Information Systems

Semester Two 2015
Assignment One Specification
Water Usage Recording System (WURS): An Information Systems Analysis

Objective
To apply theoretical concepts of IS Analysis in a case study
Copying, Plagiarism:
This is an individual assignment. Plagiarism is the submission of another person’s work in a manner that
gives the impression that the work is your own. La Trobe University treats plagiarism seriously. When
detected, penalties are strictly imposed. Further information can be found on
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/plagiarism/plagiarism.html

No extensions will be given:
Penalties are applied to late assignments (5% of total possible marks for that task is deducted per day,
accepted up to 5 days after the due date only). An assignment submitted more than five working days
after the due date will not be accepted.
Submission Guidelines:

Submit the electronic copy of your assignment through LMS. Assignment should be typed, not
written/drawn by hand. Use CASE tool or any software to draw figures in your assignment.

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Case Study

The countryside surrounding Heavensville is covered with many irrigation channels.
During the irrigation season (November to April)
these channels are supplied with water from
large reservoirs. Landowners are allowed to
draw water from a channel that crosses their
property to fill their water tanks and dams. The
water comes from an outlet in the irrigation
channel in the form of a padlocked plastic pipe.
A company called WaterEzy is responsible for
supplying irrigation water to landowners along
the irrigation channels and billing the
landowners for the use of water at the end of the
irrigation season.
Each year, landowners wishing to obtain water from an irrigation channel crossing their land ring
WaterEzy to request a water Entitlement for the irrigation season. Each Entitlement is assigned a unique
5 digit permit number, a Channel number and corresponding Channel name, and an Entitlement amount
of water available for the season (measured in Megalitres). Entitlement amounts vary between 1
Megalitre (an imposed minimum) and 100 Megalitres. The details of each Entitlement are stored in a
folder that is in turn stored in a vertical carousel. The folders are stored in Channel number order then
Entitlement permit number order. Each landowner receiving an Entitlement is sent an Entitlement
confirmation letter.
Generally a landowner will use their irrigation season’s water Entitlement in a number of Usages (that is,
they will not use all their Entitlement in the one go). When a landowner requires a water Usage from their
channel, they phone an order through to WaterEzy prior to 4pm the day before the water is required. A
receptionist at WaterEzy asks for the channel number, permit number and the amount of water required.
The receptionist retrieves the landowner’s folder from the carousel and checks to see if they have enough
water Entitlement remaining. If they do, a water Usage is booked for the next day. If not the landowner
is given the opportunity to reduce the amount of water they order. Each booked water Usage is assigned
a unique 12 digit Usage number which contains the Entitlement permit number and other information.
A landowner is allowed cancel a water Usage that they booked previously. To cancel a booking, the
landowner phones WaterEzy to provide the Usage number. Cancellations must be done prior to 4pm the
day before the water is required.
A landowner can also revise a water Usage which has already been booked. They are allowed to change
either the date or the water quantity of the Usage prior to 4pm the day before. To change the date, the
landowner rings WaterEzy to supply the Usage number, the previously booked date and the revised date.
To change the water quantity, they informs WaterEzy the Usage number, the previously booked quantity
and the revised quantity.

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Between 4 and 5pm each afternoon a list is
prepared for each Channel of the landowners that
have ordered a water Usage for the following day.
The list is in permit number order and contains
columns for landowner name and address and the
amount of water required. Empty columns for
outlet opening and closing times (24 hour time) are
included.

Between 7 and 8am each morning, WaterEzy employees known as water bailiffs retrieve the list of water
Usage orders for the channels for which they are responsible. During the day the water bailiffs drive out
to each landowner’s property and open the padlock on the outlet from the channel to the landowner’s
property. The water bailiff calculates roughly how long the outlet needs to be left open so that the
landowner has the water Usage they require. The water bailiff returns at the appropriate time to close
the outlet. The times at which an outlet was opened and closed are recorded on the list of the day’s water
Usage orders.
On returning to the office at the end of a day, each water bailiff hands the completed water Usage order
list to an office worker. The next day the office worker works progressively through the lists from the
previous day. For each order on the list the office work retrieves the landowner’s folder from the carousel
and updates a Water Usage report that is included in the folder (including calculating the amount of water
delivered). A report is forwarded to the landowner for information. Below is an example of a landowner’s
Water Usage report.
WaterEzy Water Usage Recording System (WURS)
Water Usage Report
2014/2015
Permit No: 23765

Entitlement Amount:2.5 Ml

Channel No: 06 Channel Name: Coliban
Landowner Name: James Bartlett
Landowner Address: Bartlett’s Lane, Barnadown
Date

Outlet Opening Time

Outlet Closing Time

Water Usage (Ml)

1/11
2/1
3/2

0915
0830
1115

1630
1230
1315

0.76
0.32
0.15
Total

1.23

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At the end of the irrigation season a District Water Usage report is prepared for the District Management.
The report shows each Entitlement in permit number order along with the amount of water used for the
season. This report is used to prepare the bills which are sent to each landowner. Bills are produced and
sent out by another section of WaterEzy. A District Water Usage Statistics report is also produced for
WaterEzy management. This shows total water usage for the whole District and for each Channel
compared with previous season’s usage.
At the end of each irrigation season the Entitlement folders are archived.

Assignment Tasks
Task A
Data Flow Diagrams, Flow Charts and Data Dictionary
Based on the case study, you are required to complete the following tasks.
1. Prepare the context diagram for the WaterEzy Water Usage Recording System (WURS) with following
external entities: (i) Landowner, (ii) District Management, (iii) Water Bailiff, and (iv) Billing Section. [10
marks]
2. Draw the Level 0 Data Flow Diagram and flow charts for each process in the Level 0 DFD. [40 marks]
3. Decompose a Water Usage Report to its data elements. [12 marks]
4. Provide a System Dictionary entry (see blank table below as an example) for the Entitlement Amount
and Outlet Closing Time data elements. [8 marks]
Table Name
Data Element Name
Alternate Name
Type & Length
Output Format
Default Value
Prompt/Column Heading
Source
Security
Responsible End User
Acceptable Values
Other Validation
Derivation Formula
Description/Comments

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Task B
Process Description
Currently, many landowners express their concerns that the entitlement amount for their land is not
sufficient. WaterEzy provides irrigation allowance to some landowners, but they have to follow a
procedure to make decisions. To be considered for this allowance, landowners must submit an application
form to WaterEzy. Without the form, the request for extra water will not be considered. In addition,
WaterEzy will investigate the land. If the land is used to grow products that are in the government priority
list, then WaterEzy will check if the additional allowance is larger than 20% of the current entitlement. If
it exceeds 20%, the landowner must pay extra $500, but if it does not exceed 20%, the additional water
will not incur penalty. If the land is not used to grow products in the government priority list, WaterEzy
will still check the amount requested. If the additional allowance asked exceeds 20% of the current
entitlement, the request will be rejected. If the additional allowance is less than 20% of the current
entitlement, the landowner must pay extra $1,500.
Before implementing this process, you need to represent it using process description tools. Your task is:
5. Create a decision table and its associated decision tree that describes how WaterEzy determines
outcome of application for extra water by landowners. Make sure you use the simplest form of the
table and tree. [30 marks]