Open Systems - 1997 Exam, Feedback

B.Sc Information Systems (Singapore)

Examination - spring 1998. Report by M Gandoff

Opem Systems (SYS3040)

The examination was generally very poorly done and I am very concerned that
students are either being given the wrong guidance or are not making use of the
study material.

15 students sat, 5 just passed and 2 are borderline - the worst results for some
time. I have several areas of concern.

Buzz words

You cannot thrown in the words portability, re-use, interoperability, scalability
just where you feel like it. I think most students just don't understand the significance of the words.

Open systems is primarily about inter-operability trying to make different business systems (and their associated IT) work together.

For many reasons (see study material), organisations are under pressure to rationalise their operations and their IT. They find that they often run applications systems developed with different programming languages, using different operating systems, on different hardware with different networkstructures.

To try and avoid this mess in the future, the organisation tries to rationalise. This often means conforming to standards where possible.

I don't think it helps you at all to try and find examples of 'open systems'. There
aren't any! 'Open systems' is really a description of an approach to acquiring and
managing IT.

Interoperability is the goal. Portability and re-use are in effect 'tools' employed
to build systems that are open.

Don't give me the example of Word running on a 486 under DOS and a Pentium
under Windows. This is NOT interoperability. But, making your sales system (using Oracle) work with my manufacturing system (under Informix) is.

Many examples quoted lead me to believe that you only apply interoperability to
items of software. It is business and IT systems that interoperate.

Until you appreciate this, you will not achieve good grades in the module. Look at
the study material and the supplement.

The diagram of 'system A' and 'System B' is useful. Think about the possibility of
two boxes on the same level being different (different operating system, different
database etc) and then think about how we need to resolve the differences, either
by re-design, purchasing new software or hardware, or by finding some way to
make different components compatible (perhaps by employing middleware!).

Need for interoperation at 7 different but supporting 'layers'

System A

System B

Business
Systems/
operations

<---->

Business
Systems/
operations

|
|

IT applications
(software)

<---->

IT applications
(software)

|
|

Database
engine and
structure

<---->

Database
engine and
structure

|
|

Operating
system

<---->

Operating
system

|
|

Network
operating
system/software

<---->

Network
operating
system/software

|
|

Network/comms
hardware

<---->

Network/comms
hardware

|
|

Computing
hardware

<---->

Computing
hardware

The Systems integrator

Almost every student got it wrong - you are very confused between the analyst/designer and the integrator.

You either think that the integrator is a comms specialist or you repeated many
of the responsibilities of the analyst and designer.

Integrators are responsible for interoperating. It is their job to take two or more systems, which may have different databases, hardware platforms, operating systems, user interfaces etc and arrange to modify them and/or bolt them together. When you answer a question, you must mention middleware as one of the solutions available to the systems integrator.

The network computer

Most of you gained no marks by telling me about the advantages of a networked
PC!. The NC is a stripped down PC, with no hard disk (so little local software),
which is primarily intended to run remote applications via a Web browser, with
some application functions being passed down as Java applets.

Pressures on the enterprise

Don't tell me about hardware getting out of date etc. Tell me about the business
pressures that require a company to re-think its operations and probably its IT.
Many students of Open Systems are also studying Information Systems Strategies. I see no evidence that students have made a connection. You don't change IT because something new has come on the scene. You change your business operations because something has forced you to. Your IS then may need changing and hence your IT strategy.

Middleware

The supplement was developed to try and fill this gap. No-one seems to have
learnt from it. Few people had any idea of what it was about. Look in the supplement.

Note to centres

PLEASE ENSURE THAT THIS REPORT IS PASSED BOTH TO
TUTORS AND TO STUDENTS CURRENTLY STUDYING FOR
THIS MODULE. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THEY ALL SEE MY
COMMENTS.

1 WOULD WELCOME ANY VIEWS, OPINIONS AND QUERIES.

M Gandoff
March 1998