Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences

Module Outline

IFS 231

Analysis

IFS231 Assignment
2023
Table of Contents

Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................... 2
1. About this assignment ........................................................................................................... 3
2. Graduate attributes nurtured by this assignment .............................................................. 4
3. Group preparatory tasks ....................................................................................................... 4
4. The tasks & deliverables required for this assignment ....................................................... 6
5. Deliverables and deadlines .................................................................................................. 7
6. Group Assignment Components.............................................................................................. 7
Deliverable 1: Proposal Document (BCD + BACCM) ................................................... 7
Deliverable 2: Business Requirements Document (BRD) .............................................. 9
7. Individual Assignment Component ................................................................................... 10
Digital Portfolio of Evidence (PoE) ................................................................................ 10
How to complete the PoE.............................................................................................. 10
8. Procedure for submission of this assignment .................................................................... 11
9. The rules for this assignment................................................................................................ 12
10. Penalties ................................................................................................................................ 13

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1. About this assignment
As an emerging BA, this assignment requires you to apply what you’ve learnt about the
work involved in improving an organisation’s structure, processes, or operations, to help
the business achieve its business strategy, goals, and objectives. You will need to
demonstrate your understanding and proficiency in completing the tasks and techniques
taught in this module by applying what you have learned in the coursework, to a given
scenario and successfully recommending a solution to a South African small-medium
enterprise (SME).

1. One of the fundamental aims of this assignment is to assess how digitally competent
students are, specifically about how well they can adapt to and learn various
application interfaces within a given timeframe, as is expected of Information Systems
students. Due to Covid-19, the world learned how to work virtually. Therefore, given the
availability of the UWC VPN for students, a device and clear instructions, the
assumption for this assignment, is that students will be able to work digitally and
remotely within groups, using the technology tools and resources available to them, to
complete this assignment efficiently, both within their groups and individually.

2. There will be group and individual deliverables. You will work together as a group to
complete the group work components, which should be submitted as a group.

3. Each student will also be required to keep a personal Portfolio of Evidence (PoE) as the
individual component. The PoE will reflect how much you have invested of yourself into
this module, what you have learned and what your plans for growth and development
are going to be or have been.

4. For the group part of this assignment you will need to form groups of five and each
group will be assigned one of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) or
one of the five Western Cape Provincial Strategic Goals (PSG). This will be the
underlying driver of your final solution.

5. Then, as a group you must identify a small-medium enterprise (SME) in line with the goal
that was assigned to your group. You will need to investigate and research this SME
using all the online resources you can find. In a case study format, write out all that you
learn about your selected organisation and include this as an appendix to your final
document.

6. Given the current Covid-19 pandemic and lock-down, your overall task is to identify a
real problem that your SME has experienced, that was exacerbated by the pandemic,
and then to design a potential solution, in the form of a database (and provide
associated documentation). Note that we will focus on the business analysis
documentation in IFS231 and continue with this into IFS233, which will cover the project
management of the IT implementation.

7. Once you have your organisation selected, use the Business Analysis Core Concept
Model (BACCM) Canvas to unpack the identified problem and possible solutions. This
analysis and all other brainstorming, plans/strategies, discussion notes/meeting
minutes must accompany your Business Case Document (BCD) as appendices upon
submission.

8. Remember that the task of the BA is not to implement the solution, but rather to
investigate and recommend a feasible and viable solution that will address a current
business problem. Instead, you will use the organisation as a reference case study to
analyse and document your project successfully.
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2. Graduate attributes nurtured by this assignment
The assignment is designed to nurture the graduate attributes that every UWC
student is expected to have at the time of graduating. In addition to the graduate
attributes (refer to page 6 in the IFS231 Course Outline), please refer to the team
roles, personal competency, and personality profile assessments. See for yourself
which of these graduate attributes you need to work on, personally, and amend
your strategy to acquire these competencies during your degree.

3. Group preparatory tasks

The following section contains preparatory tasks that need to be completed first, in the
groups within which you’ve been assigned in tutorial classes by the respective tutor, as
you plan how you will conduct your assignment. Read all the instructions carefully and
then as a team, brainstorm, discuss, strategize and plan how you will carry out the various
aspects of this project; what tools and mechanisms can you use; who will do what; what
project management methodology will you employ, etc.

The preparatory tasks are:

1. Establish a team name: Decide on a team name.

2. Nominate a team leader (Project Manager/Scrum Master): As a group, select a

team leader whose role will be to facilitate and oversee the team’s activities,
ensure cohesion within the team, and communicate with the tutor/lecturer on
behalf of the team. The team leader will also need to manage the Agile/Scrum
project in terms of backlogs, sprint timeframes planning with manageable scope,
delegated work, daily scrum meetings, etc. You can use a software application
to support this function more effectively.

3. Establishing good rules for engagement and teamwork (MoU): Before you start
with the assignment, brainstorm about the characteristics of a good team, and
what the expectations of each team member are. Most students know what is
required to be an effective member of a cooperative team, such as: coming to
meetings, being timely, communicating well, doing your fair share of the work,
doing it when you say you will, etc. Discuss your expectations with your team
members, then together establish ground rules for this assignment and write them
down. Develop a contract/Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to guide how
your team will ensure that each member works well within the team. You can
revisit this document later and modify it if necessary. Prepare the MoU on a
Google Doc and share it with each member of the team and your tutor. Have all
members digitally sign this agreement and any changes made to the document.
Also, include this MOU in your final report as an appendix.

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4. Prepare the team for virtual collaboration: One of the 21st-century skills that you
should develop is the ability to work collaboratively using virtual platforms. This
assignment tests, in part, your ability to work and communicate virtually, not face-
to-face, with your team members. To accomplish this, you will write the final report,
together, using Google Docs. You will also need to use software such as Trello and
TeamGantt, as well as other Google Apps, to work efficiently as a virtual project
team. Other team communication could be done using e-mail or texting, as you
accomplish your work. To prepare for the virtual collaboration, each team
member should:
● Have a Google account - your UWC email account will do.
● Share your email address with your team leader.
● Share your name, surname, contact details and interests with your team leader.

For this assignment, every member of your team will need access to a networked
computer with an Internet browser to participate.

5. Communication strategy: Discuss with the team and agree on the best way to
communicate with each other to complete this project successfully. Find a way
to ensure that you record the minutes of all your meetings. Write down your team’s
communication strategy – remember we will be following the Agile/Scrum SDLC
with Kanban boards. Use Google Sheets to keep a complete register of those who
attend the meetings and participate in all virtual collaboration – share this online
sheet with all your team members and your tutor. This will serve as proof of
members’ contributions and participation. Use Google Docs to keep notes and
minutes of all correspondence (virtual or face-to-face), meetings, emails, etc.
Groups will be asked to randomly submit these to lecturers for verification if need
be. It is recommended that you use Google Drive to store and share all
documents related to your assignment.

6. Delegation of work: All members of the group should be equally involved in all
tasks, and there should be an indication of which tasks are assigned to each
member in the group. Should some members not contribute for one reason or
another, be prompt to bring that to the attention of the lecturers or tutors.
Members that do not contribute will not receive a mark for the group assignment
or individual contribution (contributions should be indicated on the cover page).
The team leader will use the suggested applications to add work tasks to the
project and assign them to each team member, with associated deadlines.
Ensure that there is consensus in the team.

7. Submit the preparatory work: The team leader should consolidate all the team’s
information and create a shared Google document containing all team
members’ details, the team’s name, and an indication of who the team leader is.
Also, include the MoU, the delegation of tasks. Your team leader should then share
(online) this document with each team member and send the link of the
document to your tutor so that s/he can verify that you have accomplished this
activity. Your tutor will need editing access to your document, to make
suggestions for review, if need be. Your team will score points based upon how
quickly it has accomplished this activity along with the quality of its work.

8. Familiarize yourselves with the applications that will be used for this project,
namely Trello, TeamGantt, PowerPoint, Lucidchart, Google Apps. You may try
other similar applications that you find on the Web. Again, ensure that there is
consensus in the group.

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 Ensure that the following:

● Each member of the team should create a Trello account.

Get to know Trello:
Sign up/Software: Trello
Tutorial: Get started with Trello (Demo)

● The team leader should create a Kanban board and add the team members.
● The team leader should create a Google email account for the team and then
share the log-in details with each member of the team.

● Only the team leader should create a TeamGantt account.

Get to know TeamGantt:

Sign up/Software: TeamGantt: Online Gantt Chart Software
Tutorial: How to Create a Killer Project Plan in TeamGantt
TeamGantt with Trello: TeamGantt Power Up for Trello

● In Trello, the team leader should use the TeamGantt power-up to link the project’s
Trello board to the TeamGantt platform.
● The team leader should then add the tutor’s email address and the Gmail address
that was created for the team, as members in the TeamGantt project platform.
This Gmail account should be used to store all team communication and
outgoing emails. The Google drive should be used to store all project-related
documents. Remember to ensure that the drive is shared with all team members.

● Each team member should create a Lucidchart account.

Get to know Lucidchart (for UML & BPM):

Sign up/Software: Lucidchart: Online Diagram Software & Visual Solution
Getting Started in Lucidchart!

UML DIAGRAMS
Tutorial (Activity diagram): All About UML Activity Diagrams
Tutorial (Activity diagram): UML 2.0 Activity Diagrams
Tutorial (Use Case diagram): UML Use Case Diagram Tutorial using Lucidchart
(Class diagram): UML Class Diagram Tutorial using Lucidchart

4. The tasks & deliverables required for this assignment

The assignment is divided into group and individual components. The group components
comprise two separate deliverables, each with a specific submission protocol. These
deliverables are to be completed as a group. The individual part of the assignment
contains one deliverable for individual submission.

Start planning your assignment from the day you receive these specifications because
no extension will be provided.

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Read the instructions carefully, all the way to the end, and make sure that you completely
understand what is required of you. You are welcome to include any additional
information that you have found to be relevant to this module. Please be as innovative
and creative as possible. Remember to reference all information used. Referencing
should follow the APA referencing style.

The deliverables for your project are:

5. Deliverables and deadlines

DELIVERABLES % DEADLINE
Individual component
A digital portfolio of evidence (PoE) 31 March 2023 @
20%
- Report of personal experience, reflections & evidence 23:55
Group components
A Business Case Document (BCD)
1
- Proposal document including BACCM Canvas
20% 28 April 2023 @ 23:55
A Business Requirement Document (BRD)
2
- Functional specifications document
This assignment contributes 40% towards the final coursework mark in this module.
Draft deliverables are due two weeks before final due dates so that tutors can provide feedback.

6. Group Assignment Components

Deliverable 1: Proposal Document (BCD + BACCM)

TASK: Investigate your selected organisation, analyse the problem and possible solutions
using BACCM, then write up the Proposal with Business Case Document (BCD). Submit all
supporting documentation.

In order to propose a solution that will address the organisation’s problem areas, you will
need to understand the context of the problem, the nature and processes of the
organisation, and how they operate. It is, therefore, important to do a preliminary
investigation to determine who the stakeholders are.

Once you have your organisation selected, use the Business Analysis Core Concept
Model (BACCM) to unpack the identified problem and possible solutions. This analysis and
all other brainstorming, plans/strategies, discussion notes/meeting minutes must
accompany your Business Case Document (BCD) as appendices upon submission.

Engaging with the stakeholders in person will help with relationship building, which will
build trust. Usually, the BA would conduct at least one comprehensive interview with key
business stakeholders from the organisation (or more interviews, if needed) to elicit
pertinent information and to determine the business requirements for this project. The BA
would use the Rapid Mapping and Interview Guide documents on Ikamva as guidelines
for the interview. This interview would have informed the BRD (deliverable 2). However,

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due to Covid-19, you are not expected to conduct any face-to-face interview and
instead all investigations and research should be done using digital, online resources.

In the absence of eliciting requirements, the team will need to think critically and place
themselves in the stakeholder’s “shoes” or rather, view the problem from their perspective
and through the lens of each role player. How has the problem affected them? What
could their expectations be?

It is not encouraged, but if you do decide to contact anyone from the organisation, be
sure to follow professional etiquette when sending out any form of communication – any
impression you give is reflected on UWC and the Information Systems Department.

Collect all important and relevant documents and information, discuss it with your group,
and then create a comprehensive BCD for the Information Systems project that your
selected organisation is planning to undertake. Follow the layout of the template
provided on Ikamva. Open the template in a Google document and continue to work
collaboratively to complete the document – we will track which sections of work each
member in the team completed.

Use this opportunity to work synchronously and ensure that your document contains a
“golden thread” that runs throughout the document. This means that the writing style
should be consistent and each section should be linked with the next. The reader of the
BCD should be guided throughout the document and it should not be evident that there
were multiple authors to the document (differences in writing styles should not be
apparent, even though everyone in the group contributed to the document).

Make sure that all the sections described in the template are included in your BCD. A
critically important part of any BCD is the financial analysis (financial feasibility) and cost-
benefit analysis sections. These sections should receive additional attention. If you need
help or clarity in understanding any of the sections, do further research using the Internet.
Explain what method or strategy was used in the formation of the team and delegation
of roles, how the SDLC was managed, what learnings took place, how strategies were
decided upon, etc. Do not lose sight of the SDG or PSG that you were assigned – this
should be the guiding force for your project. Explain how your project solution aids the
goal you’ve been assigned. Be innovative with the solution and the potential financial
implications thereof. So possible solutions should not incur additional costs for the
organisation. Think of cost-effective or open-source solutions. Usually, the BA would need
to present the BCD and final deliverables to the stakeholders and obtain their
approval/sign-off before the project can begin. Due to Covid-19 we will omit this
requirement at this point in time.

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT (BCD + BACCM)

 A neatly typed Proposal using a Google document, containing input from all group
members, with the BCD (using provided template) & shared with your tutor & team.
 BCD link uploaded to Ikamva with all relevant links to attachments on Google Drive
 Attachments on Google Drive should include brainstorm notes, BACCM analysis,
minutes, plans, organizational documents, information collected, etc.
 Cover page with signed contribution matrix
 Plagiarism declaration on cover page – signed by all members
 Originality report attached to cover page

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Deliverable 2: Business Requirements Document (BRD)

TASK: Define the requirements for a new/improved information system (database)

Once your team has completed the BCD, you will need to then think critically to define
the requirements for a new/improved information system (database). This entails eliciting,
analysing and translating the user requirements (and user stories) into system
requirements.

First, usually, the BA would need to perform requirements elicitation. However, as

explained in the BCD section of this document, due to Covid-19 and the current situation
we find ourselves in, this assignment is limited to digital work only.

Gather as much information that you can about the organisation, in addition to what
you have gathered for the BCD. Collect documents that will provide you with information
about their requirements for an Information System. The documents you collect should
include at least TWO forms that the organisation uses to collect information. You can find
these on their website and will use these forms to provide insight into the type of data
requirements that the organisation has. If you cannot find these forms, then brainstorm
and think critically, as a team, what fields would they put on a form if they wanted to
collect information. These forms will inform your database design.

When you have gathered the requirements, develop a comprehensive Business

Requirements Document (BRD) using the template and guidelines provided on Ikamva.
Remember to sit down with your team, work through the requirements that you collected,
write down the user stories, choose a method that allows the stakeholders to be involved
in writing the user stories. Then, use the user stories to work out your product backlog, sprint
planning and Sprint backlog, etc. Thereafter start placing all of your user stories onto the
Trello board and create timeframes on Trello and TeamGantt according to your Sprint
planning.

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST FOR BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT (BRD)

 A neatly typed Google document, using the BRD template provided, shared with your
tutor.
 BRD link uploaded to Ikamva with all relevant attachments on Google Drive.
 Link shared with your tutor and team.
 Attachments on Google Drive should include minutes, plans, interview recordings (if any),
interview notes (if any), organisational documents, information collected, all other relevant
information, etc.
 Forms of the organisation.
 UML diagrams are attached to BRD.
 Cover page with signed contribution matrix
 Plagiarism declaration on cover page – signed.
 Originality report submitted.

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7. Individual Assignment Component

Digital Portfolio of Evidence (PoE)

TASK: Using a Google site, show evidence of learning, reflection and growth through this
project and the module

While the proposal, BCD and BRD contain information about the project/product/solution
for the stakeholders, this portfolio should contain your reflections and learnings
throughout this module. This portfolio should reflect your holistic growth curve and it is
expected that your authenticity with be demonstrated through this portfolio.

How to complete the PoE

In order to synthesise your thoughts, write a 5-page reflection and compile evidence (the
actual work products and documents) to upload to your site. You must then present your
portfolio using a Google site. This will become your Portfolio of Evidence (PoE) of all of
your work experience and learning experiences as a student. If you maintain this Google
site well and constantly update it with new information from all your modules, you will
then have a very beneficial portfolio of competencies that you can show to potential
employers when you graduate.

This portfolio should contain a report of your lived experience within this module, from
your perspective and focus on everything you have learned about yourself and the
profession of Business Analysis. Also, write about the challenges you have experienced
and explain what you have done to overcome or mitigate these challenges.

Reflect on the work that you and your team have completed, your thoughts about your
contribution, and your personal experiences during the project, as well as all the things
you have learned throughout this module. The PoE should contain all the information
about your project and teamwork, clearly indicating which aspects of the work you have
contributed to and your thoughts about the group work. It will also need to contain all
the sprint retrospectives, reflections & feedback from team members in relation to your
contributions, and so forth. In addition, write about what your expectations were at the
start of this module and the start of the project. Share the results from all the quizzes and
evaluations you completed and write about what these meant to you and what you
learned from your results. Additionally, write about your strategies for completing the
assignment successfully, how you tried to be a good team member, and of course, what
you have learned throughout the process. You may include other topics of interest to
you, relevant to the assignment or the role of Business Analysis. Also, include the notes you
have taken during the guest lectures and show your reflections about the speakers’
presentations.

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The PoE must be created using Google Sites. Remember to share the link with all team
members as well as your tutor. Headings are not prescribed but you are expected to
ensure that your PoE is comprehensive (it should cover all important areas about the
project, from start to finish, and this module), creative and professional in structure and
appearance.

How to create a Google site:

Create a new Google Site: New Google Sites guide in 2020
More about Google Sites: Create a website in 10 – 30 minutes
Another tutorial video: Create a Digital Portfolio
Another tutorial: Make your site more professional

Academic integrity should be observed and in the event of plagiarism being detected
in your work, you will be penalized accordingly. Please see penalties at the end of this
document.

Please be as creative as you can be. Let your authenticity come through in this section
of the assignment.

These are a few videos to get you started but remember that you can search for many
other tutorial information by doing an Internet search. Also, remember to view the royalty-
free pictures in the links provided in the Course Outline.

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST FOR e-PORTFOLIO OF EVIDENCE

 A creative and functioning Google site.
 The link to your site is submitted on iKamva.
 The site is shared with your tutor.
 Contributions to the group project have been included and discussed.
 Deep reflections about your challenges and learnings within in module.
 Discussions about what you learned from guest speakers, if any.
 Discussions about what you’ve learned about yourself.
 Reflections about your initial expectations at the start of the module and now.
 Reflections about the role you played within your team the strategies you employed to be
a good team member.
 Reflections about your overall learning and holistic growth.

8. Procedure for submission of this assignment

It is important to understand that submission of each deliverable must be in the format
stipulated below and no concessions will be made for missed or late submissions. Each
part of this assignment is submitted electronically only - all Google Drive, Google Docs
and Google site links should be copied and pasted in the relevant submission places on
iKamva. Note the following:

1. You need to create a shared Google drive that will contain all of your project’s
documents and deliverables. Share this folder with all your team members and your
tutor.

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2. All deliverables should be completed in an online Google document, shared with all
team members and your tutor. The BCD and BRD templates should be opened using
a Google Doc. format.

3. For Turnitin, you will need to export the Google Doc into a Ms Word document and
submit the documents to Ikamva. Only the group leader is responsible for submitting
the assignment. The group leader should submit the document on Ikamva at least 1
week before the deadline so that you can see the Originality Report and make
corrections if need be. This is also to allow for a lag of the system so that you do not
miss the final deadline.

4. Download and attach the full Originality Report (not just the digital receipt).

5. You must save all electronic files using the following naming format:

Tutor’s name_Team’s name_Team leader’s student number_Team

leader’s surname

Add on the deliverable name at the back, for each different deliverable, file or
document. For example, for the BCD, you will have:

EXAMPLE: Jason_BenchBreakers_2359678_Adamson_BCD

9. The rules for this assignment

▪ This assignment contributes 30% towards your final mark and every member of the
group is expected to contribute equally to obtain a share of the final mark.
▪ You are allowed to arrange yourselves in groups containing no more than 5 members.
▪ If you have not found a group by the end of the first tutorial, you will be placed into a
group. If you have fewer than 5 members, we may add someone to your group.
Please liaise with your tutor timeously.
▪ Adherence to the groups that you are registered in is mandatory and no changes will
be accommodated.
▪ All team members are required to contribute equally to group tasks, and the leader
should prepare a Trello board showing what tasks are assigned to whom in the group.
Tutors should be added to Trello boards and will have oversight over group activities.
▪ Should some members not contribute for some reason, be sure to let your
tutor/lecturer know soonest and indicate this in your document. Anyone who does
not contribute and co-operate fully to the assignment will receive their contribution in
the percentage of the overall assignment mark. So, someone who only contributes
5% towards the assignment overall will only receive 5% of the final mark. Use the cover
page provided to indicate the percentage contribution of each member. This must
receive consensus from all group members.
▪ The document and the Google Drive link to all completed deliverables should be
submitted on Ikamva. There will always be a timestamp. Failure to submit on time or
in the format required will result in a penalty for the whole group.

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▪ Remember to reference your work properly and adequately. Also, remember to sign
the anti-plagiarism declaration. We reserve the right not to mark any plagiarised work.
See penalties below.
▪ No email submissions, no individual assignments (of group components) and no
handwritten work will be accepted.
▪ Always make a backup of your work (a 2nd copy somewhere else) to prevent loss or
damage. No excuses will be entertained – if you have lost your work due to your
negligence, you will forfeit the marks.

10. Penalties
Should you face challenges that would hamper your studying or submitting assignments,
please let us know as soon as possible – no less than 48 hours before the due date. This
will give us enough time to arrange for an alternative mode of learning or assessment.

CRITERIA PENALTY

No Originality -5% per day until it is submitted [If the digital receipt is submitted
report instead of Originality Report, no marks.]

Originality report Sliding scale: -10% for every 10% above the 20% limit.
exceeding 20% All Turnitin Originality Reports exceeding the 20% similarity index
similarity index limit, will receive penalties about the similarity index. That means
that the more you exceed the 20% limit, the more we will deduct
from the overall mark that we would have awarded your
assignment.
Anything above 50% similarity will not be marked.
Copied assignments will be submitted to the Proctor for further
investigation and can result in the suspension of the whole team.

Late submission -10% per calendar day, or part thereof, starting from submission
deadline (day of submission). After 2 days it will not be marked.

Sick notes will not be accepted for late or non-submission not

unless there is enough evidence that you were incapacitated for
the period (leading to and during which) the assignment was to
be done.

Cover page & If the signed cover page and plagiarism declaration, or any
plagiarism other mandatory requirement are not submitted, you will suffer a
declaration 10% penalty.

Formatting Assignments that do not comply with the formatting instructions,

instructions such as font size, or file name conventions, and assignments that
reduce or increase the font size and spacing to meet a ‘length’
requirement will suffer a 10% penalty.

Good Luck and enjoy the assignment!

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