Department of Computing and Mathematics

ASSESSMENT COVER SHEET 2023/24

Unit Code and Title: 6G5Z0028 – Software Development Processes

Assessment Set By: K. Welsh

Assessment ID: 1CWK100

Assessment Weighting: 100%

Assessment Title: Case Study

Type: Individual

Hand-In Deadline: 21:00 15th May 2024

Hand-In Format and Mechanism: Online, via Moodle

Learning outcomes being assessed:

LO1 Describe the concepts of the software lifecycle and lifecycle models and define the typical lifecycle phases.
LO2 Articulate the options available for a given task within the software lifecycle and evaluate their strengths
and weaknesses.
LO3 Apply their knowledge of the lifecycle to determine the most appropriate techniques for a typical industrial
software project.

Note: it is your responsibility to make sure that your work is complete and available for marking by the
deadline. Make sure that you have followed the submission instructions carefully, and your work is submitted
in the correct format, using the correct hand-in mechanism (e.g., Moodle upload). If submitting via Moodle,
you are advised to check your work after upload, to make sure it has uploaded properly. If submitting via
OneDrive, ensure that your tutors have access to the work. Do not alter your work after the deadline. You
should make at least one full backup copy of your work.

Penalties for late submission

The timeliness of submissions is strictly monitored and enforced.

All coursework has a late submission window of 7 calendar days, but any work submitted within the late
window will be capped at 40%, unless you have an agreed extension. Work submitted after the 7-day late
window will be capped at zero unless you have an agreed extension. See ‘Assessment Mitigation’ below for
further information on extensions.
Please note that individual tutors are unable to grant extensions to assessments.

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Assessment Mitigation
If there is a valid reason why you are unable to submit your assessment by the deadline you may
apply for assessment mitigation. Only evidenced extension requests are allowed on this assessment.
Moodle (in the ‘Assessments’ block on the right-hand side of the page):

• Self-certification: does not require you to submit evidence. It allows you to add a short extension to a
deadline. This is not available for event-based assessments such as in-class tests, presentations,
interviews, etc. Self-certification extensions are not available on this assessment.

• Evidenced extensions: requires you to provide independent evidence of a situation which has impacted
you. Allows you to apply for a longer extension and is available for event-based assessment such as in-
class test, presentations, interviews, etc. For event-based assessments, the normal outcome is that the
assessment will be deferred to the Summer resit period.

Further information about Assessment Mitigation is available on the dedicated Assessments page:
https://www.mmu.ac.uk/student-life/course/assessments#ai-69991-0

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the unacknowledged representation of another person’s work, or use of their ideas, as one’s own.
Manchester Metropolitan University takes care to detect plagiarism, employs plagiarism detection software,
and imposes severe penalties, as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct and Regulations for Undergraduate
Programmes. Poor referencing or submitting the wrong assignment may still be treated as plagiarism. If in
doubt, seek advice from your tutor.

As part of a plagiarism check, you may be asked to attend a meeting with the Unit Leader, or another
member of the unit delivery team, where you will be asked to explain your work (e.g. explain the code in a
programming assignment). If you are called to one of these meetings, it is very important that you attend.

If you are unable to upload your work to Moodle

If you have problems submitting your work through Moodle, there is a Contingency Submission Form on the
university’s Assist ticketing system, where you can upload your work. If you use this submission method, your
work must be uploaded by the published deadline, or it will be logged as a late submission. Alternatively, you
can save your work into a single zip folder then upload the zip folder to your university OneDrive and submit a
Word document to Moodle which includes a link to the folder. It is your responsibility to make sure you share
the OneDrive folder with the Unit Leader, or it will not be possible to mark your work.

Assessment Regulations
For further information see Assessment Regulations for Undergraduate/Postgraduate Programmes of Study
on the Student Life web pages.
Formative Feedback: In person, via laboratory support on the day of the hackathon.

Marks & feedback will be returned via Moodle, within 4 weeks of

Summative Feedback:
your submission.
 Software Development
Processes

Assessment Specification – Case Study

Deadline: 21:00 15h May 2024

Introduction

In this assessment you will be writing a report that makes recommendations on how a company
should manage an upcoming software development project, detailed in an accompanying case study.
The case study (provided separately) is for a different company and system than the one you
worked on throughout the unit, so you will need to apply your knowledge to a new scenario. You will
recommend an appropriate software development methodology along with the individual techniques
you would recommend the company use for the specification, design, implementation, testing,
deployment, and maintenance of the system in the case study. You will explain how the techniques
could be applied to the scenario in the case study, and why your recommended techniques are suited
to this particular problem.

This assessment has a strict page limit of six pages, and you must use the provided template.
The requirement to use the template means that you cannot squeeze extra content into your report
with formatting tweaks. You are being assessed on your ability to make coherent and clear
recommendations, backed up by sound reasoning and knowledge, communicated clearly and concisely.

Case Study

The case study is provided as a separate document which you will find in the Assessment block on
the unit’s moodle area. Separating the case study from the assessment instructions helps to keep this
assessment specification brief, while allowing the scenario itself to be outlined in sufficient detail for
you to make meaningful recommendations. Although the format and tone of the case study is similar
to the one you have been working with in labs all term, the company and system discussed in the
assessment case study is quite different. The techniques that you discussed as being suitable for the
case study in labs might not be the most suitable for the case study in the assessment.
The case study provides background information on a fictional company, gives a realistic scenario in
which the company might wish to develop a system, and provides details on a plausible development
team for this sort of company. You will need to recommend how the described company, with the
presented development team, should manage the software development process for the system they
wish to build.

Report

Your report will make recommendations as to how the company in the case study should go about
developing their system. You are being assessed on how comprehensively you explain how the
techniques could be applied to the scenario, and on how well you are able to justify the
appropriateness of your chosen techniques. Your report will need to make recommendations on:

• What overall software development methodology should be used?

• How would you plan the project timeline?
• Who are the stakeholders for the system?
• How should the team elicit requirements for the system?
• What are the system’s key requirements likely to be?
• How should the system be scoped and architected?
• What key components will the system comprise of? How will they integrate?
• What techniques should the team use when implementing the system?
• How should the system be tested?
• How should the system be deployed and rolled out to users?
• What arrangements should be made for maintenance?

template & Page Limit

Your report must be prepared using the provided MSWord template, which you will find in
the Assessments block on the unit’s moodle area. The template constrains both the formatting and
the structure of your work. Your report is limited to six pages, which combined with the
requirement to use the provided template means that if you write too much you’ll need to cut content
to fit within the page limit. Furthermore:

• You must not change fonts, sizes, character/line/paragraph spacing, margins or any
other formatting options in the template.
• You must use the supplied section headings, but you may further divide the provided
sections into sub-sections if you deem it necessary.
• Appendices, figures, tables etc. all count towards the page limit.
• The table of references at the end of your report does not count towards the page limit.
I don’t want to disadvantage those who do some extra research.
 Criterion Bad Fail Marginal Fail Pass II(II) II(I) I Distinctive

Good selection
Selection & Some suitable Some suitable Appropriate Outstanding
of appropriate Comprehensive
Application Few or no techniques techniques techniques discussion of
techniques for and detailed
appropriate recommended, recommended chosen for most application of
of some areas, application of
techniques but insufficient with limited areas, which are well-informed &
Techniques which are well well-chosen
recommended application to application to well applied to appropriate
(40%) applied to techniques
scenario scenario scenario techniques
assessment is presented below, as Fig. 1.

scenario
How You Will Be Assessed

Most areas Comprehensive

Explanation Little or no Rationale offered A basic, Some areas Outstanding
underpinned and persuasive
rationale behind is inappropriate plausible, underpinned discussion of
of Selection with some justification
decisions to the scenario rationale offered with a coherent well-informed &
Rationale presented in the logical rationale presented with
or insufficiently in at least some rationale, with authoritative
(40%) with only minor detailed
report explained areas some issues rationale
issues explanation

Adherence Template used

Some attempt to
Little or no appropriately Template used almost entirely
to Page Limit use template, Template used correctly and
attempt to use with minor flaws correctly, or with some minor
but with report fits within page limit

Figure 1: Marking Scheme

& Template template or significant overrun
(10%) significant flaws
overrun

Serious problems
Notable
Writing with academic Academic Report is largely clear and well- Report is excellently written,
problems with
writing, writing is written, conveying information using an outstanding academic
Quality academic writing
hindering understandable, lucidly and effectively with good style & tone beyond reasonable
(10%) that need future
reader’s with some issues flow in discussion academic expectations
improvement
understanding
on your correct use of the template and adherence to the page limit. The marking scheme for the
assessed on the general quality of your written work (e.g. spelling, grammar, flow of discussion) and
in the case study, along with how well you justified their suitability. In addition, you are being
Your report will be assessed on how well you selected techniques and tailored them to fit the scenario
Support

The primary means of support on this assessment will be a Q&A session, held in the week 9 lecture,
which is the week before the Easter break. The lecture that week will be a short introduction to the
assessment, an overview of the case study, with the bulk of the session dedicated to questions about
the assessment. If you need support after this session, then drop by office hours – the days and times
for which are detailed at the top of the unit’s moodle area. You don’t need an appointment, just drop
by within the published times.

Plagiarism and Duplication of Material

I, the Faculty, and the University all take academic malpractice very seriously. The work you submit
for this assignment must be your own, completed without any significant assistance from others. Be
particularly careful when helping friends to avoid them producing work similar to your own. I will be
running all submitted work through an automated plagiarism checker, and I am generally vigilant
when marking. The penalties for academic malpractice can be severe. Please refer to the guidance at
https://www.mmu.ac.uk/student-case-management/guidance-for-students/academic-misconduct/ for
further information.