CHAPTER

6 Development and
evaluation of an
innovative solution

KEY KNOWLEDGE FOR THE STUDENT

This chapter, along with Chapter 5, contains information that is required
On completion of this chapter, you will for Unit 2, Area of Study 1. For this outcome you are required to work
be able to demonstrate knowledge of: as a member of a team to develop an innovative solution to a need or
opportunity related to the use of an emerging technology, following the
Data and information problem-solving methodology. In this chapter you will find information
•• techniques for collecting data to about the laws and other issues related to the use of emerging
determine user needs and requirements, technologies. The steps involved in the problem-solving methodology
such as interviews and surveys are discussed, starting with data collection and continuing through to
evaluation. These steps need to be demonstrated as part of the outcome
Approaches to problem solving for Unit 2, Area of Study 1.
•• techniques for documenting the
development of solutions FOR THE TEACHER
•• solution specifications such as functional
and non-functional requirements, This chapter discusses issues related to the use of emerging technologies,
constraints and scope including legal, economic and ethical issues. Then there is discussion of
•• characteristics of creative and innovative the stages of the problem-solving methodology, which students need to
solutions demonstrate as part of the outcome. At the completion of Chapters 5
•• design tools and techniques for and 6, students should be able to demonstrate the key skills required for
representing solution designs, such as Unit 2, Outcome 1, where, working in groups, they create an innovative
mock-ups, pseudocode, sitemaps and solution to a need or opportunity using an emerging technology. The
storyboards
solution can be in the form of a proof of concept, a prototype or a fully
•• functions and techniques for developing
developed product.
innovative solutions
•• techniques for validating and testing
solutions
•• evaluation criteria and techniques
for evaluating the efficiency and
effectiveness of innovative solutions
•• tools and techniques for coordinating
and monitoring projects, such as Gantt
charts

Interactions and impact

•• key legislation and how emerging
technologies are affected by: the
Copyright Act 1968, the Health Records
Act 2001, the Privacy Act 1988 and the
Privacy and Protection Act 2014
Shutterstock.com/baranozdemir

•• ethical issues arising from the

development of emerging technologies
Reproduced from the VCE Applied Computing Study
Design (2020–2023) © VCAA; used with permission.

233

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Key legislation and emerging

technologies
Legislation is the body of laws, created by governments, that individuals and organisations in
each government’s jurisdiction must follow. The introduction of new technologies presents
significant challenges for governments as well as for developers and users of the emerging
technology.
By their nature, emerging technologies have the potential to cause significant change
in society. Each emerging technology – for example, artificial intelligence, recreational
drones, nanosatellites and virtual assistants – can provide new and potentially unseen
functionality and features. Governments must be able to respond quickly to create,
modify or enforce existing legislation to ensure that these technologies uphold the
values of the society in which they function. Equally, the developers and users of
emerging technology need to ensure that they are not breaching any existing laws in
their government jurisdiction.
In Australia, there are three levels of government. The federal parliament is responsible
for creating legislation that applies to all individuals and organisations within Australia.
State parliaments are responsible for creating legislation that applies to all individuals and
organisations within a particular state, such as New South Wales or Victoria, while local
councils create by-laws that apply within their individual local council area.
Both federal and state parliaments create new laws by introducing an Act of Parliament.
An Act of Parliament is a document that contains a set of conditions and rules about a
particular area or topic. Once parliament passes an Act, it then becomes law in that
jurisdiction.
Acts of Parliament (or pieces of legislation) that have an effect on emerging technologies
include the:
•• Privacy Act 1988
•• Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014
•• Health Records Act 2001
•• Copyright Act 1968.

Privacy Act 1988

The Privacy Act 1988 is a federal law. It contains conditions and rules related to how and
when personal data and information can be collected by Australian Government agencies
and private organisations that turn over more than $3 million annually. The Privacy Act
was designed to be technologically neutral, but a great deal has changed since 1988 and
the vast advances in emerging technologies will seriously challenge the current Act in the
future.
Refer to pages 28–30 in Chapter 1 to revise the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy
Principles.

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E merg i n g tech n olog ies an d privac y CASE

Technology is not the enemy of privacy. Technology can be privacy enhancing. STUDY
…
Developments in biometric technologies have been at the forefront of this change.
Back when the Privacy Act was introduced in 1988, many biometric technologies were
largely confined to science fiction movies. Of course, a few, such as the use of fingerprints
in law enforcement, were well established. However, the concept that biometric
technologies could become part of our everyday consumer transactions was almost
unthinkable.
A person standing in line at a bank branch in 1988 would struggle to conceive a future
where they could phone their bank, be identified by voice recognition technology, and
transact from the comfort of their own home. Yet today, this is a reality.
A worker signing a time sheet as they arrived at work in 1988, would struggle to conceive
a time when they would be required to have a fingerprint scanned to clock on. Yet for some
people today, this is a reality.
A young adult entering a nightclub in 1988 would struggle to conceive a future where
they would have to submit to a face scan before being allowed entry. This would have been
the crazy plot of some futuristic television show. But today, this is also a reality.
We are likely to continue to see an increasing use of biometric technologies like those I
have just mentioned, as well as iris scanning, palm scanning, and many others, in ways that
we cannot predict. Assuming that these new technologies are developed in a way that is
genuinely sensitive to privacy, this need not necessarily be a bad thing.
What is interesting about biometric technology is that we tend to hear both that it is
good and bad for people’s privacy.
… For example, voice recognition technology is being rolled out in some call centres to
identify callers, leading to more effective protection of clients’ personal information.
On the other hand, we hear that biometric technology has the potential to invade
our privacy. For example, in the film Minority Report, individuals confront ubiquitous iris
scanning infrastructure and technology which allows their every activity to be tracked.
How do such obviously divergent views on privacy and biometrics coexist? 6.1
THINK ABOUT
The answer is: because biometric technology is what we make it. Biometric technologies APPLIED COMPUTING
are not inherently good or bad for privacy, and privacy is not a blocker to the use of biometric
Think of one other
technologies. These technologies can become good or bad for privacy depending on how
emerging technology.
they are designed, developed and deployed. How does the Privacy
Pilgrim, T. (27 May 2010). Privacy in Australia: Challenges and opportunities [Speech], Act 1988 affect it?
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner website – www.oaic.gov.au CC BY 3.0 Au

Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014

The Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 is a Victorian state law. It contains conditions
and rules related to how and when personal data and information can be collected by
Victorian Government agencies, including local councils, and private organisations that
conduct contract work on behalf of the Victorian Government and councils.

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The Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 is based on 10 Information Privacy Principles
(IPPs), which, although different, do have some similarities to the Australian Privacy
Principles (APPs).
An abridged version of the 10 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) is shown in Table 6.1.

Table 6.1 Information Privacy Principles (IPPs)

IPP 1 Collection
An organisation can only collect personal information if it is necessary to fulfil one or more of its functions.
It must collect information only by lawful and fair means, and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. It must
provide notice of the collection, outlining matters such as the purpose of collection and how individuals can
access the information.
IPP 2 Use and disclosure
Personal information can only be used and disclosed for the primary purpose for which it was collected, or
for a secondary purpose that would be reasonably expected.
IPP 3 Data quality
Organisations must keep personal information accurate, complete and up to date. The accuracy of personal
information should be verified at the time of collection, and periodically checked as long as it is used and
disclosed by the organisation.
IPP 4 Data security
Organisations need to protect the personal information they hold from misuse, loss, unauthorised access,
modification or disclosure. An organisation must take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-
identify personal information when it is no longer needed.
IPP 5 Openness
Organisations must have clearly expressed policies on the way they manage personal information.
IPP 6 Access and correction
Individuals have the right to seek access to their own personal information and to make corrections to it if
necessary. An organisation may only refuse in limited circumstances that are detailed in the PDP Act, for
example where disclosure might threaten the safety of an individual.
IPP 7 Unique identifiers
A unique identifier is an identifier (usually a number) that is used for the purpose of identifying an individual.
Use of unique identifiers is only allowed where an organisation can demonstrate that the assignment is
necessary to carry out its functions efficiently.
IPP 8 Anonymity
Where lawful and practicable, individuals should have the option of transacting with an organisation without
identifying themselves.
IPP 9 Transborder data flows
If an individual’s personal information travels outside Victoria, the privacy protection should travel with it.
IPP 10 Sensitive information
The PDP Act places special restrictions on the collection of sensitive information. This includes racial or
ethnic origin, political opinions or membership of political associations, religious or philosophical beliefs,
membership of professional or trade associations or trade unions, sexual preferences or practices, and
criminal record. Organisations can only collect sensitive information under certain circumstances.
Extract from Information Privacy Principles, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner website – www.oaic.gov.au CC BY 3.0 Au

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The Internet of Things (IoT) consists of billions of interconnected devices that collect,
receive and send data. IoT devices collect enormous amounts of data, including personal
data, and communicate this data, all without the user being actively involved. Data collected
via IoT devices is often shared with a range of other devices. Application programming
interfaces (APIs) can be used to capture data used in one information system so it can be
used in another information system (which may also be independent of the producers of the
IoT devices).

S ma rt home devices RESEARCH

Smart home devices such as internet-connected speakers, televisions, fridges and microwaves
are designed to make our busy lives easier. Who would not want to be able to control their home
with their mobile phone from anywhere in the world? You could turn lights on and off, get your
fridge to order the shopping or turn on the heating to make sure your house is warm when you
arrive home.

Shutterstock.com/Black Jack

Figure 6.1 In a smart home, many appliances can be controlled using a smartphone.

Gaming consoles, for example, are found in millions of homes in Australia. These devices rely
on internet connectivity to stream video and voice chat. They rely on apps to keep the system
and applications up to date. The trouble is that cybercriminals are finding that these devices are
a new source of data and information they can use to rob you of money or your identity.
1 Review the information presented in Table 6.1. How does this information relate to the use
of always-on smart devices in the home?
2 In the light of these concerns, what steps can you take to ensure that your privacy is
protected?

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Health Records Act 2001

The Health Records Act 2001 is a Victorian state law containing conditions and rules
related to how and when an individual’s personal health data and information can be
collected by both Victorian government agencies and private organisations that either offer
health services or handle health records.
This includes health service providers, private organisations, Victorian and local
government departments, public hospitals, other public bodies such as Victoria Police
and VicRoads, and sole practitioners and partnerships such as doctors, dentists and
physiotherapists.
The Health Records Act is based on 11 Health Privacy Principles (HPP) that, although
different, are very similar to the Information Privacy Principles (IPPs).

Table 6.2 A summary of the Health Privacy Principles. The principles in full can be found in the Act.
HPP 1 Collection
Only collect health information if necessary for the performance of a function or activity, and with consent
(unless consent cannot be obtained and all other criteria under HPP1 are satisfied). Notify individuals about
what you do with the information and that they can gain access to it.
HPP 2 Use and disclosure
Only use or disclose health information for the primary purpose for which it was collected or a directly
related secondary purpose the person would reasonably expect. Otherwise, you generally need consent.
HPP 3 Data quality
Take reasonable steps to ensure health information you hold is accurate, complete, up-to-date and relevant
to the functions you perform.
HPP 4 Data security and retention
Safeguard the health information you hold against misuse, loss, unauthorised access and modification. Only
destroy or delete health information in accordance with criteria of HPP4.
HPP 5 Openness
Document clearly expressed policies on your management of health information and make this statement
available to anyone who asks for it.
HPP 6 Access and correction
Individuals have a right to seek access to health information held about them in the private sector, and to
correct it if it is inaccurate, incomplete, misleading or not up-to-date.
HPP 7 Identifiers
Only assign a number to identify a person if the assignment is reasonably necessary to carry out your
functions efficiently.
HPP 8 Anonymity
Give individuals the option of not identifying themselves when entering transactions with organisations,
where this is lawful and practicable.
HPP 9 Transborder data flows
Only transfer health information outside Victoria if the organisation receiving it is subject to laws
substantially similar to the HPPs.
HPP 10 Transfer/closure of practice health service provider
If you are a health service provider, and your business or practice is being sold, transferred or closed down,
without you continuing to provide services, you must give notice of the transfer or closure to past service
users.
HPP 11 Making information available to another health service provider
If you are a health service provider, you must make health information relating to an individual available to
another health service provider if requested by the individual.

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M Y H EALTH RECORD
ISSUE
My Health Record

The My Health Record system started in Australia in 2018. It provides a fast online summary
of your key health issues so any doctor anywhere can access your patient information. For
example, you might live in Hamilton, but could be on holiday at Lakes Entrance and be
unfortunate enough to be nipped by a crab. When you are taken to the hospital, the treating
doctor in Lakes Entrance can access your health record to see that you are allergic to a variety
of antibiotics. This will inform the doctor on the best way to treat you.
This is the scenario for all people who chose not to opt out of the system. People who opted
out did so mainly because of concerns about data security. Since the Cambridge Analytica
scandal in 2018, in which it was revealed that the personal data of millions of people was
harvested from their Facebook accounts and used for political purposes, people have been wary
of large online personal data repositories.
The Australian Government has established a Digital Health and Security Centre to
secure digital national health records across Australia. This centre will monitor and assess any
cybersecurity threat and make regular reviews and improvements to their approach.
How does My Health Record align with the Health Privacy Principles summarised in Table 6.2?

Copyright Act 1968

The Copyright Act 1968 is an Australian federal law containing conditions and rules related
to copyright. Copyright gives the owner of an original work (such as a software application,
a movie, a song or a photographic image) the right to control who can use the original work,
and how.
Copyright applies to any original work created in Australia and is automatic and free.
This means that the owner of the original work does not need to apply for copyright; rather,
copyright is granted automatically as soon as the work is created. No fee needs to be paid in
order for copyright to apply. The only requirement is that the work is in a tangible format,
not just a thought in your head.
The IoT poses some problems for the concept of copyright. Internet of Things devices can
be used in an individual’s home, in their car, in their workplace or when they are shopping,
to help them with a range of tasks. Devices on the IoT are interoperable. Interoperability
is the ability of a device to connect and interact with other devices, particularly devices
belonging to different information systems.
The functionality of interoperable devices can be seen to conflict with the purposes of the
Copyright Act. For two devices to communicate, they must be able to share software instructions
with each other. Software is an original work, and hence is governed by the Act. The owner of
the original work has the right to control who can use that work, and in what way.

Emerging technologies and ethical issues

Ethics are beliefs, principles or standards that individuals, organisations and society have
regarding acceptable behaviour. Ethics are sometimes referred to as knowing right from
wrong. An ethical issue arises when current behaviours or practices could be considered
to be the wrong thing to do. These behaviours or practices may not necessarily breach any
existing laws, but they still can be considered unethical.

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Drones
6.2
THINK ABOUT Imagine you and your friends are in
APPLIED COMPUTING
your backyard. A neighbour’s drone
If your neighbour invades the space above your head. The
took photos of you camera on the drone captures images
and your friends,
who would hold the
of you and your friends and sends them
copyright on those to your neighbour’s smartphone. The

Shutterstock.com/ymgerman
photos under existing use of recreational drones (under 2 kg
laws? Do you consider in weight) is not yet well regulated.
this behaviour to be
unethical? The Privacy Act 1988 only applies to
organisations with an annual turnover
of $3 million. Your neighbour is
unlikely to be in this category.
Figure 6.2 At present, there are few laws overseeing
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority the use of recreational drones.
(CASA) is currently reviewing the
regulations for the recreational use of drones. At the moment, your only path of redress is to
The use of drones
in Australia – report make a privacy complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Weblink

Nanosatellites
Nanosatellites were discussed in Chapter 5 (see pages 200–2). Nanosatellites were once the
domain of government organisations; now, private organisations use them as well. These
private organisations are launching nanosatellites in increasing numbers and are using them
to capture images of large areas of Earth’s surface. One private organisation that operates
commercial nanosatellites is Planet (see weblink). It has more than 130 satellites in orbit,
Planet and an ability to monitor your area of interest anywhere on Earth.
Weblink Nanosatellites have the ability to cross international borders, which complicates the
question of complying with privacy laws. Usually, a country’s laws only have effect within
that country’s jurisdiction, and that normally means within the borders of that country.

Shutterstock.com/K303

Figure 6.3 Nanosatellites are flying over your neighbourhood.

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International laws exist that stop individual countries claiming outer space within their
jurisdiction. International law states that objects (including satellites) launched into space are 6.3
THINK ABOUT
to be registered to a particular country, and that the laws of that country will apply to the object. APPLIED COMPUTING
For example, if a satellite is launched from Australia, or if an Australian organisation owns a Who owns the
satellite, the satellite can be registered to Australia, and Australian laws will apply to the satellite. copyright of the
Some nanosatellites carry extremely powerful cameras that allow amazingly detailed images taken by a
nanosatellite?
images to be taken. As the cost of constructing and launching satellites has become
significantly less, and as the size of satellites decreases, private organisations are entering the
industry in the hope of using satellite technology for commercial gain. Launching and flying
of these satellites is subject to international law and there are regulatory requirements in
6.4
national legislation, such as the Space Activities Act 1998. This Act states that, if an Australian THINK ABOUT
APPLIED COMPUTING
citizen launches a satellite overseas, they must provide an overseas launch certificate. If any
damage is caused by that satellite (such as in a collision with another satellite), then the What are the ethical
Australian Government is responsible. issues raised by
moving nanosatellites
Nanosatellites tend to have a limited period of useful life. At the end of that period, a into graveyard orbits?
satellite is decommissioned and is sometimes moved to what is termed a ‘graveyard orbit’
further away from Earth. As the number of nanosatellites increases, the issue of space junk
becomes increasingly important.

Augmented reality 6.5

THINK ABOUT
Augmented reality was discussed in Chapter 5 (see pages 202–3). Pokémon Go, a popular APPLIED COMPUTING
augmented-reality game, was released in Australia in 2016. Players roam the physical environment Which of the IPPs
in a treasure hunt for Pokémon characters, which they ‘capture’ using their phone camera. The out of the Privacy and
phone uses its GPS capabilities to reward the players with Pokéballs and potions. The search for Data Protection Act
2014 (see Table 6.1)
Pokémon has taken players to cemeteries, hospitals, private land (potentially breaching trespass
affect an augmented-
laws) and public footpaths. All data collected during the playing of the game is owned and stored reality game such as
by Nintendo and Niantic Labs (as stated in their privacy policy). Their privacy policy goes on to Pokémon Go?
say that this data can be shared with third parties for research and analysis.
Shutterstock.com/Matthew Corley

Figure 6.4 Collecting Pokémon on private land could breach

trespass laws.
3D printing
Artistic works are automatically protected by copyright law. These works can include
3D-printed objects and the design files that were used to print those objects. The copyright
holder has the right to publish or communicate the files electronically.

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If more than 50 copies of an object

are 3D-printed, then it is considered
that they are industrially applied and
will be protected under design law.
Objects cannot be protected under
both copyright law and design law.

Shutterstock.com/Phonlamai Photo
The environmental cost of 3D
printing is significant. The most
6.6 common material used as filament
THINK ABOUT
APPLIED COMPUTING
in the process is plastic, which
causes significant pollution during
Who owns the its production and is not recyclable.
copyright on the
orange robot shown The amount of electricity used in the
in Figure 6.5? What 3D printing process is significantly Figure 6.5 A 3D-printed robot toy
is the cost to the greater than in traditional printing methods. Some 3D printing processes release harmful
environment in
particles into the air, potentially causing health problems for those people within close
producing this toy?
proximity of the printer.

Wearable technology
Wearable devices such as smart watches and activity trackers are a booming business.
More than 125 million smart watches were produced in 2018, and it is predicted 190
million will be produced in 2022. These devices have become a vast store of health
6.7
THINK ABOUT and medical data such as heart rates, blood pressure, the exercise people do and how
APPLIED COMPUTING many kilojoules they consume. Apps can be downloaded that extend a device’s ability to
How do the Privacy track fertility cycles and blood glucose levels, provide medication reminders and produce
and Data Protection electrocardiograms (ECG). Very soon, there will be little information that our smart
Act 2014 and the
device does not know about us. It is predicted that device makers will look to a new
Health Records
Act 2001 relate to source of revenue: selling health data to insurance companies. The time may not be
wearable technology? too far away when your insurance premium will be determined by the amount of daily
exercise that you undertake.

Coordinating and monitoring

projects
A project consists of a series of interrelated tasks that need to be completed to be able to
create a solution to a need or opportunity.
A project has the following characteristics:
•• a clearly defined purpose
•• a start time
•• a limited timeline
•• a number of tasks.
Examples of a project include:
•• building a house
•• writing an essay for school

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•• moving house
•• installing a new computer network
•• developing a software solution.

You can draw on a number of tools to assist you when planning projects. Most are
designed to show different aspects of a project’s status, such as the time taken or which tasks
depend on one another. The project-management tools discussed below should be used to
complement one another, not in isolation. Project-management software does not create
tasks and assign resources. You must make informed decisions, and the software will help
you with the management, documentation, presentation and communication of project
information. You can update the documentation easily when changes are made during the
course of the project.
For Unit 2, Outcome 1, you will, in collaboration with other students, analyse, design,
develop and evaluate an innovative solution to an identified need or opportunity involving
a digital system. The first part of that task will involve creating a project-management plan,
then monitoring the project and updating the plan as required during the course of the
project. The first part of the project-management plan will be the project table; this is
followed by a Gantt chart. Finally, keep a record of the progress and any changes required
to the timeline in the project log. These project-management tools are all explained below.

Project table
The project manager will brainstorm, on a separate sheet of paper or word-processing
document, all the possible tasks involved in analysing a problem, and designing, developing
and evaluating a solution (Table 6.3).
Table 6.3 The main headings of a project table for publishing a report, with sample data
Task number Task name Duration Resources Task milestone Dependent tasks
(days) required (Y/N) (predecessors)
1 Departmental 5 No N/A
reports
2 CEO’s report 3 No N/A
3 Proofread 2 Yes 1, 2
4 Obtain 5 No N/A
artwork
5 Cover design 3 No 4

Gantt chart
A Gantt chart provides a standard format for displaying project schedule information. It lists
the project tasks worked out in the project table, and their corresponding start and finish dates,
in a calendar format (Figure 6.6). Gantt charts not only show a timeline for completion of
the project, but they can also highlight tasks that are critical to the timely completion of a
project. Using a Gantt chart makes it easy for the project team members to see when tasks
need to start and how long they should take. Many Gantt charts also show milestones and basic
task dependencies. Dependencies show the relationships between tasks, when a task should
begin or end in relation to another task. Although you can use dedicated project-management
software to generate Gantt charts, simple ones can be constructed in spreadsheet programs.

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Figure 6.6 An example of a Gantt chart created in Microsoft Excel. It displays the information shown in the project table (Table 6.3).
Simple dependencies have been shown with arrows. Different colours can be used to make it easier to identify individual tasks.

Annotations
Annotations are comments or notes that are placed on the Gantt chart to explain any
changes that may be made. These provide useful information to project team members
about problems that may be occurring and may identify any recurring issues with the project.
These annotations may also become useful after the project is completed, providing lessons
about things that should be avoided in future projects.

Responsive redesign timeline

Pre-production Completed on time Days to complete

Structure One day late

Responsive redesign pa... Completed on time

Functionality rewrite Two days late to complete

Task

Simple responsive pages Started two days late

TEST + LAUNCH Started two days late

End of project
Desktop only TBA two days later
than expected
0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 58 63
Days

Figure 6.7 Gantt chart with annotations

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Adjustments
Adjustments are any changes that may need to be made to the timeline as a result of events
that have occurred as the project progressed. Sometimes, if a task takes longer to complete
than expected, the delay may not have any effect on other tasks. If this situation occurs,
adjustments to the project plan will be required.

Time/
Date M T W T F S S M

No Task Dur Pred 23 24 25 26

A Design tickets 1

B Design website 3

C Approval 1

D Design completed 0

E Create ticket 2

Figure 6.8 Gantt chart before adjustments

Time/
M T W T F S S M T
Date

No Task Dur Pred 23 24 25 26

A Design tickets 1

B Design website 3

C Approval 1

D Design completed 0

E Create ticket 2

Figure 6.9 Gantt chart after adjustments

Project logs
Once a project is under way, a project log can be used to document the development of the
solution. A project log is similar to a diary in which events that affect each task in the project
are written down to create a history of the project. These logs may assist by providing details
that can be used to complete tasks, or by indicating problems that occurred so they can be
avoided in later stages of the project.

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Figure 6.10 Project log template created in Microsoft Excel. Columns C, F, G and H are data validation
Ad Project log template drop-down lists. Columns G, H and J also have conditional formatting applied to indicate priority and impact
Additional
by colour: low, medium, high, critical and showstopper. This template is available on NelsonNet.
resources

Collecting data
A need responds to an As part of the analysis stage of the problem-solving methodology, you will identify the
existing problem (reactive),
whereas an opportunity is requirements, constraints and scope of the solution. To do this, you will need to collect data
the development of a new about the identified need or opportunity.
solution for a problem that
doesn’t necessarily already Techniques that can be used to collect data, such as observation, interviews and surveys,
exist (proactive). are discussed in Chapter 1. Refer to pages 6–8 to review these techniques.

CASE An ar tistic en d eavour at Keen College: Identif ying

STUDY th e op p or tu n ity
Ms Curry is the Year 11 Art teacher at Keen College. Her students are currently working
on a major piece of assessment, in which they are experimenting with different materials
and techniques to produce a piece of artwork that is significant to them. Each student
must keep a visual diary to document their artistic journey. Ms Curry is very proud of her
students’ achievements and wants to make their finished artworks available to the whole
school community, including other students, teachers and all parents.

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Ms Curry mentioned this idea to

Mrs Mustard, the Year 11 Applied
Computing teacher. Ms Curry said
that she thought that perhaps a
digital solution would work best.
Mrs Mustard was delighted as she
has been looking out for a possible
project for her students. Ms Curry
and Mrs Mustard have decided to
combine the talents of their two
classes to come up with a solution to
this opportunity.

Shutterstock.com/Layland Masuda
Figure 6.11 Ms Curry working with one of her art
students

Solution specifications
The problem-solving methodology is used to create a solution that will meet the needs of
the users.
The first stage of the problem-solving methodology is the analysis stage. This is often
considered the most crucial stage. Many organisations invest a lot of time, effort and money
in this stage. They consider that getting the analysis stage correct and having a clear picture
of what the user requires will save time and money in the latter stages.
The analysis stage is typically about ‘What?’ questions. What is the current information 6.8
THINK ABOUT
need? What is required to meet the current information need? What constraints may restrict APPLIED COMPUTING
the requirements? What is the scope of the solution?
The analysis stage consists of three activities: Explain how
completing a thorough
•• determining solution requirements analysis may save time
and money in the
•• determining solution constraints
latter stages of the
•• deciding on the scope of the solution. methodology.

Solution requirements
Solution requirements state what the client needs from the solution. What features do they
want in the solution? Solution requirements can be broken down into functional and non-
functional requirements.

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Functional requirements
Functional requirements are directly related to what the solution will do. These become
the functions that the software incorporates. Examples of functional requirements for a smart
refrigerator might include the ability to:
•• detect items stored in the refrigerator
•• track use by and expiry dates
•• control temperature by drawer or compartment
•• send alerts when issues are encountered with the refrigerator
•• control settings using a smartphone app.

Non-functional requirements
Non-functional requirements are the characteristics users or clients would like the solution
to have but that do not affect what the solution does. Examples include that it:
•• is user-friendly
•• has a clear user interface
•• does not display any personal details
•• is compatible with different operating systems
•• has app portability so it can operate on devices of different sizes.

CASE An ar tistic en d eavour at Keen College: Projec t planning and

STUDY solu tion req u irem e nts
Ms Curry and Mrs Mustard arranged to get their Art and Applied Computing (AC) students
together one lunchtime. There were three students who took both classes so these students
were designated as the ‘go-betweens’, taking on the role of keeping both classes up to
date with what was happening.
The AC students want to apply the problem-solving methodology to finding a solution
to this opportunity. The students sat down together and generated a project table of the
key tasks that would have to be performed. Then they created a Gantt chart, which they
shared with the students of both classes so that everyone was aware of the tasks, their
dependencies and the timeline they needed to work within.
The students would then document all stages of the process in the project log
(see pages 245–6) and update the Gantt chart if task requirements changed.
The first stage of the problem-solving methodology is analysis, starting with determining
the solution requirements. The AC students decided to interview each art student
individually to find out what they wanted. Half the AC students agreed on the interview
questions and then conducted the interviews.
The other half of the AC class created a Survey Monkey survey about user requirements
and sent this out to all teacher, student and parent email addresses stored on the school
database.
As a result of the interviews and the survey, it was determined that the solution
requirements would be:

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Functional
•• Display one piece of art from each art student.
•• Present, in some format, each art student’s visual diary.
•• Make the gallery available to all students, teachers and parents.
•• Have the ability to add more art pieces.
•• Alert users when more art pieces have been added.
Non-functional
•• Image files need to be downloaded in a reasonable time.
•• The solution has to be accessible.
•• Solution is available to use on all devices.
•• The gallery is available 24/7.

Constraints
Solution constraints are factors that may limit or restrict the solution requirements, both
functional and non-functional.
When buying a car, the amount of money available for the purchase may restrict the
user’s requirements. The user may not be able to purchase the car they really want. Instead,
they may need to re-evaluate their needs and buy a car that is closer in purchase price to the
money that they have available.
Like requirements, constraints can be broken down into groups: economic, technical,
social, legal and usability.

Economic
Economic constraints include time and available budget.
The deadline by which the user or client needs to have the solution operational will
define the time available to design and develop the solution. The longer the time available,
the more opportunity there is to complete an in-depth analysis, do detailed designs and
develop advanced functions of the solution. The shorter the timeframe, the faster each stage
in the problem-solving methodology needs to be completed.
Meanwhile, the budget (money) available to complete the project may affect the
hardware and software (digital systems) available for use, the number and range of staff who
are available to work on the solution and even the data used as input.
A lack of either time or money may necessitate a re-evaluation of the user’s requirements,
or a re-evaluation of how the requirements can be achieved.

Technical
6.9
Technical constraints are constraints related to the hardware and software available for THINK ABOUT
the project. Available hardware and software, memory and storage capacity, processing and APPLIED COMPUTING
transmission speeds, and security concerns are all possible technical constraints. List three technical
For example, developers need to keep in mind that smartphone users may not always constraints that
have access to a high-speed network connection. They need to ensure that any animated developers of a drone
may need to consider
data visualisation solution does not require a large amount of bandwidth to download when developing the
and view. product.

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Social, legal and usability

Non-technical constraints relate to areas other than hardware and software.
Usability and the user’s level of expertise (social) are examples. If a solution is being
developed for users with little expertise in digital systems, this may restrict some of the
requirements that would involve complex manoeuvres to complete. Creating a solution for
a younger audience may restrict the method used to input data into the solution.
Legal requirements such as privacy laws may restrict features linked to displaying personal
data in the solution, or to collecting data from the devices of someone using the solution.
Copyright laws may restrict features that use material for which permission has not been
granted; for example, as a background in an augmented-reality application.

CASE An ar tistic en d eavour at Keen College: Cons traints

STUDY On the basis of the solution requirements identified from the interviews with the art
students, the AC students brainstormed all the constraints that they could think of and
categorised these under headings, as follows.
Economic
•• School Council has made $500 available to produce the solution.
•• Ms Curry wants the solution available one week before the school Open Day at the start
of Term 4.
Technical
•• The school has a Bring Your Own Device program, but most students use a Windows
laptop.
•• Download speeds at the school can be very slow.
Legal
•• Student privacy if student names are published
•• Copyright of student work
Usability
•• Accessibility for deaf and blind members of the school community

Scope of the solution

After the solution constraints are identified and the solution requirements are adjusted based
on the constraints, the scope of the solution can be created.
The scope of the solution outlines the boundaries or parameters of the solution so all
stakeholders are aware of exactly what the solution will contain and what it will not contain.
It is best to outline at the start of the project what will and will not be included in the solution.
This can prevent disagreements later in the project between the user and the developer.
6.10 The scope of the solution consists of two elements:
THINK ABOUT
APPLIED COMPUTING •• what the solution will do – a list of all the solution requirements (both functional and
List three problems non-functional) that will be included in the solution
that a clear scope of •• what the solution will not do – a list of all the solution requirements that will not be
solution can avoid
included in the solution. Usually, these are solution requirements initially sought by the
later in the project.
client, but that have been left out of the solution project because of constraints.

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A n ar t i s tic en d eavou r at Keen College: Sc ope CASE

o f t h e s olu tion STUDY
The AC students considered the solution requirements on the basis of the identified
constraints. They decided that, as the time and funds available for the production of the
solution were limited, they would remove the students’ visual diaries from the functional
requirements. This would then enable them to produce the solution within the time frame
required and the budget available. They agreed that they would publish each artist’s name
along with a description of the artwork. A copyright notice would be visible on the same
page as each of the artworks.
They agreed that the solution scope would be:
In scope
•• Display one piece of art from each art student.
•• Make the gallery available to all students, teachers and parents.
•• Thumbnail image files will be viewed on screen without the need to download the
full-size image.
•• Each piece of artwork will have the artist’s name and a short description.
•• There will be a visible copyright notice on each page displaying artwork.
Out of scope
•• Have the ability to add more art pieces.
•• Alert users when more art pieces have been added.
•• Solution is available to use on all devices.
•• Have the gallery available 24/7.
•• Present, in some format, each art student’s visual diary.

Characteristics of solutions
A solution involves formulating a way to solve a problem. A need is essential to the solution so
that the user may complete the task. For example, it might be finding a solution to an existing
error or shortcoming in an information system and creating a new information system that
allows a user to complete a task that is essential to them. An opportunity occurs when
circumstances or factors are present that may allow for a new solution to be developed –
one that does not already exist, or that people have not even thought of yet. An opportunity
involves creating a new unique solution that will be something the users will need.
Once a need or opportunity is identified, existing or similar solutions need to be
investigated to identify whether they can be used to meet the need or objective. If an existing
solution cannot be used, then an innovative solution is required.
The design stage of the problem-solving methodology is about formulating an original
way to solve a problem. It may be possible to create an original solution using existing digital
system components, or it may be necessary to take a completely new approach. To qualify as
an innovative solution, a solution must be unique and developed independently. To develop
an innovative solution requires creative problem solving.
If an innovative solution becomes widely used and copied by others, it can be considered
to be innovative. A temporary tattoo, for example, is being developed to monitor the glucose
levels of diabetic patients. This replaces the painful finger-prick that had to be done several
times a day. Electrical and computer engineers are developing the tattoo to have Bluetooth
capabilities that will send information to the patient’s doctor or to be stored in the cloud.

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Steps often followed to devise an innovative solution include these:

•• Identify a need or opportunity (see page 246).
•• Analyse the problem (see pages 247–51).
•• Come up with more than one solution.
•• Pick the best solution.

More than one solution

When designing and developing an innovative solution, it is advisable to consider more
than one way to meet the need or opportunity. This occurs during the design stage of the
problem-solving methodology. Coming up with more than one solution can occur using a
range of methods, such as:
•• generating a solution idea
•• creating alternative designs.
Although these two methods sound similar, they involve slightly different techniques.

Generating solution ideas

There are a variety of techniques available to generate solution ideas.
Brainstorming
A common technique is brainstorming. Often in a brainstorming session, the participants
are encouraged to offer any possible idea they can think of that may solve the problem,
regardless of how crazy or far-fetched the response may be considered by others.
When brainstorming, try not to hamper the imagination by rejecting ideas too soon.
Brainstorming is a process in which ideas are presented in a non-judgemental, spontaneous,
unstructured – and admittedly somewhat haphazard – process. The only rule is that no idea
is criticised or rejected; every idea, no matter how outrageous or silly, goes onto a list of
possible solutions.
Participants must have no fear of being ridiculed or judged, making mistakes or breaking
rules. While some or many ideas do turn out to be ridiculous, sometimes a half-baked,
half-comical concept may in fact turn out to be an unexpected work of creative genius, or
it may stimulate a related idea that would be perfect.
There are certain rules that you need to adhere to when you are running a brainstorming
session. The most important one is that no one judges any contribution. You must accept
all contributions. An idea that may seem slightly crazy to begin with can sometimes be
workshopped into a great idea. In the 1970s, a brainstorming session came up with the idea
of a pet rock. The idea was workshopped, and before long you could buy not only a pet rock
but a pet rock house and a training manual. Everyone had to have a pet rock in the 1970s
and the idea made the company millions of dollars. It was the pre-technological version of
a Tamagotchi.
Make sure that everyone listens to everyone else’s ideas. Specify that only one person
talks at a time and there is only one idea at a time. This not only ensures that even the shyest
member of the group will contribute, but also makes it easier to record the ideas. Using these
rules will assist you in getting a large number of ideas with which you can work.

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Getty Images/Al Freni/The LIFE Images Collection

Figure 6.12 Pet rocks were all the rage in the 1970s.

One strategy behind the use of brainstorming is that allowing participants to be free-
thinking means they are not constrained by traditional approaches to solving a problem. The
hope is that they may come up with a creative way to meet the need or opportunity. 6.11
THINK ABOUT
Mind mapping APPLIED COMPUTING
Mind mapping is ideal for complementing the process of brainstorming. Mind mapping Other techniques
is a technique for quickly generating and linking ideas. It is a creative and flexible tool used to generate
that enables you to add, connect, organise and reorganise ideas. Mind-mapping software is solution ideas include:
generally flexible enough that you will not need to stop very often to learn how it works; in • experimenting with
similar solutions
other words, when you are mapping, your creative flow will not often be interrupted.
• role-playing
Unlike old-fashioned sheets of paper or whiteboards, electronic mind maps can stretch
• visualisation
endlessly in any direction. You can easily add or remove links between items or allow entire
• reverse engineering
branches of thought to be moved to new locations, and you will not face the laborious task
• questioning.
of copying out all of the scribbled ideas at the end of the brainstorming session. The mind
Choose one technique
map can be saved for later development, printed, saved as an image, or transferred to a word and find out what it
processor. involves.
Shutterstock.com/Andrey_Popov

Figure 6.13 Mind maps allow you to generate and link ideas easily.

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Creating alternative solutions

When designing the solution to a problem, the first idea you have is rarely the best one.
A different strategy might be cheaper, easier, faster, more effective, or may better meet the
client’s demands. Questions to be asked when thinking about alternative solutions are:
•• What else can we …?
•• What if …?

Substitute
Replace part of the problem with something else. For example, if you have always keyed
contact details into a spreadsheet, you might find it more useful to use a database instead.

Combine
Join unconnected things together, such as making travel easier by combining a suitcase and
a scooter to make a scootcase.

Alamy Stock Photo/WENN Rights Ltd

Figure 6.14 A scootcase – a

suitcase combined with a scooter

Adapt
Use an existing component in a different way, such as using mind-mapping software to create
a site map for a website. The first spreadsheet was created using the concept of paper-based
accounting books.

Strip
Reduce the problem right back to its most basic parts and see what is left. For example,
the tiny and cheap computer, the Raspberry Pi, is a stripped-down Linux PC with minimal
components.
Inspecting the basics may reveal the nature of a problem more clearly.

Compare
Ask yourself, ‘What other thing do I know that resembles this problem, and how does that
other thing work?’ For example, when sending a number of print jobs to a single printer, how
can they be handled? Like a group of people waiting at a gate, you could organise them into
a queue and process them in the order of their arrival.

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Sleep on it
Creators often reach a point where they can make no further progress. Rather than dwelling
on the same failed ideas, it is often better to let them go and think of something else. While
the front of your brain is enjoying a walk with your friend, or an episode of My Kitchen Rules,
the back of your brain will busily be pulling ideas together to create a solution.

Research
Thomas Edison said: ‘Through all the years of experimenting and research, I never once
made a discovery. I start where the last man left off.’ It is important to learn from your
predecessors so you do not waste time re-inventing the wheel.
How have other people solved problems similar to the one you face? You are unlikely
to be the first person in history to have faced such a problem before. How have others
coped? Their successes may lead you in the right direction, and their failures may prevent
you wasting time.

Visualisation
Geniuses often make their thoughts visible because words cannot adequately convey the
ideas they have. Albert Einstein was famous for his non-verbal thought experiments. He
visualised travel at the speed of light as travelling on a train. He said that written words and
numbers did not play a significant role in his thinking process.

Pick the best solution

Once alternative solutions have been workshopped, the next step is to select the one that will
provide the best solution to meet the need or opportunity. While one idea may be attractive
to the developer, the client may have non-technical constraints or priorities that will make
one strategy more attractive than another.
Providing a range of solution ideas lets you choose the one that best suits your requirements.
You may have used an idea successfully in the past, but it may not be appropriate in the
current circumstances. Although previously proven strategies can be useful, you need to be
willing to think outside the box. Old strategies will not work for you in every situation, and it
is lazy and unimaginative to assume that they will.
A successful problem-solver will consider current functional and non-functional
requirements and relevant constraints to develop an imaginative range of options, from
which the best solution can be chosen and developed into a detailed design.
The criteria for choosing the best solution include:
•• how easy it is to use
•• accessibility
•• how long it will take to implement
•• scalability (how easily the product can be increased in capacity)
•• its scope for future modification and enhancement
•• the degree to which it satisfies all requirements
•• the degree to which it copes with constraints
•• ease of implementation
•• development cost, future running and maintenance costs

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•• the amount of labour required to create it and keep it working

•• the amount of disruption likely to be caused to the organisation
•• compatibility with existing hardware, software, data and procedures
•• the amount of training required for staff.

Some decisions can be very difficult, and require careful balancing of competing
needs – usually, cost against quality. A solution that is cheap and quick to produce may be
barely competent, quickly wear out or be unpleasant to use. A superior solution that would
lead to a solution with a long life and happy users will probably take longer to produce
and cost more.

CASE An ar tistic en d eavour at Keen College: Choos ing an innov ative

STUDY solu tion
Now that the AC students had scoped out the solution, they have to come up with the type
of solution they are going to use. As they have a class of 21 students, they decide to split
the class into three equal groups. One group will use the brainstorming technique to come
up with innovative solution ideas, one group will try the mind-mapping technique and the
other group will search the internet to see what has been done before to solve a similar
opportunity. They think that by doing it this way they will come up with the most ideas.
At the end of all three techniques, they combine their ideas and compare them to the
functional and non-functional requirements and the constraints. In this case they pruned
down their list to the following five ideas.
1 Physical gallery with QR codes on each piece of artwork to supply the information
2 Physical gallery with AR markers on each piece of artwork to supply the information via
mobile device app
3 Physical gallery with Bluetooth beacons that would supply different information
depending on the range
4 Web page gallery
5 Printed catalogue with AR capability
The students then compared their cut-down list to the selection criteria to see how
each fared (see Table 6.4). Each idea is rated on a scale of 1–10, where 1 is poor and 10 is
excellent. The scores for each idea were then added to get a total.

TABLE 6.4 Each idea ranked against criteria

Criteria Idea 1 Idea 2 Idea 3 Idea 4 Idea 5
How easy it is to use 7 6 8 8 8
Accessibility 4 4 4 4 2
How long it will take to implement 8 6 6 9 5
Scalability 8 9 6 9 5
Future modification and enhancement 9 9 7 9 4
Satisfies all requirements 6 6 6 9 8
Copes with constraints 8 8 8 9 7

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Criteria Idea 1 Idea 2 Idea 3 Idea 4 Idea 5

Ease of implementation 8 6 6 9 5
Development cost, future running and 9 5 3 8 4
maintenance costs
The amount of labour required 8 3 6 8 4
The amount of disruption 8 8 8 7 9
Compatibility with existing hardware, 6 7 4 9 6
software
Amount of training required for staff 7 6 5 8 7
Total 96 83 78 106 74

The class decided that a web page (Idea 4) would be the best solution for the users as it would make the
artwork available to all users when they wanted to view it, and it would be ready on time and within budget.

Representing solution designs

A good solution will undergo a rigorous design stage before any attempt is made to implement
it. The solution must address the stated need or opportunity and meet all the functional and
non-functional requirements listed in the analysis stage.
Whereas in the analysis stage the focus is on what needs to be done, the design stage
focuses on how it will be done. Designing a solution can occur without using a computer at
all. Much time can be wasted if a design has not been properly planned before work starts
on developing the solution.
In the problem-solving methodology, the two activities involved in the design stage are:
•• designing the solution
•• creating evaluation criteria.
To design the solution, a range of design tools are used to represent both the appearance
and the functionality of the solution. The type of design tools used for a particular solution
will vary depending on the format of the solution (website, database, drone, software
application, etc.).
Types of design tools include (but are not limited to):
•• layout and mock-up diagrams (see Chapter 2)
•• pseudocode
•• site maps
•• storyboards.

Pseudocode
If you have decided to create a programming solution, then you would use pseudocode as
the design tool to represent the functionality. Pseudocode is used to represent the logic or
steps of processing that occur when a solution is run or executed. This logic or the steps of
processing are often referred to as a solution’s algorithm.

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Pseudocode is frequently used when developing a solution using a programming language,

but can also be used to represent the logic in solutions developed using other software types.
Pseudocode combines the structure of programming language code with instructions or
steps written in plain English, as it is created to be read by humans, not a computer.
Below is the pseudocode representing the steps of processing that will occur in a
solution that a teacher will use to calculate a student’s average grade and award based on
their tests result.

ALGORITHM calculateResult()
BEGIN
INPUT Mark 1
INPUT Mark 2
INPUT Mark 3
Total = Mark 1 + Mark 2 + Mark 3
PRINT Total
Average = Total / 3
PRINT Average
IF Average >= 50 THEN
   PRINT Pass
ELSE
   PRINT Fail
ENDIF
END

Pseudocode is commonly used when creating solutions using a programming language.

Advantages of pseudocode are that it allows the logic of the solution to be created before
development begins; it allows the algorithm to be bench-tested; and changes can be made
much more quickly and inexpensively than would be possible if changes were required to
the solution when being developed.
Refer to Chapter 4 for more information on pseudocode.

Site maps
A site map is used to represent the functionality of a solution. A site map shows how the
information has been structured within the solution, and how a user can navigate to find the
required information. A site map is commonly used as a design tool for websites, but can also
be used to show the structure of information presented using other formats, including games,
multimedia, interactive solutions and smartphone applications.
Site maps help to display the information architecture of a solution. A site map can also
be referred to as a hierarchy or tree diagram.

Main page

Curriculum Middle
VCE
Years 7–8 School

English Mathematics Science English Mathematics English Mathematics

Figure 6.15 A site map for a subject selection website

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Site maps are useful in that they help to identify how the information should be organised
and presented, the number of sections needed within the solution (information architecture)
and how a user can access the different sections (navigation).

Storyboards
A storyboard is a design tool that can be used to represent the functionality of a solution, but
also contains elements about the appearance of a solution.
A storyboard shows the features of an individual section of a solution. A series of
storyboards can be used to represent the entire solution. Storyboards are commonly used
when designing websites, but can be used for other software types.
A storyboard can contain a basic layout diagram showing how the section of the solution
can appear.

Storyboard for Darby Vale Page 1 of 43

Client William Screen dimensions 1024 × 768

School Graphic of students

crest
graphic Heading – graphic

Button
Black text on white
links
background
Purple headings – Verdana
School Blue
building
graphic

Blue

Purpose/description Page title Middle School

File name m_school
Introduction to Middle
School page
Links

Link name Link to

Graphics Subjects Table of subject

File name Size (kb) Year 7 & 8 Yr 7 & 8 page
DVC.jpg 23 VCE VCE page
building.jpg 27 Policies Policies page
heading.jpg 4 Contacts Contacts page
Site map Site map page
Background(s) Blue/white Home Home page

Figure 6.16 Storyboard for one page in a website

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It also contains detailed information about:

•• section name
•• filename
•• formatting features (e.g. background and foreground colours)
•• purpose of the section
•• media used in the section (e.g. images, videos)
•• navigation to other sections of the solution.

CASE An ar tistic en d eavour at Keen College: Solution des ign

STUDY Now that the students had decided that a website was the best solution to the opportunity,
they had to set about designing it so it met all the necessary functional requirements. They
developed a site map to represent the structure of the website (Figure 6.17) and two layout
diagrams to show how the final web pages would look (Figure 6.18 and Figure 6.19).

Figure 6.17 Site map of chosen web page solution

Figure 6.18 Layout diagram showing chosen web page solution

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Figure 6.19 Layout diagram showing chosen web page solution

Validating and testing the solution

Remember:
•• Validation checks the reasonableness of data inputs.
•• Testing checks the accuracy of information outputs.

Validation
If you have designed a solution that requires data input, then you need to ensure that your
solution is validated. Validation checks that input data are reasonable and complete. Validation
does not, and cannot, check that inputs are accurate. How, for example, could validation tell
whether a person is being honest when entering their age? However, validation can detect
problems when a person enters their age as 152 years, or as ‘banana’, or nothing at all. You 6.12
can perform validation manually (yourself) or allow software to do it for you. THINK ABOUT
APPLIED COMPUTING
Computers are particularly good at conducting validation checks.
If the person is
1 Existence checks ensure that a value has been entered and the field is not blank, or expected to enter
<null>. their age, what would
2 Type checks ensure data is of the right type; for example, the age that has been entered be a reasonable range
check?
is actually a number.
a 5–50 years
3 Range checks ensure that data is within acceptable limits (for example, children b 15–80 years
enrolling in kindergarten must be 3–6 years old) or comes from a list of acceptable values c 0–100 years
(for example, small, medium or large). d 1–200 years
People can perform manual validation, especially proofreading for sense, clarity,
relevance and appropriateness. In addition, unlike spreadsheets, people tend to ‘smell a rat’
when values entered would pass electronic validation checks but are inaccurate because
they are ridiculous.

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Figure 6.20 Validation rules in FileMaker database. Here an ID field is made

compulsory (‘Not empty’) and unique, and within a defined range of values. The
database is also told what error message to display if validation fails.

Similarly, Microsoft Word can find and identify words that are not in its dictionary, but
it cannot advise a writer that a paragraph is boring or that the previous page was pretentious,
misleading and irrelevant.

Testing
After designing and building your solution, you need to demonstrate that it has been
thoroughly tested. You need to know what to test in your solution, so we plan the testing as
part of the design stage.
If a solution fails, it could annoy or disadvantage users, so thorough and careful testing is
necessary, whether the solution is a game, a website shopping cart, or an airliner’s autopilot.
If your solution fails because of undiscovered faults, it may become difficult to use, or
completely unreadable.

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Testing checks that a solution does what it should do. Testing is not easy, quick or
cheap – especially for a product such as an operating system, with megabytes of code in
thousands of files created by hundreds of people.
The typical steps involved in testing are as follows.
1 Decide which tests will be conducted.
2 Create suitable test data.
3 Determine expected results.
4 Conduct the test.
5 Record the actual results.
6 Correct any errors.
There are many testing types, each intended to uncover different kinds of errors at
different times during development. The types of testing relevant to your solution are listed
in Table 6.5.

Table 6.5 Testing types

Type What is tested?
Informal (alpha) The part of the solution that has just been finished
User acceptance (beta) Typical end users use their own equipment to check that the finished solution is
acceptable under different user conditions
Component A single part of a system works properly by itself (for example, a user entry
form applies the correct delivery cost for a given destination)
Integration Individual parts of a system work together (for example, the embedded Excel
file correctly accesses the separate database table)
System All components in the solution work properly as a single unit
Installation The form control is installed correctly and working on your system, server or
domain
Compatibility The multimedia plug-in and its components are compatible with a variety of
browsers and the main OS
Note: ActiveX Form Controls will NOT work on the macOS
Usability Whether users can operate your graphic solution quickly and simply
Accessibility Whether users with special needs or disabilities can use your graphic solution

Test plan
A set of test data that will be used during development to ensure that the solution is functioning
correctly is prepared in the design stage. The test data should be chosen to test all aspects
of the solution, including identification and handling of unreasonable or incomplete data
(validation). Once the solution has been shown to be functioning correctly, the test data is
removed and the ‘real’ data relevant to the organisation is added. A test plan (developed during
the design stage) is used to show all the functions to be tested, the sample test data and how the
function is expected to handle the data. An example of a section from a test plan for a website
is shown in Table 6.6. The actual testing process is covered in detail later in this chapter.

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CASE An ar tistic en d eavour at Keen College: Tes t plan

STUDY Table 6.6 Part of the test plan for the Keen College website solution
What is to be Test data Expected/Required Why?
tested? result
Link from Starting page = index.html When the link ‘Ms Because the link is to
home page to Link = Ms Curry’s class Curry’s class’ is selected ‘curryclass.html’ and
Ms Curry’s (curryclass.html) it should hyperlink to the there is a page called
subject page page called ‘curryclass. ‘curryclass.html’
Destination page =
menu html’.
curryclass.html
Student Page = curryclass05.html The image ‘art05.jpg’ Because the code links to
artwork images Image = art05.jpg must load in the centre of the ‘art05.jpg’ file in the
load in the (300 × 450 pixels) the page and aligned with images folder, its height is
centre of the the vertical middle of the 450 and its width is 300
Alignment = ‘center’
page text. Its height and width and its alignment is set to
should be the full size of ‘center’.
the image (300 × 450 This coding is placed
pixels). before the text caption in
the page body.
Screen layout Resolution = 1920 × 1080 At 1920 × 1080 resolution Because the page
on home page keen_college_logo.jpg the Keen College logo and elements were set to be
navigation buttons should viewed at 1920 × 1080
Navigation buttons (menu)
appear on the left of the resolution
Main text box screen, separated from the
main text by a border.
The main text area should
fit on the rest of the page
without the need for
scrolling.
Page weight for Reported file size of: Expected page weight = Added up on a calculator
index.html less index.html = 4 kB 4 + 40 + 60 + 2 = 106 kB,
than 200 kB which is less than the
keen_college_logo.jpg =
200 kB limit
40 kB
Navigation buttons = 60kB
Main text area = 2 kB
Home page Page weight for index.html Expected download speed Because 106 ÷ 8300
download = 106 kB should be less than = 0.013 seconds (on
speed must Theoretical NBN speed = 2 seconds calculator), which is less
be less than 2 25 Mbps (8.3 MBps) than 2 seconds
seconds over
NBN 25 Mbps
connection
User Procedures: Users should be able Interfaces have been
acceptance of Navigate to the home page to perform each of the designed to allow for easy
functionality and locate the link to Ms procedures listed with navigation to these key
Curry’s class page. minimal difficulty. areas (navigation panel
on left of main page and
Navigate to the page
menu on class page).
for Ms Curry’s class and
locate the link to Victoria
Frances’ work.

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Media and plug-ins

Each picture, audio clip, video, graph and animation (that is, any non-textual information)
must be inspected to see that it is displaying in the right place, at the right time, and at the
right speed and volume in a variety of common environments, meaning different browsers
and devices.

Hyperlinks
Every internal and external link in the solution needs to be manually clicked and the result
noted. Create a list of links and tick off each one as it passes testing.

Links to external services

You should be able to completely test all parts of the solution under your control. You need
to test the operation of any external connections to your product, to ensure data updates
function as expected.

Readability
Use the checklist provided in Table 6.7 to test readability of your solution.

Table 6.7 Readability checklist

Checklist Tick (¸)
Is the text large enough to read comfortably on a small device?
Is contrast optimal, or at least satisfactory?
Is the typeface a readable size?
Are lines or paragraphs of a good length?
Is text alignment attractive and readable on the page?
Are the spelling, punctuation and grammar correct?
Is the vocabulary appropriate and acceptable (inoffensive)?
Is expression clear and unambiguous?
Are headings clear and do they divide content into logical sections?

Loading times
If the solution is online, clear your browser’s cache to remove pre-loaded copies of files
and media, and try loading the site via cable and wi-fi. Any page that takes more than a few
seconds to load should be inspected and optimised. Another method is to use one of many
online services that can measure the loading times for your pages. Online data repositories
may have varying access times due to user demand.

Browser compatibility
Does your solution rely on a browser for presentation? Check that plug-ins and installed
players and codecs (coder/decoders or compressor/decompressors) can read and display your
chosen media. Browsers differ in their ability to interpret different media, and some systems
may not have the right technology, such as HTML5, or the necessary plug-ins installed, such
as Silverlight. Every piece of media must be checked on the dominant browsers to verify that
they appear as expected. Remember that Flash will not play at all on many mobile devices.

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You can manually test most site functionality yourself. If your solution is online, however,
there are many services that can perform automated cross-browser compatibility checks
using many new and previous browser versions.

Accessibility
Does your solution create unnecessary difficulty for users with poor eyesight or muscular
control, or weak language skills, or other common disabilities? Is alt text applied to images?
Are colour combinations considerate of colourblind people? Many colourblind-safe palettes
are documented online.
There are several places online to test the accessibility of your solution. Try the World
W3C
Wide Web Consortium (W3C) website.
Weblink

Dynamic features
Every selection option item must be checked and its behaviour documented in a testing
table (Table 6.8). If data entry forms are expected to work, data should be entered and its
successful arrival at its destination should be documented. Any simulated functionality, such
as a faked login box, should, as far as is practical, appear to work genuinely. Any coding, such
as JavaScript, PHP/MySQL, Java, PERL, macros and Python, should be run using a variety
of test data and the behaviour of the code recorded.

Classroom constraints
Your dynamic graphic solution may, because of constraints in classrooms and networks, not
have access to updated data online. However, it should have the look, feel and apparent
functionality of a real online solution, even though some features may have to be simulated
because it is unreasonable to expect them to function under all working conditions.

Evaluation criteria
6.13
THINK ABOUT While evaluation is the final stage of the problem-solving methodology, the evaluation
APPLIED COMPUTING
criteria are developed during the design stage. The purpose of evaluation is to check how
How do you evaluate a well the solution is satisfying the needs of the user for which it was originally created.
new website, game or Evaluation is not the same as testing; its purpose is distinctly different. By the time
social media app? On
what measures do you evaluation begins, the solution has already been proved to work properly and its functionality
base your opinion? is no longer in question.
Evaluation can best be understood by saying what it does not do.
•• Evaluation does not test that a solution is working properly. That should have been done
during testing.
•• Evaluation does not enter test data to check that output is accurate. That should have
been done during testing.
•• Evaluation does not use a stopwatch to time how long a process takes. That should have
been done during testing.
•• Evaluation does not perform checks with immediate results, such as pulling out the
power plug to see if a system loses data. That should have been done during testing.
Evaluation looks at a solution’s performance over time in terms of the evaluation criteria.

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What to evaluate
Evaluation criteria are determined during the design phase of the problem-solving
methodology and are based on the most important qualities that the solution is expected to
have when it is designed.
Evaluation criteria fall under two headings: efficiency and effectiveness.
1 Efficiency can be measured in terms of speed or productivity (work produced in a given
time), profitability (income generated versus running costs) and labour requirements
(how much labour is required to achieve its productivity levels).
2 Effectiveness includes completeness, readability, attractiveness, clarity, accuracy,
accessibility, timeliness, communication of message, relevance and usability.

A n ar t i s tic en d eavou r at Keen College: Evaluation c riteria CASE

The Keen College AC students have created the following evaluation criteria for the STUDY
planned website solution. They plan to perform the evaluation during the school holidays
so they can respond to feedback when they get back.

Table 6.8 Evaluation criteria

Criterion All student artwork can Artwork images are Website is easy to use to
be viewed downloaded within an find student artwork
acceptable timeframe
Time frame During school holidays During school holidays During school holidays
Data required Web page hit counter Teacher, student and Teacher, student and
parent opinions parent opinions
Data-collection Website log files Online survey Online survey
method
Assessment Check website logs to Ask teachers, parents Ask teachers, parents
see if the artwork of each and students if the and students to rate
student has been accessed downloading of artwork the usability of finding
at least once images occurs within an student artwork out of 10
acceptable timeframe
Judgement If the logs show that all If 95% of feedback states If the average rating is
student artwork has been that the images are 8 or better, then the
accessed at least once, being received within an criterion is being achieved
then the criterion is acceptable time frame,
achieved then the criterion is being
achieved

Developing your solution

Unit 2, Outcome 1, requires you to create an innovative solution in the form of a proof of
concept, prototype or product. Here is the difference between them.

Proof of concept
A proof of concept involves demonstrating whether an idea or concept is feasible, possible
or viable. It is used to show, even in theory, whether a solution has the capability and the
right characteristics to meet the need or opportunity identified.

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Steps that may be involved in creating a proof of concept include:

•• explaining the emerging technology being used
•• discussing any issues (e.g. economic, legal or ethical) surrounding the technology
•• identifying the need or opportunity
•• identifying the solution requirements, constraints and scope of the solution
•• generating solution designs and creating evaluation criteria
•• identifying the inputs and output required
•• identifying the processing required
•• identifying the hardware and software required
•• identifying any validation and testing needed
•• explaining how the solution will achieve the evaluation criteria.

By following these steps, although there will not be a working solution, the intention
is to provide enough evidence to show that the solution is possible in meeting the need or
opportunity.
Many vehicle
manufacturers create
prototypes of new vehicles
Prototype
before they start full A prototype is a model or a solution with limited functionality. The purpose of a prototype
production to make sure
that clients would be happy is to display the look and feel of the completed solution but without full functionality.
with the end product. If It also allows a solution to be created, so users can give feedback and so changes can be
there are any client ‘pain made without wasting all of the time, effort and money that would be required to develop a
points’ with the prototype,
they can be addressed completed solution (Figure 6.21).
before the vehicle goes into A prototype differs from a proof of concept in that a prototype is built using the same
mass production.
software that will be used for the completed solution, whereas a proof of concept only
provides evidence that a solution is feasible and may not involve the use of the solution
6.14 software at all.
THINK ABOUT
APPLIED COMPUTING

Find out two other Product

industries that use A product is a completed solution with full functionality. All capabilities and features of
prototypes and why the software identified during the analysis and design stages are included in the solution, all
they use them.
appropriate data is validated and all functions are fully tested.
A product differs from a prototype in that all the functions of the solution are working as
expected, whereas in a prototype only a limited number of functions are present.

CASE An ar tistic en d eavour at Keen College: The produc t

STUDY The Keen College AC students have decided to create a functional website as their solution.
This is a product that will incorporate all elements identified in the scope. While creating
the product, students will prototype it to ensure that the basic structure of the template is
sound and that the navigation is usable.

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Alamy Stock Photo/Dmitry Orlov

Alamy Stock Photo/Clarence Holmes Photography

Figure 6.21 Prototype (top) of a Tesla Model S, and the finished product (bottom)

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Testing the solution

While a solution is under development, it will undergo extensive testing to ensure that it
functions as expected. Much of the testing may be informal, but for the client a set of formal
testing documentation needs to be created. You may make use of a testing table to summarise
certain tests, and annotated screenshots to demonstrate the results of other tests.

Testing table
A testing table is a commonly used way to record evidence of functionality testing. A testing
table for a digital game might look like this (Table 6.9).

TABLE 6.9 A testing table

What was tested How it was tested Expected result Actual result How it was fixed,
if relevant
Ability to access Spun the dial on Apps will cycle one ¸ N/A
apps on the watch the watch to see if by one
by spinning a dial it cycled through
apps
Pressing on an app Open each app Each icon will open Apps opened but Not yet fixed
icon on the watch by pressing on the the relevant app some apps crashed
face will open the app icon
app
Readability Asked five Reports that text One volunteer Removed all italic
volunteers to read was easy to read suggested that fonts from the
the text on the italic fonts were watch system
watch face and hard to read
report on text
size, contrast,
alignment
Loading times for Performed a speed All apps passing All apps passed the N/A
apps test on loading the speed test speed test
of each app by
recording the load
time
Watch tracking Asked a volunteer Watch should Watch recorded N/A
number of steps to wear the watch record 100 steps 100 steps
taken by wearer and take 100 steps

How to document your testing

•• Use a testing table (such as the one shown in Table 6.9).
•• Seek a subjective report from a fellow student who tried out your solution’s readability
and usability.
•• Capture screenshots of features that are not normally visible, such as drop-down menus
and warning messages, showing that they work when needed.
•• Make handwritten calculations, annotating printouts of screenshots of your solution’s
calculations to verify that the output has been checked for accuracy.
•• Capture screenshots of the solution’s validation rules responding properly to invalid data.

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A n ar t i s tic en d eavou r at Keen College: Validating and CASE

te st i ng th e solu tion STUDY
The content for the website is validated by the AC students. They check that there is a
blurb and an image for every student. Then they manually proofread the text, looking to
see that it makes sense and to correct any obvious spelling errors. Students also use an
electronic spelling and grammar checker to assist with this process. If they are unsure of
the spelling of a name, or of the description of an artwork, they ask the relevant student in
order to clarify what the text is meant to be.
Once the website structure is complete and the images and text are placed in relevant
folders, several students begin the task of formally testing the product. Using the test plan
created in the design stage, the students check for such things as links working properly
and that the correct images are loading on each page. They make use of both a testing
table and annotated screenshots to test the website thoroughly.

TABLE 6.10 Keen College testing table

What is to be How it was Expected/ Actual result How it was fixed,
tested? tested/Test data Required result if relevant
Link from Starting page = When the link The link was Changed the link
homepage to Ms index.html ‘Ms Curry’s class’ broken and went to be curryclass.
Curry’s subject Link = Ms Curry’s is selected, it to curryclas.html html
page menu class (curryclass. should hyperlink
html) to the page called
‘curryclass.html’
Destination page =
curryclass.html
Student artwork Page = The image ‘art05. The image loaded N/A
images load in the curryclass05.html jpg’ must load in in the centre of
centre of the page Image = art05. the centre of the the page and was
jpg (300 × 450 page and aligned aligned with the
pixels) with the vertical vertical middle
middle of the of the text. The
Alignment =
text. Its height height and width
‘center’
and width should were correct.
be the full size of
the image (300 ×
450 pixels)
Screen layout on Resolution = At 1920 × 1080 The logo and Reformatted the
home page 1920 × 1080 resolution the navigation main text so that
keen_college_ Keen College logo appeared on the scrolling no longer
logo.jpg and navigation left, separated occurred
buttons should by a border. The
Navigation
appear on the main text area did
buttons (menu)
left of the screen, not fit on the rest
Main text box separated from of the page – it
the main text by a needed scrolling.
border.
The main text
area should fit on
the rest of the
page without the
need for scrolling.

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TABLE 6.10 Keen College testing table (continued)

What is to be How it was Expected/ Actual result How it was fixed,
tested? tested/Test data Required result if relevant
Page weight for Reported file size Expected page Actual weight was N/A
index.html less of: weight = 4 + 40 + 106 kB, less than
than 200 kB index.html = 4 kB 60 + 2 = 106 kB, the 200 kB limit
which is less than
keen_college_
the 200 kB limit
logo.jpg = 40 kB
Navigation
buttons = 60 kB
Main text area =
2 kB
Home page Page weight for Expected Download speed N/A
download speed index.html = download speed was almost
must be less than 106 kB should be less instant, much less
2 seconds over Theoretical NBN than 2 seconds than 2 seconds
NBN 25 Mbps speed = 25 Mbps
connection (8.3 MBps)
User acceptance Procedures: Users should be Navigation to N/A
of functionality Navigate to the able to perform Victoria Frances’
Home page and each of the work was quick
locate the link to procedures listed and easy
Ms Curry’s class with minimal
page. difficulty
Navigate to the
page for Ms
Curry’s class and
locate the link to
Victoria Frances’
work.

Evaluating the solution

During the design stage you create the evaluation criteria. This helps to guide the design and
development of the solution. Once the solution has been finalised and installed, the formal
evaluation process can be conducted. The evaluation might take place 3–6 months after the
solution is implemented so that people have time to learn the new system and to give time
for any minor bugs to be dealt with.

Evaluation methods
For each evaluation criterion, there must be a corresponding evaluation method that can
measure the degree to which the criterion has been achieved.
•• Objective (fact-based, measurable) results are solid facts that are hard to argue with.
Measure whenever you can.
•• Subjective results (emotions, opinions, personal judgements) can be gained from
interviews, questionnaires and surveys. These should only be used when objective
measurement is not possible or practical.

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TABLE 6.11 Typical evaluation methods

Criterion Method
Accuracy (effectiveness) Check the complaints log and count the complaints from staff
or customers about inaccurate information received over three
months from the system.
Reliability (effectiveness) Count the number of faults in the system’s error log.
Security (effectiveness) Count the number of successful and thwarted attempts made
to penetrate system security.
Attractiveness, pleasure, comfort, Interview users.
confidence (effectiveness)
Productivity (efficiency) Refer to system logs and count how many transactions the
system handled over three months compared to the previous
system.
Profitability (efficiency) Ask the accountants to tally the new system’s running costs
over time. Check organisational profit figures and see if profit
has increased.
Labour requirements (efficiency) Count the number of staff hours spent operating and
maintaining the system compared with the previous system.
Ease of use, usability (effectiveness) Count the number of times online help was used (indicating
that the solution may not have been intuitive).
Add up how many errors were made by users. (A solution that
is hard to use tends to cause users to make mistakes.)
Check the help desk records to see how often users asked for
help or complained about the solution.
Give users a questionnaire asking about their feelings regarding
the system’s usability.

Remember: evaluation assesses your solution’s performance over time. It is not

instantaneous in the same way that testing is. Any emotional or judgemental feedback is only
gathered on appropriate criteria. For example, it is pointless to ask interviewees questions
such as, ‘Is the new system faster than the old one?’ Even if you received an answer to this
question, you would not be able to trust its accuracy.

When to evaluate
6.15
Evaluation occurs after the solution has been in regular use for some time, so the solution is THINK ABOUT
APPLIED COMPUTING
well ‘bedded in’ and its users are familiar and comfortable with it. A few months of regular,
daily use is typical. Why do software
Evaluating a solution too soon can lead to negative feedback if users are not yet used to it developers wait a
period of time after
and are slow and prone to making errors. Later, when they are comfortable and skilled with the product is released
the solution, their feedback may be much more positive. before completing an
In cases when a system is used infrequently, but its success is critical to the organisation evaluation?
(such as creating school reports), evaluation may be done immediately after the system is
used.

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CASE An ar tistic en d eavour at Keen College: Evaluation

STUDY Once the website solution has been completed and put onto the Keen College web server,
it is made available to parents, students and teachers. The students allow all users time to
learn to use and navigate the website during the school holidays, before conducting an
evaluation. In their evaluation strategy the students have decided to survey all user groups
to get feedback on the website’s usability. The questions are based around the evaluation
criteria created during the design stage. As a result of the evaluation process, the students
identify a few small changes to make to the website, but overall it appears to be meeting
the requirements of the users.

TABLE 6.12 Keen College evaluation results

Criterion Time frame Data required Data- Assessment Judgement
collection
method
All student During school Web page hit Website log Check website The logs
artwork can be holidays counter files logs to see if showed that
viewed the artwork of every student
each student page had been
has been accessed at
accessed at least once.
least once. This criterion
was achieved.
Artwork During school Teacher, Online survey Ask teachers, 96% of
images are holidays student parents and feedback
downloaded and parent students if indicated that
within an opinions downloading downloading
acceptable artwork artwork was
timeframe images occurs performed in
within an an acceptable
acceptable time frame.
time frame. This criterion
was achieved.
Website is During school Teacher, Online survey Ask teachers, The average
easy to use to holidays student parents and rating for ease
find student and parent students of use was 9.
artwork opinions to rate the This criterion
usability was achieved.
of finding
student
artwork out
of 10.

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6 Essential terms
Act of Parliament a document that contains a set of conditions and rules about a particular
area or topic
adjustments changes made to the project plan as a result of events that may have occurred
as the project progressed

SUMMARY alt text text descriptions added to images on a web page, which describe the image for users
who may not be able to access the image; ‘alt’ is an abbreviation of ‘alternative’
annotations comments or notes placed on a Gantt chart to explain any changes that were made
brainstorming a technique to generate ideas to solve a problem
copyright gives the owner of an original work (e.g. software application, movie, song or
images) the right to control who can use the original work, and how
Copyright Act 1968 an Australian federal law containing conditions and rules related to
copyright
dependencies relationships between tasks, indicating when a task should begin or end in
relation to another task or group of tasks
economic constraints factors that may limit or restrict the solution requirements and that
are to do with money, including time and cost
effectiveness how well a solution meets the needs of its users, measured in terms of
completeness, readability, attractiveness, clarity, functionality, accuracy, accessibility,
timeliness, report formats, relevance, usability and communication of message
efficiency a measure of how much time, cost and effort is required to achieve the intended
results
ethics accepted moral standards that guide behaviour; these standards may be common
across a particular society or specific to a single organisation, and they apply to questionable
activities over and above any legal requirements; ethics often provide us with a set of
guidelines for appropriate behaviour
ethical issue a situation that arises when current behaviours or practices could be considered
to be the wrong thing to do
evaluation the use of criteria created during the design stage to evaluate or judge whether
the solution is meeting the needs of the user; the final stage of the problem-solving process
evaluation criteria measures that are used to assess or judge whether a solution is meeting
the user’s needs and/or requirements
existence checks checks carried out to ensure that a value has been entered and the field is
not blank, or <null>
federal parliament a body of elected representatives responsible for creating legislation that
applies to all individuals and organisations within Australia
functional requirements requirements of a digital solution that are directly related to what
the solution will do
Gantt chart a project management tool that displays project schedule information by listing
project tasks and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format
Health Records Act 2001 a Victorian state law containing conditions and rules related to
how and when an individual’s personal health data and information can be collected by both
Victorian government agencies and private organisations that either offer health services or
handle health records
innovative solution a unique, original and previously unknown way to solve a problem
interoperability the ability of a device to connect and interact with other devices, particularly
devices belonging to different information systems

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interview a conversation between two or more people where one person (the interviewer) asks questions and the others (the
interviewees) give their answers to the question
legislation a body of laws, created by governments, that individuals and organisations resident in the government’s jurisdiction
must follow
local councils elected bodies that can create by-laws, which apply within each individual local council area
mind mapping a technique for quickly generating and linking ideas
need something that it is essential to the solution so that the user may complete the task
non-functional requirements characteristics that the user or client would like the solution to have; often tied to solution
constraints
non-technical constraints factors that may limit or restrict solution development, specifically related to legal, social, usability
or economic factors
objective not influenced by personal feelings or prejudice; unbiased
opportunity something that occurs when circumstances or factors are present that may allow for a new solution, which does
not already exist, or which people have not yet thought of
Privacy Act 1988 an Australian law that regulates the handling of personal information about individuals
Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 a Victorian law that regulates the use, protection and storage of data and information in
Victoria
proof of concept the process of demonstrating whether an idea or concept is feasible, possible or viable
product a completed solution with full functionality
project a series of interrelated tasks that need to be completed to be able to create a solution to a need or opportunity
project log similar to a diary in which events that affect each task in a project are written down to create a history of the
project
prototype a model or solution with limited functionality
pseudocode a design tool combining the structure of programming language code with instructions written in plain English,
used to represent the logic or steps of processing that occur when a solution is run or executed
range checks checks to ensure that data is within acceptable limits
scope of the solution boundaries or parameters outlining what the solution will contain
site map a way of displaying how information has been structured within a solution and how a user can navigate to find the
required information
solution a way to solve a problem
solution constraints factors that may limit or restrict the solution requirements, both functional and non-functional
solution requirements what the client needs from the solution
state parliaments bodies of elected representatives responsible for creating legislation that applies to all individuals and
organisations within each particular state
storyboard a tool used to show the features of an individual section of a solution
subjective based on feelings and emotions, opinions and tastes
survey a series of predetermined questions that can be sent to a participant to answer
technical constraints factors that may limit or restrict the solution requirements and that are related to the hardware and
software available for the project
testing the process of checking that the innovative solution is working as expected
testing table commonly used way to record evidence of functionality testing
type checks checks to ensure that data is of the right type
validation the process of inspecting data that is being input into a solution to check if the data is reasonable

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Important facts
1 Legislation is a body of laws, created by governments, that individuals and organisations resident in the government’s
jurisdiction must follow.
2 Federal parliament is responsible for creating legislation that applies to all individuals and organisations within Australia.
State parliaments are responsible for creating legislation that applies to all individuals and organisations within each
particular state such as New South Wales and Victoria, while local councils create by-laws that apply within each
individual local council area.
3 The Privacy Act 1988 is an Australian federal law. It contains conditions and rules related to how and when personal data
and information can be collected by Australian Government agencies and private organisations that turn over more than
$3 million annually.
4 The Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 is a Victorian state law. It contains conditions and rules related to how and when
personal data and information can be collected by Victorian government agencies and private organisations that conduct
contract work on behalf of the Victorian Government.
5 The Health Records Act 2001 is a Victorian state law containing conditions and rules related to how and when an
individual’s personal health data and information can be collected by both Victorian government agencies and private
organisations that either offer health services or handle health records.
6 The Copyright Act 1968 is an Australian federal law containing conditions and rules related to copyright. Copyright gives
the owner of an original work (e.g. software application, movie, song or images) the right to control who can use the
original work, and how it can be used.
7 Ethics are beliefs, principles or standards that individuals, organisations and society have regarding acceptable behaviour.
8 Techniques used to collect data include observation, interviews, questionnaires and surveys.
9 Solution requirements are what the client needs from the solution. Functional requirements are directly related to what
the solution will do. Non-functional requirements are other requirements that the user or client would like the solution to
have but that do not affect what the solution does.
10 Solution constraints are factors that may limit or restrict the solution requirements, both functional and non-functional.
Economic constraints include time and cost. Technical constraints are constraints related to the hardware and software
available for the project. Non-technical constraints relate to areas other than hardware and software.
11 The scope of the solution outlines the boundaries or parameters of the solution so all stakeholders are aware of exactly
what the solution will contain and not contain.
12 A solution involves formulating a way to solve a problem. A need is something that is essential for a user to complete a
task. An opportunity occurs when circumstances or factors are present that may allow for a new solution, that does not
already exist, or that people have not even thought of yet.
13 To qualify as an innovative solution, a solution must be unique and developed independently.
14 There are a variety of techniques available to generate solution ideas such as brainstorming and mind mapping.
15 A successful problem-solver will consider current functional and non-functional requirements and relevant constraints to
develop an imaginative range of options from which the best solution can be chosen and developed into a detailed design.
16 Types of design tools include (but are not limited to):
•• layout and mock-up diagrams (see Chapter 2)
•• pseudocode
•• sitemaps
•• storyboards.
17 Validation checks the reasonableness of data inputs.
18 Testing checks the accuracy of information outputs.
19 A proof of concept involves demonstrating whether an idea or concept is feasible, possible or viable.

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20 A prototype is a model or a solution with limited functionality.

21 A product is a completed solution with full functionality.
22 Evaluation is the final stage of the problem-solving methodology. It checks how well the solution is satisfying the needs of
the user for which it was originally created. Evaluation occurs after the solution has been implemented.
23 Efficiency can be measured in terms of speed or productivity (work produced in a given time), profitability (income
generated versus running costs) and labour requirements (how much labour is required to achieve its productivity levels).
24 Effectiveness includes completeness, readability, attractiveness, clarity, accuracy, accessibility, timeliness, communication
of message, relevance and usability.
25 A Gantt chart provides a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project tasks and their
corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format.
26 A project log can be used to document the development of the solution.

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KNOWLEDGE

Key legislation and emerging technologies Qz Review quiz

1 Differentiate between federal, state and local laws.
2 Explain the relationship between an Act of Parliament and law.
3 List four Acts of Parliament that have an effect on emerging technologies.
4 Explain how each Act of Parliament you listed affects two chosen emerging technologies.
5 What is meant by an ethical issue?
6 Discuss one ethical issue related to the Internet of Things (IoT).
7 Explain how 3D printing is having an impact on the environment.

Collecting data
8 Explain why it is important to use a number of data-collection techniques when determining a
user’s needs.
9 What is the analysis stage of the problem-solving methodology about?
10 Explain the type of data that can be collected via both interview and survey.

Solution specifications
11 Explain how functional requirements differ from non-functional requirements.
12 Explain how two different types of constraints may affect solution requirements.
13 Discuss why it is important to define the scope of a solution.

Characteristics of solutions
14 Define an ‘innovative solution’.
15 Explain how a need differs from an opportunity.
16 List the four steps in devising an innovative solution.
17 List three techniques used to generate creative ideas. Give an example of one of these
techniques.
18 Explain a technique to select the best solution from a list of three.

Representing solution designs

19 List the two activities involved in the design stage of the problem-solving methodology.
20 Explain the purpose of pseudocode.
21 What is the difference between a site map and a storyboard?
22 Explain how a storyboard can be used to represent both the appearance and the functionality
of a solution.

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Functions and techniques for developing

innovative solutions
23 Describe what occurs in the development stage of the problem-solving methodology.
24 Explain how a proof of concept differs from a prototype.
25 Explain how a prototype differs from a product.

Validating and testing solutions

26 Explain how validation differs from testing.
27 List the four column headings of a testing table.

Developing your solution

28 What are the three alternatives for producing your solution for Unit 2, Outcome 1? What are
the differences between them?

Evaluating the solution

29 Describe the purpose of evaluation criteria.
30 List the tasks involved in an evaluation strategy.

Coordinating and monitoring projects

31 List four elements of a project.
32 Describe the features found on a Gantt chart.
33 Explain the purpose of a project log.
34 Describe an advantage of annotations and adjustments of project plans.

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KNOWLEDGE

A local cafe has approached you to come up with a solution to its marketing problem. Even though
it has a large sign on the pavement outside the store, there is not much through traffic to generate
the amount of business that it needs to stay afloat. The owner of the cafe wants something that
will appeal to the younger generation, to ‘put the cafe on the map’ and to draw customers in. He
has a budget of $10 000 and a time frame of 6 months before he will have to close his doors due
to lack of trade.
1 Explain the techniques you would use to collect data.
2 Use the problem-solving methodology to analyse the cafe owner’s needs and requirements.
3 Identify the opportunity.
4 Specify the functional and non-functional requirements.
5 What are the constraints?
6 Use the solution specifications and constraints to determine the scope of the project.
7 Present the cafe owner with three possible innovative solutions that you could go on to design.

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Unit

2 OUTCOME 1 Students are to work collaboratively to analyse,

design, develop and evaluate an innovative solution
to an identified need or opportunity involving a
digital system.

Steps to follow
1 Create groups within the class.
2 Discuss a range of needs and opportunities and how each could be solved using emerging technology.
3 Select a topic.
4 Complete an analysis by identifying the solution specifications: functional and non-functional requirements,
constraints and scope.
5 Complete the design of the solution by creating design tools that show the appearance and/or functionality of the
proposed solution.
6 Complete the development of the solution by creating the solution using technology, including validation and testing.
7 Complete the evaluation of the solution by creating evaluation criteria and then collecting data that can be used to
measure whether the criteria were achieved.

Documents required for assessment

Your teacher will advise you how to submit each section of the project. Elements that will require submission:
•• Project plan
•• Solution specifications
•• Design tools
•• Evidence of the completed solution
•• Evaluation report

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