BISM7255 Business Information Systems Analysis and Design Assignment: Mendix Redx Stocktaking App
BISM7255 Business Information Systems Analysis and Design
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT – WEIGHTING: 25% Computer-based Assessment
Software App and Mendix Reflection
Assignment task
Starting in the Teaching Week after the break, the learning and teaching in BISM7255 will be in Blended Learning Mode with a particular focus on the no-code/ low-code application Mendix. This is the core part of the Work-Integrated Learning (WIL).
To have a final assessment of the student’s learning, a low-code business application (app) developed and then reflected on in a journal. Particularly, students must first develop the app to be able to write a reflective journal about their low-code development work. It is the final assessment piece for the course.
The app is the software artifact created in the Medix lectures. It must be
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1) Fully working, deployed, and with meaningful data.
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2) complete regarding the customer requirements as elicited during the course,
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3) include business perspectives and values,
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4) following the design principles regarding style and layout by the client, and
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5) developed using the low-code platform capabilities as per the teaching.
See the details in the rubric.
The reflective journal:
Students are expected to write in their reflective journals about their significant Mendix learning experiences. This means they should reflect on the content, meaning, and value of the experience in learning coding and app development. It is important in the reflection to personally assess how the learning improves their future careers and career prospects (e.g., as a Business Analyst, Product Owner).
In the form of a table, the reflection needs to address which Mendix features were used, what challenges and development issues were encountered, and which metacognitive skills students developed.
Finally, the journal should end with a reflective account of what and how students embedded the business perspectives and values.
To better appreciate this assignment, it needs to be clear what a reflective journal is and how it is used for teaching and learning purposes. Based on the article by Plack et al. (2005) (p. 200), a reflection is defined “as the process of examining an experience” undertaken as “an internal process that helps the individual refine his or her understanding of an experience”. An expected and desired outcome of the reflection is that “it may lead to changes in the individual’s perspective”. Ultimately, reflections “result in new insights and deeper understandings of [a person’s] experiences” ... and ... “through this analytical process that the reflective [person] ... develops a change in perspective”.
The Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority explains that reflective journaling helps students achieve core skills of learning. In general, a learning journal can document a variety of information, ideas, thoughts, learning strategies, and working processes, and should contain decisions made and reasons or justifications for these decisions. Because the learning journal is reflective, it informs further learning or future experiences. It enables students to identify their growth throughout a subject or experience and sets goals to develop metacognitive skills.
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It is recommended to structure, with the relevant headings, the journal into the following three sections:
1. Introduction
In your own words, describe the client, the development task, and the version of the app you used. Word limit for this section: 30-75 words
2. Learning Experiences Table
In your own words, complete the table.
You must have exactly 5 rows. Turn the orientation to landscape, and the table must fit into one A4
page with 11 font, 1.0 line spacing, no full sentences but bullet point style, use bullet points symbol.
Feature in your app |
(1) Development activity and challenge or mastery |
(2) Use of which low-code platform capabilities unique to your app |
(3) The meta-cognitive skills
developed or used |
1) |
• Text text text text text text • Text text text |
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2) |
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3) |
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4) |
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5) |
3. Business Perspectives and Values
In your own words, reflect on what and how the business values and perspectives of Redx Technology
Australia are embedded in the Mendix Redx Stocktaking App. Explain your answer in light of the app
you developed.
Word limit for this section: 250 words +-10% words
It is expected that the reflective journal will be around 750 words (tables and narrative) to present the learning and impact reflections. However, the word limit is not considered as a specific criterion in the marking. This means that an assignment with only 500 words but written concisely and focused tightly on the reflections and insights made might be of better quality than a longer journal.
Hence, students should dedicate time to revise and improving their writing to clearly achieve a reflection, not a simple reporting of past experiences.
Hints: We found that longer texts are not better assignments. A longer journal means that the student includes a lot of descriptions. Yet, the assignment asks you to reflect. Reflections are shorter because they articulate your own awareness of how you think.
Markers want to read your personal reflections – anything that applies to anyone is not a personal account. Similarly, anything that is general knowledge on Mendix or low-code is not a personal account. Analysing and understanding yourself better through the reflections will make you a better learner for the ‘next’ innovation.
Layout
The assignment must have a cover pages with the title of the assignment, student name and ID. Use the following format & presentation for the text outside the table:
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- Times New Roman -
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- Size 11 font -
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- 1.15 line spacing -
Requirements for the ‘Redx Stocktaking App’ Requirements completeness:
Left aligned
Normal margins (2.54 cm)
Number all pages
Pages (5 pages):
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1) A Home page that serves as the starting point for the user.
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2) A Login page that allows the user to log into and/or sign up for the app.
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3) A Signup page that allows an anonymous user to create a new account.
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4) A StockItemList page that displays a list of stock items.
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5) An AddNewItem page that allows the user to add new stock items and images. Here must include a barcode
scanner feature.
Microflows (5 pages):
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1) A microflow that allows the user to add new stock items.
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2) A microflow that allows the user to upload stock item images.
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3) A microflow that allows the user to edit existing stock items.
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4) A microflow that allows an anonymous user to sign up for the app.
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5) A microflow that checks if all the areas (e.g., username, password) are filled on the Signup page.
Domain model:
All the required entities (e.g., StockItem, ItemImage, Registration, etc.)
App security:
Level: Production; Status: Complete; Three user roles (admin, user, anonymous user).
User interface design:
Layout: organizing areas of the app interface for users to build familiarity with the app
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Systematic layout with sections clearly marked
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Consistent gestalt of the app’s pages
Navigation: consistent moving around in the app for users
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Navigation menus
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Consistent use of the navigation elements across the app’s pages
Content awareness: ability of the app interface to make the user aware of the information it contains
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Page titles and headings
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Meaningful field headings and texts
Aesthetics: designing elements that are pleasing to the eye
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Font styles and sizes as appropriate for a mobile app
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Colour choices in alignment with the cooperate identify guidelines of our client company Redx
Minimal user effort: it refers to a user’s minimum amount of effort to get a task done
9. User can complete a task within three clicks.
10. Onlyrelevantelementsanddesignchoicesincluded(nodesignoverload).
Selction of Mendix features to be included in the app:
Simple features versus Advanced features
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1) Static images vs. Dynamic images
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2) Stock items information is displayed on the screen
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3) One-layer microflow design
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4) Minimal data input
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5) In-class, instructor layout
vs. Excel download of a list of stock items
vs. Multi-layer microflow design
vs. Rich data input
vs. Students custom layout
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Submission Format and Process
This assessment task evaluates student’s abilities, skills, and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
In cases of reasonable doubt and suspicion of students having used any aid of AI technologies in the creation of the assessment, the written self-reflection is replaced by a 10 min oral exam via zoom during the second week of the examination period.
Reflective Essay:
The assignment must be submitted electronically via turn-it-in through the Online Submission Folder
on the course Blackboard site. Files submitted as email attachments will not be accepted.
Format: Word File ----- NO PDFs
You must include screenshots as an appendix of:
Put a max of two screenshots on one A4 page; each screen must have a caption explaining what the screenshot shows
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each page of the app
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the domain model
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each microflow
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published app to demonstrate that data is entered and have data included
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a choice of other screenshots to showcase the app
App:
Students must submit their Mendix App created as part of the WIL project.
Students are asked to add the tutor as a team member to the App by 24 May 2024, the due date.
Name of the app:
Student ID (8 digits) and first and last name. No spacesàuse underscore. For example,
“44191384_Michael_Smith”.
Facilitators will help you with naming the app in the seminar. We do this in Week 7 and Week 8.
To submit your app, you need to add the marker as SCRUM MASTER (second Scrum Master):
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1) Go to the Mendix platform.
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2) Go to Developer Portal and select on the left side COLLABORATE there select Team
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3) Now you can invite team members. Click on the blue button that says “Invite member"
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4) A new screen opens with the title: “Invite Users to [name of the app] App”
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5) Enter the email address bism7255_tutors@business.uq.edu.au into the entry field where promoted
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6) Click “Add to List”
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7) Select the role for the marker as “SCRUM MASTER”
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8) Follow all the steps until the invitation is sent, and a confirmation is displayed that the invitation
has been sent.
Submission date: 24 May 2024 at 2pm
The assignment will remain open for late submission, but late submission penalties will apply in
accordance with the electronic course profile.
This also applies to the student app -- if a student has not submitted the Mendix App (added the tutor as
a Scrum Master) then the submission is considered “incomplete,” and late submission penalties apply.
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References
Margaret Plack, Maryanne Driscoll, Sylvene Blissett, Raymond Mckenna, Thomas P Plack (2005) A method for assessing reflective journal writing: Journal of Allied Health 34(4):199-208.
http://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/
Matook, Sabine, Wang, Yazhu Maggie, Koeppel, Nuria and Guerin, Simon (2021). Experiential learning in Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) projects for metacognition: Integrating theory with practice. Australasian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS), Virtual, 6-10 December 2021.
Materials provided by the Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority;
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MARKING RUBRIC – Total 25 marks
Criteria Fail Meets Expectations Very Good
Use of AI for essay writing |
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Essays that include text generated from Artificial Intelligence (AI) large-scale language models (LLM) such as ChatGPT are prohibited. When the marker has the justified belief that a student submits such an AI-generated essay, the mark given for assignment 3 is zero marks. |
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Marking Rubric with a focus on the Mendix App à 15 Marks |
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The marking of the essay is app is based on the app students created as part of the WIL. The app
implementation follows the client's requirements of the app. Throughout the semester, these requirements
are elicited and clarified. These are the requirements for the app. If these requirements are not met the essay is not marked and the mark for assignment 3 is zero.
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Mendix App |
Student started with a template and not a blank app. Poor use of Mendix features Poor requirements completeness Poor implementation of Mendix features Zero-Five marks |
Average requirements completeness Average user interface implementations Average implementation of Mendix features Six-Ten marks |
Advanced requirements and their completeness Advanced user interface implementations Advanced implementation of Mendix features 11-15 marks |
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Marking Rubric with a focus on the Essay – 10 Marks
Learning experience table |
No or poor reflection on Mendix learning experiences. Zero-One mark |
Simplistic (no or limited critical and reflective engagement) description of the respective low- code ISD activities and the link between Mendix development activities and meta-cognitive skills. Two-Four marks |
Critical and reflective engagement of the respective low-code ISD activities and the link between Mendix development activities and meta-cognitive skills. Five-Six marks |
Business perspectives and values What and how did you embed business perspective and values in the Redx Stocktaking App? Zero mark Poor embeddedness of business perspectives and values |
Simplistic (not critical or not reflective) embeddedness of business perspectives and values One to 1.5 marks |
Critical and reflective embeddedness of business perspectives and values Two-Three marks |
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Layout, structure, grammar Does my reflective journal clearly and error-free communicate my reflections on the Mendix learning experience? |
Many errors that make the writing confusing and hard to read. Document is not structured with headings. Zero mark |
Writing has several errors in punctuation, spelling, or grammar. Some structure is recognizable, but some headings are missing. Half a mark |
With some exceptions, punctuation, spelling, and grammar are correct. Document is well structured. One marks |
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