Systems Analysis and Design Assignment | Systems Analysis and Design

You are required to prepare a review of a case study, based on the ONE of the experience report paps from the 2017 or 2016 XP/Agile Conference. The aim of the review essay is to

(i) identify a key problem or issue related to the agile software development approach described in the experience report, and

(ii) analyse and present the current practice and state of research on the issue and

(iii), given the benefit of hindsight, provide your insights and reflections (or recommendations) on what the organisation should do (or should have done) to avoid or minimise the problem, irrespective of what they actually did. Your analysis should also

(iv) recognise and explain any open issues that may arise from your recommendations. A case study will be used to illustrate your issue in practice.

Step 2: Case Study:

Review and provide a brief summary of the case study (~500 words), outlining in your own words:

• • Who the organisation is, what they are trying to do, and why (e.g. what issue are they trying to address with the project, or what are the drivers)
  • Select ONE of the issues or problems that the company faced during the project – briefly explain what the problem was, what they did and what was the outcome

Note: Be sure to include the name of the case, and provide reference details so it can be found online

                                                                                                    

 Step 3: Viewpoint and Analysis

Viewpoint: Focusing on the problem or issue you have selected, place yourself in the role of the author of the case or a key decision maker in the context (as appropriate)

Next, you are to probe deeply into the problem/issue you identified and review and analyse the literature/ current practice on the topic/problem area. Use the literature to help you to better understand the situation faced, e.g. how the problem may have come about, how effective their actions to address it may have been, other issues that may (or did) arise from the actions taken, etc.

Based on your insights from the case, the literature, current practice etc., make a recommendation to the organisation, as to what you believe they should do (irrespective of what they actually did), or how they could have avoided or minimised the issue/problem. Your recommendation MUST be thoroughly supported by your reflection on the case, the literature and current state of practice, your knowledge of AGILE methods etc. Please also note any open issues.

Step 4: Preparing your case analysis.

Your case analysis paper will essentially comprise (1) an overview of the case study/experience report, (2) clear identification of the selected issue/problem followed by a critical review of the issue based on the case context, and insights from the literature/current practice, and (3) your recommendations on how the issue might have been avoided or minimized, or addressed. In other words, your essay should provide a critical review/analysis and discussion of the issue by combining the case study experience with the insights, prior research, recommendations or findings of various authors.

Finally, in concluding your paper, identify and explain any open issues. This may resolve around what we do not know, or potential consequences as a result of the recommended actions.

(Note: for the purpose of this assignment, you do not need to resolve open or secondary issues)

Assignment Preparation

For your analysis, you are encouraged include at least five articles that are significant to your issue/problem, that is, you have assessed them as having made significant contribution to understanding of the main issue/problem, its causes, consequences and possible solutions, etc.

Your list of references must include peer-reviewed journals/publications. It is preferable that the sources used have been published within the last 5-10 years, but it is recognised that there is a lot of good work published prior. Articles may also be sourced from reputable practitioner publications/forums and whitepapers. To ensure a good balance of sources it is suggested that at least 30-50% of your references comes from academic (peer-reviewed) sources.

Format. Your submission should be word processed, Times New Roman 12pt, 1.5 spacing, leaving room for handwritten comments. The report should include an informative title, and an abstract (~150 words). The main body of the report (excluding title, abstract, references) should be no more than 2000 words in length (plus case summary – limit this to 500 words).

DO NOT include table of content. Also use headings and sub-headings sparingly – only when necessary for separating key sections in the your paper (See Assignment Guidelines - Step 4, above)

You must also include a list of all the references used in the submission. Secondary citations are discouraged unless the citation is very important to your review. Your reference list should follow the APA style. This is included in Endnotes.

What to submit:

1) Your case analysis

2) A PDF of the original case