System Investigation Report
Project Name: TAFE Solution
Resubmission of Investigation Report (Version 4.0)





Ali Goodarzi
Koan Stevenson
Chhiv Leng Koeu
Ferhad Neekzad
Vinod Prasad
Group 2
17-Mar-08
System investigation Report
Creation Date: Friday, 02 March, 2008
Last Revised: Monday, 17 March, 2008
Version 4.0
Tasks
Executive summary
Author
Koan Stevenson
Editor
Koan Stevenson
Review
Ali Goodarzi
Problem Statement
Koan Stevenson
Koan Stevenson
Ali Goodarzi
Client List
Business Functions
Koan Stevenson
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi
Detailed Business Functions
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi
Feasibility Study
Vinod Prasad
Koan Stevenson
Risk Lists
Koan Stevenson, Vinod
Prasad
Koan Stevenson
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi
Assumptions
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi
Constraints
Ferhad Neekzad
Ferhad Neekzad
Recourses Including Team
Profiles
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi, Ferhad
Neekzad
Ali Goodarzi
Gantt Chart
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi
Ali Goodarzi
Documentation and design: Ali Goodarzi
Report:






System investigation review and updated
Feasibility updated
Project plan Updated
Document style updated
Risk list updated
Business Functions changed
X
ALI GOODARZI
Project Leader
Group2 |
1
Table of Contents
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................... 3
Document Scope ....................................................................................................................................... 3
PROBLEM STATEMENT.................................................................................................................................. 4
CLIENT LIST .................................................................................................................................................... 5
BUSINESS FUNCTIONS ................................................................................................................................... 6
High Level Business Functions: ................................................................................................................. 6
DETAILED BUSINESS FUNCTIONS .............................................................................................................. 7
FEASIBILITY STUDY ...................................................................................................................................... 11
Technical Feasibility ................................................................................................................................ 11
Operational feasibility ............................................................................................................................. 12
Schedule Feasibility ................................................................................................................................. 12
RISK LIST ...................................................................................................................................................... 13
PROJECT PLAN ............................................................................................................................................. 17
Assumptions............................................................................................................................................ 17
Constraints .............................................................................................................................................. 17
Time .................................................................................................................................................... 17
Information ......................................................................................................................................... 17
Resources ............................................................................................................................................ 17
Resources ................................................................................................................................................ 18
Equipment Resources ......................................................................................................................... 18
Research and Learning Recourses ...................................................................................................... 20
Human Recourses ............................................................................................................................... 21
Team Profile ............................................................................................................................................ 22
References .................................................................................................................................................. 24
Group2 |
2
Executive Summary
This document contains all the information required for the Systems Investigation of a project called
TAFE Solution. Systems Investigation entails the initial analysis of the project and gathering the
requirements needed.
Technical and Further Education (TAFE) is the largest tertiary educational institution in Australia and
enrols over 1.4 million students yearly.
The key business functions for TAFE Solution are: posting questions and answers, attaching data to
those questions and answers, and engaging in group discussions.
The feasibility study demonstrates that the project is technically feasible and able to be completed
within schedule. The technology used for the creation of the system includes web 2.0 techniques and
.NET 3.5 programming. The project is to be completed by the 19th of June at the latest.
The major risks of failure and the solutions to those risks have been identified. The team is fairly
inexperienced and has not worked together before. The solution is to do a large amount of research,
keep detailed documentation and stay in as much contact as possible during the project. A detailed risk
analysis will be constantly updated.
The Project Plan includes Assumptions, Constraints, Resources and Project Management. It is assumed
that all members of the team are proficient in software development and committed to the completion
of the project.
Constraints include the amount of time the team can spend together and the teams’ inexperience.
Resources include software, hardware, the TAFE College and students, team members, and colleagues
and associates of the team members. The Project will be managed by using a Gantt chart, sticking to
schedule and having regular meetings.
Document Scope
The purpose of TAFE Solution is to create an online tool that will help TAFE students to discuss problems
and projects regarding their course. More specifically the System will allow the creation of accounts,
facilitate communication and store data.
The client for this project is the TAFE College. The users are the students currently and previously
enrolled. TAFE students have diverse backgrounds and span the full spectrum of ages from school
leavers to mature aged students.
Group2 | Executive Summary
3
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Institutes enrol over 1.4 million students in Australia and are a
vital part of the public education system. There are 68 institutes nationwide and many campuses within
those institutes.
There is a lack of communication between students from different institutes and campuses. TAFE
websites are limited to the individual states and territories within Australia.
Individual campuses provide a wide variety of learning resources to help communication, including
teachers, libraries, computers, software and access to the internet. But some of the best resources are
the students themselves.
TAFE students need a nationwide forum in which to discuss problems and projects regarding their
course. The purpose of this project is to create an online tool that will provide the former. Users will
include enrolled TAFE students, and previously enrolled students.
More specifically, the system will:



Allow users to creating an account
Allow users to post questions
Allow user to post answers

Facilitate communication regarding TAFE related subjects

Help to determine the best answers by using the voting system (optional)
Group2 | PROBLEM STATEMENT
4
CLIENT LIST
The system owner is the Petersham TAFE College.
The post-development owners are the staff of the IT department of the Sydney Institute. These are the
people who will manage changes, errors and enhancements after the system has been put in place. A
change and error reporting process will be included in the System Deployment Report.
The users are the TAFE students. In 2006, the Australian Education Union (AEU) sponsored an Inquiry
into TAFE. The TAFE Futures Inquiry found that:
•
TAFE students are diverse in backgrounds, interests, needs and experiences and span the full
spectrum of ages from school leavers to existing workers to mature aged students
•
Students have positive attitudes towards TAFE, and high expectations of their learning outcomes
•
Students are attracted to TAFE to learn ‘hands on’ practical skills, because they are “treated like
an adult” and there are “teachers who are willing to help you”.
Group2 | CLIENT LIST
5
BUSINESS FUNCTIONS
High Level Business Functions:
1. Record new member data
2. Update member data
3. Delete a member
4. Show member lists
5. Update student profile
6. Show member profile
7. Record new query
8. Delete a query
9. Record new answer
10. Delete a answer
11. Record new comment
12. Show thread(query, answer, comment)
13. Show member activity
14. Record student vote for specified answer
15. Record Private message
16. Show private message
17. Delete private message
18. Report Abuse article(query, answer, comment)
19. Show abuse behaves
20. Find relevant post
Group2 | BUSINESS FUNCTIONS
6
DETAILED BUSINESS FUNCTIONS
Reference
1.
Business Function
Importance
Record new member data
Essential
1.1
Capture student Data (Username, student name, Email
address, Password)
Essential
1.2
Check that student data does not conflict with existing
student data (e.g. username taken before)
Essential
Update member data
Essential
2.1
Check student is a member (signed in)
Essential
2.2
Capture student Data (student name, Email address,
student Number, Password)
Essential
2.3
Replace student data
Essential
Delete a member
Desirable
3.1
Check that operator is Administrator(signed in)
Desirable
3.2
Capture member username
Desirable
3.3
Update the member list
Desirable
Show member list
Essential
4.1
Check that operator is Administrator(signed in)
Essential
4.2
Capture all username and date of registration
Essential
Update student profile
Desirable
Check student is a member (signed in)
Desirable
Capture profile Data (Profile description, Profile picture,
weblog address, email address, date of birth, location,
contact details)
Show member profile
Desirable
6.1
Check student is a member (signed in)
Desirable
6.2
Capture username
Desirable
2.
3.
4.
5.
5.1
5.2
6.
Desirable
Group2 | BUSINESS FUNCTIONS
7
Reference
7.
Business Function
Importance
Record new query
Essential
7.1
Check student is a member (signed in)
Essential
7.2
Check that the query does not exist before
Desirable
7.3
Capture topic (categories)
Essential
7.4
Record new thread
Essential
7.5
Capture query
Essential
7.5
Record date-time
Essential
7.7
Increase and record student reputations
Desirable
Delete a query
Desirable
8.1
Check that operator is Administrator(signed in)
Desirable
8.2
Capture query location
Desirable
8.3
Delete thread
Desirable
Record new answer
Essential
9.1
Check student is a member (signed in)
Essential
9.2
Check that query exist
Essential
9.3
Capture answer
Essential
9.2
Capture query location
Essential
9.3
Record date-time
Essential
9.4
Update thread
Essential
9.5
Increase and record student reputations
Desirable
Delete answer
Desirable
10.1
Check that operator is Administrator(signed in)
Desirable
10.2
Capture query location
Desirable
10.3
Update thread
Desirable
8.
9.
10.
Group2 | BUSINESS FUNCTIONS
8
Reference
11.
Business Function
Importance
Record new comment
Essential
11.1
Check student is a member (signed in)
Essential
11.2
Capture comment
Essential
11.3
Update thread
Essential
Show thread
Essential
Determine location of articles(query, answer, comment)
Essential
Show member activity
Desirable
13.1
Capture member reputations
Desirable
13.2
Capture all article that posted by this member
Desirable
Record student vote for specified answer
Desirable
14.1
Check student is a member (signed in)
Desirable
14.2
Check student did not vote for this answer before
Desirable
14.2
Capture student vote
Desirable
14.3
Record date-time
Desirable
5.4
Determine total vote for specified answer
Desirable
5.5
Determine and record student reputations that assigned to
answer
Record Private message
Desirable
15.1
Check student is a member (signed in)
Desirable
15.2
Capture sender username
Desirable
15.3
Capture receiver username
Desirable
15.4
Capture the message
Desirable
15.5
Record date-time
Desirable
Show private message
Desirable
16.1
Check student is a member (signed in)
Desirable
16.2
Show sender username and message
Desirable
12.
12.1
13.
14.
15.
16.
Desirable
Group2 | BUSINESS FUNCTIONS
9
Reference
17
Business Function
Importance
Delete private message
Desirable
17.1
Check student is a member (signed in)
Desirable
17.2
Capture private message location
Desirable
Report Abuse article(Question, answer, comment)
Desirable
18.1
Check that the reporter is a member (signed in)
Desirable
18.2
Capture reporter username
Desirable
18.3
Capture reporter reputations
Desirable
18.4
Capture article link
Desirable
18.5
Determine priority
Desirable
18.6
Record abuse report data
Desirable
Show abuse article
Desirable
19.1
Check that operator is Administrator(signed in)
Desirable
19.2
Determine priority of report(relate to the reporter
reputation)
Determine reporter username and article location
Desirable
Find relevant post
Desirable
20.1
Find post by keyword
Desirable
20.2
Find post by date
Desirable
20.3
Find post by author
Desirable
18.
19.
19.3
20.
Desirable
Group2 | BUSINESS FUNCTIONS
10
FEASIBILITY STUDY
Technical Feasibility
Today’s technology has made it relatively easy for us to complete the project. As opposed to ten years ago,
everyone has easy access to the internet and there are a lot of user-friendly techniques for creating web
applications.
Three options for creating our project have been examined:
1. PHP and Java
2. Perl and CGI
3. ASP.NET and C#.NET
Option 3 has been chosen as the most efficient technique for several reasons:








Our team has more knowledge of the .NET framework
Our team has more access to .NET tutorials and lectures
. NET is language independent
ASP.NET and the .NET Framework simplify development by separating the application logic and
presentation logic
The .NET Framework makes it easy to deploy applications
Compared with native code, Java Virtual Machines are slow
CGI and Perl are not popular techniques and therefore do not have as many recourses such as
IDEs
Perl has a difficult syntax to understand
Group2 | FEASIBILITY STUDY
11
Operational feasibility

The users of this System are TAFE students so many of them have a lot of IT experience
Schedule Feasibility
This project begins on the 11th of February 2008 and ends on the 19th of June 2008. The last two weeks will be
devoted to the installation and presentation of the project. The schedule is feasible because:

Agile methodology is being used

There is a large amount of documentation including:


o
Project Plan
o
Regularly updated Gantt Chart
o
Regularly updated Risk Analysis
Many tools for group discussion are being employed including:
o
Moodle
o
Wiki spaces ( tafegroup2.wikispases.com )
o
Email
o
Google Calendar
o
Phone
A website linked to Wikispaces has been created for uploading files. This website also includes a live chat:
“Tafegroup2.hexatech.com.au”

Team members have suspended almost all unrelated work activities in order to concentrate on this
project

Independent advisors have advised the team that the schedule is feasible
Group2 | FEASIBILITY STUDY
12
RISK LIST
RISK
Little
experience in
C#.NET or Visual
Studio
Little
experience in
web 2.0
technique
Haven’t used
agile
methodology
before
A team member
may leave the
group
A team member
may be
temporarily sick
or injured
THREAT
LEVEL
High
DATE
IDENTIFIED
26/02/08
INTERNAL/
EXTERNAL
29/02/08
Internal
High
26/02/08
Internal
High
26/02/08
26/02/08
DATE
RESOLVED
Install software
01/03/08
Begin practice immediately
To be resolved
Study tutorials
Attend events
29/02/08
29/02/08
Detailed schedule
26/02/08
Create Systems Development
separate from iterations
26/02/08
Make sure all work is available
26/02/08
Keep regular blogs
To be resolved
Include lots of comments in code
To be resolved
Keep detailed documentation
26/02/08
Make sure class notes are
forwarded daily to missing team
member
NA
Keep regular communication
NA
Make sure work is forwarded to
team
NA
If team member is unable to
work, then the rest of the team
must take up the slack
NA
Internal
High
High
RESOLUTION
Either
External
Group2 | RISK LIST
13
RISK
THREAT LEVEL
DATE
IDENTIFIED
INTERNAL/
EXTERNAL
RESOLUTION
DATE
RESOLVED
First time the
group has
worked
together
Medium
26/02/08
Internal
Spend as much
time together
as possible
26/02/08
Do something
together not
work related
The project
may not be
finished on
time
Scope creep
High
High
26/02/08
26/02/08
Internal
Internal
9/3/08
Separate
functions into
Primary
Functions and
Secondary
Functions
26/02/08
Complete
Primary
Functions first
To be resolved
Give buffer
room in
schedule
10/3/08
Rearrange
schedule
10/3/08
Put in extra
hours
NA
Group2 | RISK LIST
14
RISK
Data may be
lost
Hardware
may be
damaged or
destroyed
Internet
connection is
lost
Lack of
commitment
THREAT
LEVEL
High
High
Low
Medium
DATE
IDENTIFIED
26/02/08
26/02/08
26/02/08
26/02/08
INTERNAL/ RESOLUTION
EXTERNAL
Either
Back up information on:
Home computer
External
External
DATE
RESOLVED
26/02/08
TAFE computer
01/03/08
Flash drive
26/02/08
Wiki space
26/02/08
In our web site
Tafegroup2.hexatech.com.au
Have backup hardware
02/03/08
Put aside budget to replace
hardware
Provide alternative places to
access the internet
To be resolved
Select Project Leader
To be resolved
Project Leader must know
what each team member is
doing
To be resolved
To be resolved
26/02/08
Internal
Project Leader must warn
team member
NA
Group2 | RISK LIST
15
RISK
THREAT LEVEL
Lack of
leadership
Medium
Lack of
support for
Project Leader
Low
DATE
IDENTIFIED
26/02/08
26/02/08
INTERNAL/
EXTERNAL
Internal
Internal
RESOLUTION
Warn Project
Leader
Select new
Project Leader
Project Leader
must
frequently ask
for feedback
Project Leader
must ensure
the work load
is evenly
distributed
DATE
RESOLVED
NA
NA
To be resolved
To be resolved
Group2 | RISK LIST
16
PROJECT PLAN
Assumptions
The following assumptions were made in preparing project plan:





We will use agile methodology.
There will not be changes to client requirements once the system inception report is
finished.
Team members have sufficient knowledge of programming to handle the project.
There will be no changes to business requirement.
All team members have same right to use the recourses.
Constraints
The constraints currently imposed on this project are:
Time

Lack of time spent between team members to discuss issues related to the project.

Personal schedule for team members interfering with new schedule for team
discussions to take place.
Information

Lack of sufficient knowledge in some required programming languages.

Lack of familiarity with Web 2.0 and techniques to implement it.

Low level of experience creating net applications and its features.

Unavailability of computer rooms for team members to work in (excluding the 3 days a
week in the LAB).
Resources
Group2 | PROJECT PLAN
17
Resources
Equipment Resources
This project is based on computer system therefore majority of resources related to IT.
Item
Type
Computer
At least 2 computer with
Computer Hardware
minimum system of
(P4,1024mbRAM,64mbVGA,20GB
HDD, LAN, standard monitor)
Printer
Microsoft operating system
(Windows XP or Vista)
Computer Hardware
Computer Software
Hours
required
Which part of
project
Source
Full time
From first day
of project
TAFE
institute
AND/OR
Team
member
source
TAFE
institute
AND/OR
Team
member
source
TAFE
institute
AND/OR
Team
member
source
TAFE
institute
AND/OR
Team
member
source
For all part of
project
Less than 1
hour
Per week
Twice a week
Full time
First day of
project
For project
documentation
For all part of
project
Computer software
Full time
First day of
project
Microsoft Office(2003 or 2007)
For all part of
project
Group2 | PROJECT PLAN
18
Item
Type
Hours
required
Computer software
Less than 1
hour
Per week
Microsoft Project(2003 or 2007)
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008
Computer software
Full time
Internet Connection
Networking/Internet
Full time
Which part of
project
For project
documentation
(inception)
For Coding part
and design part
of project
For research,
communication
And Testing
part
Group2 | PROJECT PLAN
Source
TAFE
institute
AND/OR
Team
member
source
TAFE
institute
TAFE
institute
AND/OR
Team
member
source
19
Research and Learning Recourses
Item
Books





Source
Microsoft .NET programming
Web design
Project management
UML
Database
Electronic Learning Recourses
TAFE Institute Library
Team member source
TAFE Institute Library
TAFE Institute Website(model , Teacher Recourses)
Team member source
Other sources (form external resources such as
web sites and free sources)
Group2 | PROJECT PLAN
20
Human Recourses
There are 5 members in this project and each one got specified responsibilities.
Name
Responsibilities
Hours of work
Ali Goodarzi
Project Leader, Monitor Project and
authorize request
Full time
Koan Stevenson
Plan and execute project, Provide
documentation.
Project review
Full time
Chhiv Leng Koeu
Database development
Quality control and testing
Full time
Ferhad Neekzad
Programming
Full time
Vinod Prasad
Analyst, Programmer
Full time
Note: There is no payment for human resource.
Group2 | PROJECT PLAN
21
Team Profile
Name
Ali Goodarzi
Role
Project Leader
Koan Stevenson
Web Design
Administrator,
Documentation
Description
Education:
 Certificate III Networking (Cavendish
College London)
 Diploma in Information System (State
engineering university of
St Petersburg Russia)
 Certificate IV Programming (TAFE
Ultimo)
Experience:
GAMHA Co.ltd
Responsibilities:
 Assemble Electronic circuits.
 Quality control
 Technical support
TELEGOM Co
Responsibilities:
 Networking technician
 Server Operator
 Telecommunication switch controller
 Web design
HEXATECH
Responsibilities:
 Programming
 Web design
Skills:
C#, JAVA, SQL Server, Networking,ASP.net,
web design, PHP, Pascal, Electronic,
Telecommunication, Java script, HTML,
Graphic design
Education:
 Certificate III Software Applications
(TAFE)
 Certificate IV Programming (TAFE)
 Fundamentals of Java Programming
(CISCO Systems)
 Currently studying Diploma Software
Development (TAFE)
Skills:
Competent in software development, OO
programming and web design, JAVA, C#.NET,
HTML, CSS and My SQL.
Group2 | PROJECT PLAN
22
Name
Role
Description
Chhiv Leng Koeu
Database/ Design
Education:
 Certificate IV Programming
(PADSTOW/Granville TAFE)
 Certificate II in Information
Technology (Liverpool TAFE)
Skills:
Conversant with:
ASP.NET, C#, CSS, HTML, Java, JavaScript, PHP,
SQL, VB.NET
Ferhad Neekzad
Programmer
Education:
 Certificate IV Programming (TAFE).
 Certificate IV in Network
Management (TAFE).
Experience:
Have worked at Hewlett Packard for one year.
Responsibilities
 Build computers
 Resolve general hardware problem
 Repair motherboard damage
 Pre-test system before shipping
Skills:
General skills in Networking, setting up and
maintaining LAN.
Programming Languages:
web design, JAVA, VB.NET, HTML, Java Script,
CSS, My SQL
Vinod Prasad
Software Developer
Education:
 Certificate IV Programming (TAFE
Granville) with Credit Grade.
Skills:
Competent in software Development, OO
Programming and web design, JAVA, VB.NET,
HTML, Java Script, CSS, My SQL
Group2 | PROJECT PLAN
23
References







McGrath, R. G. and I. C. MacMillan. Discovery-Driven Planning. Harvard Business Review.
Sykes, H. B. and D. Dunham. "Critical assumption planning: A practical tool for managing
business development risk." Journal of Business Venturing 10(6): 413-424.
Dewar, J.A., Builder C.H., et al."Assumption-Based Planning: A Planning Tool for Very Uncertain
Times"
University of Technology Sydney(UTS) project management website :
http://www.projects.uts.edu.au/index.html
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR114/
Australian Education Union. 2008, Available from:
<http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Tafe/index2.html> [28 Feb 2008]
TAFE NSW. 2008, Available from: <http://www.tafensw.edu.au/> [28 Feb 2008]
Group2 | References
24