Strange Symphonies The best way to predict the future is to invent it

Why I Hate Systems Analysis and Design Classes

The topic of Systems Analysis and Design is important in the development of software systems. I agree its important in the development of good quality Software, in the sense of propper planning, analysis and design.

But when it comes to my universitiy/college classes on teaching it, it is just so boring. The importance of the subject is not felt at all.

When it comes to developing, or describing a system for class, I despise it, and I believe I speak for alot of other people as well.

Somethings I despise about SADN class:

• I despise drawing Context Diagrams
• I despise drawing Data Flow Diagrams

Oh but I do find drawing Entity Relation Diagrams easy and fun.

When the lecturer gives us the assignment to design a system, its typically a few page descriptions about the fallacious organization and the system they want, or are using. We are typically suppose either draw out their current system, or design them a new one.

The main reason I despise SADN is because in the development of a system, there are a large number of variables that the assignment typically doesn't cover. Generally we are to make assumptions for the development of the system.

For example; When conduting what is dubbed as "requirements analysis", obviously the cost of the system is very important to the customer. But for our assignments the total cost of ownership can be in a large huge and gargantuan amount, which in reality I believe people would disagree upon.

My take is that these assignments should have a stricter set of constraints by the "customer", and should be more realistic, and believable.

In APIIT, SADN was taught in the first year. As I had prior experience with messing around with databases, and building my own "systems" it was easy for me to understand some of the aspects that were taught in the class. But when you come with no development background, and you try to understand importance, its a bit difficult. People don't know what to exactly "deploy" as they were never taught the tools, all they know is to deploy a "database", but which one is the suitable one. Perhaps SADN should actually be taught in the second year?

In Monash, SADN is actually taught in the second year. The first year its labelled as "IT In Organizations" (Monash Code: FIT1003), its basically the same thing under a different disguise, but we don't build systems. We describe ones that have already been built, and build our pretty diagrams for those.

They leave too much up to the imagination to patch that for me, it feels like the assignment does not carry any weight at all as it is completely fallacious, fictious, and completely in accurage. Thus making it tedious, and especially boring.

Or maybe I just hate doing assignments.