Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 · Topic 7: The systems life cycle · Paper 1
You will learn to
Evaluate the course: what helped you learn, and what did not.
Identify the hardest topic or skill and the most useful lesson, with a reason for each.
Suggest one change for next year's Year 11.
Success criteria
I can give one specific example of something that helped me learn.
I can name the hardest topic or skill and say why it was hard.
I can write one clear, kind suggestion for next year.
The syllabus points for this section
Evaluate a system for efficiency, ease of use and appropriateness.
Compare the final system with the original user requirements.
Use user feedback to identify limitations and improvements.
Key words
Say each word, then read what it means. Every one is in the glossary too.
Questionnaire
A set of written questions given to many people to collect their views.
System specification
A list of the hardware and software the new system needs.
Check digit
An extra digit calculated from the other digits, used to detect input errors.
Test plan
A table listing each test, its data, the expected and actual outcomes and any remedial action.
Live data
Real data from the organisation, used to test the system with known results.
Evaluation
Judging the finished system against the original requirements after it has been used.
The explanation
Read it here, or open the study page below to go one step at a time with things to try.
What evaluation checks
Evaluation happens after the system has been in use for a while. It asks: does the new system do the job well?
Efficiency: is it faster or cheaper than the old system? Does it use fewer resources?
Ease of use: can staff use it with little training? Do they make fewer mistakes?
Appropriateness: is it the right solution for this organisation and its problems?
e.g.Example
Library evaluation after one term:
A loan now takes 12 seconds (requirement: under 30 seconds). Met.
Overdue books fell from 63 a month to 18. Improvement.
Two librarians find the reports menu confusing. Ease-of-use problem.
How it is done and what comes next
The analyst compares the final system with the original user requirements from the analysis stage, one by one.
The analyst gathers user feedback by interviews and questionnaires, and compares results from the test plan.
Any limitations found are listed, with improvements to fix them. This may start the life cycle again.
?Why?
The requirements written in analysis are the yardstick. Without them, there is no fair way to say whether the system succeeded.
!Watch out
Evaluation is not testing. Testing happens before the system goes live. Evaluation happens after it has been used for real.