CSCI 427 - Systems Integration
Syllabus for section D1, Spring 2024.
This class is an asynchronous online course and does not have scheduled class meetings.
Instructor Information
Dr. Mike Murphy
mmurphy2@coastal.edu
Office Location: Penny Hall (formerly AOC2) room 238
https://ww2.coastal.edu/mmurphy2
Office Hours
- MW 13:00 - 15:00
I am available at other times by appointment. Please email me for scheduling.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Translate user requirements into information technology requirements
- Analyze requirements and design an appropriate information architecture and corresponding implementation plan
- Implement an information technology infrastructure using current technologies, standards, and best practices, as a member of an implementation team
- Integrate an information architecture into an existing system at the software, hardware, and user levels.
ABET Assessment
This course measures the following Performance Indicators:
- 1.1 - Define requirements and/or specifications for a computing problem.
- 1.2 - Analyze a complex problem by breaking it down into smaller components.
- 2.1 - Design a solution to meet requirements.
- 2.2 - Implement a solution to meet requirements.
- 2.3 - Evaluate a solution against requirements.
- 5.1 - Contributes relevant information to the team.
- 5.2 - Participates in group activities according to expectations.
- IT 6.1 - Analyze user needs to determine requirements of a computer-based system.
- IT 6.2 - Create appropriate IT-based solutions based upon user needs.
- IT 6.3 - Select systems appropriate for different user and environment requirements.
- IT 6.4 - Apply system administration techniques.
- IT 6.5 - Integrate multiple hardware and software components in a single system.
Texts and Materials
- No textbook is required for this course.
- Readings, reference materials, tutorials, and videos will be assigned.
Technology Requirements
- Broadband Internet access is required to access course materials.
- A device supported by Moodle for taking online quizzes is required.
- The project requires access to a laptop or desktop computer system that meets the Department of Computing Sciences Computing Requirements. Some project choices may require additional hardware.
Grading
Grades will be broken into different categories and weighted as follows:
| Category | Weight |
|---|---|
| Project | 65% |
| Forum Participation | 35% |
The final course grade will be computed using the standard 10-point scale:
| Grade | Range |
|---|---|
| A | 90-100 |
| B+ | 85-89 |
| B | 80-84 |
| C+ | 75-79 |
| C | 70-74 |
| D+ | 65-69 |
| D | 60-64 |
| F | 0-59 |
There is NO final exam in this course.
UPDATE 3/8/2024
As of Spring Break, the grades in this course are running significantly below normal. As a consequence, I have created a half-semester Rescue Project to try to give everyone a way to avoid failing or earning too low a grade in CSCI 427. The Rescue Project may be completed in lieu of, or in addition to, the original project.
The final course grade will be computed as follows:
- If you complete one of the original project choices and do NOT successfully complete either part of the Rescue Project, then your course grade will be computed according to the original calculation above. In this situation, there is no effective change to the course or grading requirements.
- If you abandon your original project but successfully complete Part 1 of the Rescue Project, then your course grade will be a C.
- If you abandon your original project but successfully complete Parts 1 AND 2 of the Rescue Project, then your course grade will be a C+.
- If you complete your original project AND successfully complete Part 1 of the Rescue Project, then your course grade will be computed according to the original weighted calculation (above) plus 10 points. If the resulting grade is less than a C, then your final course grade will be a C.
- If you complete your original project AND successfully complete both Part 1 AND Part 2 of the Rescue Project, then your course grade will be computed according to the original weighted calculation (above) plus 15 points. If the resulting grade is less than a C+, then your final course grade will be a C+.
In the case of an academic integrity violation, a course grade lower than a C (including an FX) may be assigned, regardless of Rescue Project completion.
Note that the Rescue Project is evaluated as a completion grade and not in terms of points. See the Rescue Project page for details.
The (Original) Project
This course is based upon a hands-on technical project that is designed to require about 10 hours per week of effort for the entire length of the semester. Several project choices are available, and each project is broken into a series of logical milestones to guide you through the implementation process. Each milestone requires the submission of a recorded presentation and/or demonstration.
Projects must be completed INDIVIDUALLY in the sense that you must perform your own, separate implementation of the project and create a separate submission video for each milestone. However, you MAY work together in a more hands-on fashion as long as each person in the group is doing a DIFFERENT project. Furthermore, you MUST seek assistance and share your knowledge and progress on the project through the course forum. In other words, you must create your own implementation and presentation artifacts, but you will be able to get assistance from other students (and the professor) through the course forum.
Forum Participation
As this course assesses an ABET-required group work outcome, interaction with peers in this course is a requirement. This requirement will be met through weekly participation in a course forum, in which you report your own progress on your project and answer questions that may assist other students in completing their projects. Although the implementation work for each project is an individual effort, the sharing of information and resources is a group effort.
Forum posts will be graded each week that a project milestone is NOT due. You are expected to make at least one forum post per week that contains technical content directly related to making progress on the project. This post can be either a topic that you start or a reply to someone else’s post offering assistance. In the latter case, the post doesn’t necessarily have to be about the project option you chose if you know the answer and can contribute something substantive. Little credit will be awarded for posts that lack substance. Duplicate posts that restate previous posts may not receive credit.
Milestone Expectations
For each project milestone, your team will submit a single presentation in a video format that is used on the Web (as indicated by the Moodle file types accepted). This presentation will contain both answers to milestone-specific questions and a live demonstration of your project implementation. Screenshots of the project implementation are NOT acceptable substitutes for the live demonstration. If your computer cannot run screen recording and virtualization software at the same time, then you may use your cell phone or a video camera to make the recording. Be sure to leave sufficient time for any video editing or transcoding that you need to do prior to uploading the video.
Late Work
Each milestone has an automatic one-week extension between the DUE date and the closing date. There is no need to submit documentation or request an extension since one is provided automatically. That said, you should treat the DUE dates as due dates and not habitually submit work on or just before the closing date.
No work will be accepted after the corresponding closing date. It is your responsibility to plan ahead and be prepared for any contingencies that might arise during the semester (including illness, family emergencies, work conflicts, computer problems, and other things both within and beyond your control). Exceptions to this policy will be granted only for accommodations officially provided by Accessibility and Disability Services.
Participation grades from a previous week cannot be made up. If you have a valid excuse, as stipulated in the University STUD-332: Class Attendance Policy, and which lasts for the entire week, I will drop your participation grade for a missed week provided that you notify me in a timely manner (within one week of your return from the absence).
Attendance Policies
Regular participation in class is expected, but I do not record or grade attendance. Participation in team activities, as scheduled by the team, is a hard requirement. Your Participation grade may be negatively impacted if you miss or are late to team activities.
Please do NOT attend physical office hours if you are sick. Instead, please let me know via email at least an hour before the scheduled meeting so that you can participate electronically. Similarly, if you join a team and meet in person, provisions should be made for electronic meetings if anyone in the group becomes ill during the semester.
Other Policies
Academic Integrity and Artificial Intelligence
The CCU Academic Integrity Code applies to this course. In particular, making false statements, hiring or permitting someone else to complete course activities, directly working together on the same project, and plagiarism are all examples of academic integrity violations. Violations of the CCU Academic Integrity Code in this course may result in a course grade of FX.
For the project specifically, the following special rules apply:
- You MAY NOT directly work together with another person if both of you are doing the same project option. For the avoidance of any appearance of impropriety, I strongly recommend that best friends, roommates, family members, and any other group of students with strong personal connections choose different projects from one another if taking this course at the same time.
- You MAY directly work together with one or more other students in this class if, and only if, each person in the group is doing a DIFFERENT project option. While you are not required to join a team with anyone else in this course, doing so would allow you to experience more than one project, which justifies allowing closer collaboration than would be allowed on a single project.
- You MAY (and are in fact required to) ask for and share information about how you complete parts of your project in the course forum. In other words, you can ask for help if you don’t know how to do something, and you can give written advice readable by any other member of the class, including details down to the level of what commands you ran to accomplish something. This type of information sharing is allowed. However, you MAY NOT post your milestone videos to the forum or share them with another student working on the same project, nor may you directly work one-on-one with someone else on the same project (to include typing anything on their computer).
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT MAY NOT be used in this course. Use of an AI tool is an academic integrity violation.
Communications Policy
I will normally reply to email within 1-2 business days. Email received over a weekend or on a holiday may not receive a response for 1-2 business days after the weekend or holiday. Please note that I’m only able to answer the phone and return phone calls on days where I work from the office (typically, days when I have posted office hours). Email is a much faster way to reach me and receive a reply.
Disability Accommodations
Per University policy, I can only grant you accommodations that are authorized through Accessibility and Disability Services. Please have your accommodations information sent to me within the first week of class or within a week of approval if accommodations are implemented in the middle of the semester. Note that quizzes in this course are NOT timed, and lectures are prerecorded with closed captioning.
Contingency Plan
Per the CCU Academic Continuity Plan, courses will continue online whenever the University is unable to hold in-person classes. If this course has a synchronous meeting time, then we will meet online using a University-licensed meeting platform. All other activities will proceed as scheduled, unless the University announces otherwise. ALWAYS take your laptop or other computer with you whenever you go out of town, including during University breaks, evacuations, and other travel. Remember that you could encounter travel difficulties and have issues returning on time, even if University operations are not affected.
For fall semester courses, please review my Hurricane Information page. Always monitor your email and the CCU Website for official announcements regarding irregular operations.
Disclaimer
Portions of this course may deal with issues related to cost analysis, laws, and ethics. I am not a lawyer, accountant, or financial advisor, and no portion of this class constitutes legal, financial, or other regulated professional advice. This syllabus is tentative and is subject to change with notice to the class during the semester. If a portion of this syllabus is found to be non-compliant with University policies or applicable laws, the remainder of this syllabus will remain effective.