network.
• Firewall: A computer on a network that limits the flow of data
packets for a number of different reasons including: port
number, application, content
1.2.3 Discuss the social and ethical issues associated with
a networked world
1.2.4 Identify the relevant stakeholders when planning a
new system
A "stakeholder" is any person or organization that is actively
involved in a project, or whose interests may be affected
positively or negatively by execution of a project.
Examples are:
• End-users of the planned system
• Basic user, superuser, administrator
• Other employees
• Customers
• Suppliers
• Shareholders
• Unions
• Local community
• Etc
1.2.5 Describe methods of obtaining requirements from
stakeholders.

• Surveys:
• Adv: You can get information from a lot of people quickly
• Disadv: The survey may not ask the right questions. Qualitative
information difficult to quantify.
• Interviews:
• Adv: Stakeholders can make you aware of things you hadn't
thought of, unlike with survey in which their answers are restricted
• Disadv: Time-consuming. Stakeholders may give biased
information.
• Direct observations:
• Adv: Avoids bias.
• Disadv: Time-consuming. Observer can affect the process.
1.2.6 Describe appropriate techniques for gathering the
information needed to arrive at a workable solution.

• Examine the current system to see how it works. What

are the inputs and outputs? What processing is done?
What different roles are there for the users?
• Competing products can give ideas about different way
to achieve the same aim.
• Organisational capabilities. Are there experts within the
organisation who can be consulted?
• A literature search is the term given to a systematic
study to previous project reports to in an attempt to see if
the problem has already been solved by someone else
1.2.7 Construct suitable representations to illustrate system
requirements.

Structure diagram
• This just shows how something can be broken down. It
doesn't imply any sort of sequence.
• You probably will do this as part of your IA

Main
problem

Small Small Small

task A task B task C
Other example:
Data flow diagram
1.2.7 Construct suitable representations to illustrate system
requirements.

Data Flow Diagram

A data flow diagram (DFD) maps out the flow of information for any process or
system.

It uses defined symbols like rectangles, circles and arrows, plus short text
labels, to show data inputs, outputs, storage points and the routes between
each destination.

DFD can often visually “say” things that would be hard to explain in words, and
they work for both technical and nontechnical audiences, from developer to
CEO.
1.2.7 Construct suitable representations to illustrate system
requirements.

Data Flow Diagram

1.2.7 Construct suitable representations to illustrate system
requirements.

Systems Flowchart
• You need to think about inputs, processing, outputs
• They are often shaped with inputs at the top, processing
as the middle, and outputs at the bottom

Input/
Manual Hours Master
Output Transaction
Input worked File
File

Tape
Storage Process Document
Calculate Pay

Updated
Disk Documents Master Payslips
Storage File
1.2.7 Construct suitable representations to illustrate system
requirements.

Systems Flowchart Examples

Customer orders are collected on
paper, keyed in, and stored in the
customer orders file. A stock master
file is searched to determine whether
sufficient stock is available and an
appropriate report is produced.
Construct a systems flowchart
representing the process described
above. [5 marks]
1.2.7 Construct suitable representations to illustrate system
requirements.

Systems Flowchart Examples

A program accesses a text file on

disk. To edit the text the user of the
program enters data using a
keyboard. The program then
amends the text which was read
from the file, writes the updated file
back to disk and produces a printed
report of all amendments made to
the text file. Construct a systems
flowchart representing the process.
[4 marks]
 1.2.7 Construct suitable representations to illustrate system
requirements.

Systems Flowchart Examples

A sequential transaction file is

sorted, stored onto a hard disk,
and a printed report is produced.
Construct a systems flowchart
representing the process. [4 marks]
1.2.8 Describe the purpose of prototypes to demonstrate
the proposed system to the client.

• Allows the user to give the developer immediate

feedback
• Gives the client a better sense of what the software will be
like because it's easier to understand a prototype than,
say, a written description
• Allows the developer to verify that he understands the
requirements
• Allows the client to change/amend requirements before
the software is developed
• This reduces costs in the long term
• And saves time
1.2.9 Discuss the importance of iteration during the design
process.

• Once the system is in use, users

might find:
• bugs
• unfulfilled requirements
• new requirements
• improvements
• There may be changes to other
systems that necessitate changes,
eg a new operating system
• Any changes to a system start a
new cycle of design and
development
1.2.10 Explain the possible consequences of failing to
involve the end-user in the design process.
• The end-users are the experts and they know what they need
from the system better than anyone
• If users are not involved in the design process, there is an
increased chance that the software will be designed
inappropriately
• If this happens, the client will end up not using the software
• This means that the development cost will have been wasted
• There may also be reduced productivity in the client
organisation
• Involving the user requires constant communication in a
variety of ways, including surveys, interviews, focus groups,
responses to prototypes, etc
 1.2.11 Discuss the social and ethical issues associated
with the introduction of new IT systems.
Summary of Social and Ethical Issues Social and ethical issues related to information systems and databases
• privacy of the individual – security of data and information • acknowledgment of data sources
• accuracy of data and information • the freedom of information act
• changing nature of work • privacy principles
• appropriate information use • accuracy of data and the reliability of data sources
• health and safety • access to data, ownership and control of data
• copyright laws • new trends in the organisation, processing, storage and retrieval of data such as data warehousing and data-mining
Social and ethical issues in collecting Social and ethical issues related to communication systems
• bias in the choice of what and where to collect data • the use of communication systems to share knowledge, not just data
• accuracy of the collected data • issues related to messaging systems
• copyright and acknowledgment of source data when collecting • ideas delivered by this means appear less forceful and caring than ideas delivered personally
• the rights to privacy of individuals on whom data is collected • danger of being misinterpreted
• power relationships
• ergonomic issues for participants entering large volumes of data into an information system
• privacy and confidentiality
Social and ethical issues associated with organising • electronic junk mail
• current trends in organising data, such as: • information overload
• the increase in hypermedia as a result of the world wide web • implications of Internet trading including:
• the ability of software to access different types of data • local taxation laws
• a greater variety of ways to organise resulting from advances in display technology • employment ramifications
• the cost of poorly organised data, such as redundant data in a database used for mail-outs • nature of business
• the appropriateness of a two digit date field at a time when storage and processing was more expensive, versus the • trading over the Internet and its commercial implications
current inappropriateness • the difficulties of censoring content on the Internet
Social and ethical issues associated with analysis • issues arising from Internet banking, including:
• unauthorised analysis of data • security of banking details
• changing nature of work
• data incorrectly analysed
• branch closure and job loss
• erosion of privacy from linking databases for analysis • the removal of physical boundaries by enabling:
Social and ethical issues associated with storing/retrieving • work from home
• the security of stored data • virtual organisations, ie organisations structured around the communication system
• unauthorised retrieval of data • removal of national and international barriers to trade
• advances in storage and retrieval technologies and new uses such as data matching • how participants are supported:
Social and ethical issues associated with processing • individuals by providing a means for communication
• types of computers on networks • participant teams by enabling the exchange of ideas and data
• flexibility from the distributed processing of personal computers on networks • the emerging trend of accessing media such as radio and video across the Internet
• security from the centralised processing of network computers (terminals) Social and ethical issues related to multimedia systems
• ownership of processed data • copyright: the acknowledgment of source data and the ease with which digital data can be modified
• bias in the way participants in the system process data • appropriate use of the Internet and the wide spread application of new developments on it such as live video data
Social and ethical issues associated with transmitting and receiving • the merging of radio, television, communications and the Internet with the increase and improvements in digitisation
• accuracy of data received from the Internet • the integrity of the original source data in educational and other multimedia systems
• security of data being transferred Social and ethical issues related to transaction processing systems
• net-etiquette • changing nature of work and the effect on participants, including:
• the automation of jobs once performed by clerks
• acknowledgment of data source
• the bypassing of clerks by people in the environment performing their former roles
• global network issues, time zones, date fields, exchange rates (Eg collecting now done by customers using the bank's ATM machines instead of via the bank clerk)
• changing nature of work for participants, such as work from home and telecommuting • the need for non-computer procedures to deal with transactions when the computer is not available in real time systems
• current developments and future trends in digital communications, radio and television • bias in data collection:
• the impact of the Internet on traditional business • when establishing the system and deciding what data to collect
Social and ethical issues associated with displaying • when collecting data
• communication skills of those presenting displays • the importance of data in transaction processing, including:
• past, present and emerging trends in displays • data security
• data accuracy
• appropriate displays for a wide range of audiences, including:
• data integrity
• standards for display for the visually impaired
• control in transaction processing and the implications it has for participants in the system
• displays suitable for young children
Social and ethical issues associated with Planning, Design and Implementation
• machine-centred systems simplify what computers do at the expense of participants
• human-centred systems as those that make participants’ work as effective and satisfying as possible
• how the relationships between participants change as a result of the new system
• ensuring the new system provides participants with a safe work environment
• awareness of the impact the system may have on the participants:
• opportunities to use their skills
• meaningful work
• need for change
• opportunities for involvement and commitment
1.2.12 Define the term usability.

• Usability: The notion of how easy a system is to learn and use

• Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the
first time they encounter the design?
• Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they
perform tasks?
• Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not
using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?
• Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors,
and how easily can they recover from the errors?
• Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?
• Ergonomics: designing and arranging things people use so
that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely
• Accessibility: The ability of people to access and benefit from
some system. Often people with disabilities or special needs.
1.2.13 Identify a range of usability problems with commonly
used digital devices.

Students should be aware of usability issues in a range of

devices including PCs, digital cameras, cell phones, games
consoles, MP3 players and other commonly used digital
devices. [IB guide]
• Confusing navigation
• Lack of help
• No search facility
• Small, fiddly buttons
• Too complex, too many functions
1.2.14 Identify methods that can be used to improve the
accessibility of systems.

• Touch screen
• Voice recognition
• Text-to-speech
• Braille keyboard
• Screen magnifier
• Font adjustment and zoom

• https://www.apple.com/accessibility/ios/
• http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/windows8/
• http://www.google.com/accessibility/products/
1.2.15 Identify a range of usability problems that can occur
in a system.

These should be related to the following systems:

• Ticketing: Ticketing usually applies to help desks, ie
support tickets. I guess time zones could be a problem
when you need online support.
• Online payroll: Internet downtime, currency dependent
• Scheduling: Time zone wrong
• Voice recognition: Can't understand accents/languages or
speech-impaired users
• Systems that provide feedback: Feedback not provided in
a usable format. Compatibility.
1.2.16 Discuss the moral, ethical, social, economic and
environmental implications of the interaction between
humans and machines.
• See 1.2.11