information systems perspective, we need to ask:
Why are we storing this data?
What purpose or purposes does it serve?
What (and whose) information needs will it satisfy?
How will we know if these needs have been met?
2. From a
technology perspective, we may want to ask:
How can this data be captured, stored, communicated and
displayed?
What devices might be used?
What are their relevant characteristics – reliability, cost, speed,
usability, and so on?
3. From a
systems development perspective, we need to consider:
How might we design and build such a system?
What constraints are there to consider in terms of legal issues
and the interests of the users and those whose data is stored and
processed?
Who is going to undertake the development work and what tools or
techniques will they need to use?
What exact items of data are to be collected and stored?
How long will the development take, and what will it cost?
4. Finally, from a
real world, getting things done perspective, there
is the need to:
Establish and resource a project to construct a system to do the job
and deliver a working system within budget and on time.
1.6 Exercises and sample exercises Each main section of this guide finishes with a set of exercises. These
are intended to be rather more open-ended and time-consuming than
examination questions, and to provide you with opportunities to explore
the material in some depth.
The guide also contains two Sample examination papers in Appendix 1.
1.7 How much time should you spend on this subject? You should divide your effort equally between the four main components.
Effort does not simply equate to time, however, and the practical
component particularly can absorb a lot of time as you master the
software and the modelling techniques. This is not a problem in itself –
doing analysis and design work and using software can be interesting,
challenging and rewarding, but you need to be aware that this activity is
intended to represent
