Identify the problem

It is important that you clearly identify the problem that exists and exactly what you want your system to do.

Think about the final product first, for example, a stock control system might have these outputs, or outcomes:-

• be able to produce a list of items that are out of stock
• be able to produce a list of items that need ordering now
• be able to produce a list that shows sales of items over a certain period

Once you have identified what the system will actually do, you can think about what information your system needs to be told in order to generate this list.

List ALL the information that your system needs to know.

Analysis

You should now be in a good position to start your analysis. We can use the marking scheme for the assignment to help us produce a top level assignment.

You will need to cover these sections:-

• a description of the problem
• at least one way of providing a solution
• the desired outcomes that can be used to decide performance criteria

In the next section words in bold are taken directly from the marking scheme.

Mark allocation 1-3 (out of 15)

You will have listed an aspect of the problem.

Mark allocation 4-6 (out of 15)

Listed some aspects of the problem. Identified a way of tackling the problem. Stated some desired outcomes.

Mark allocation 7-9 (out of 15)

Produced a description of various aspects of the problem.

Identified and described a way of tackling the problem.

Stated some desired outcomes which are not entirely usable as performance criteria in evaluating the solution.

This should be the very minimum grade that you aim for. To achieve this mark, you will have discussed more than one aspect of the system, and described a way that you think you can solve the problem. You will have included some outcomes, which will probably be too vague to use as performance criteria.

Mark allocation 10-12 (out of 15)

Produced a reasonable description of the problem, stating sub problems and the links between them.

You will see that some important words have been introduced here. The examiner is now looking for a reasonable amount of detail, and wants to see sub problems with links between them.

Identified and described more than one way of tackling the problem.

This means that you have talked about more than one way (OK, at least two!), ways of providing a solution.

Stated in reasonable detail the desired outcomes which are usable as performance criteria in evaluating the solution.

To justify awarding this mark, the examiner is looking for outcomes that have been described in more detail, and that can be used to decide if your system has met its target.

Mark allocation 13-15 (out of 15)

Produced a detailed description of the problem, clearly describing appropriate sub problems and the links between them..

This means that you have described in a clear and precise way, all aspects of the problem and any associated sub problems.

Identified and evaluated more than one possible way of tackling the problem.

This line contains the word "evaluated" You should have described at least two different ways of solving the problem, and given reasons for your choice. It is often a good idea to list the positive and negative points in bulleted lists.

Has clearly and in detail identified the desired outcomes and the performance criteria to be used in evaluating the solution.

This means that you can use the statement that you have used to clearly judge whether your system has done what you said it would do.. You may want to list the outcomes (in detail, remember), and then add another list, similar to the first, but with judgmental statements such as:-

"My system will produce a list of items that are out of stock when a user clicks on a button on the screen."

As you can see, your system will do this or it wont, so you can say for definite that it has failed or succeeded.

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