Thursday 6 February 2014

VCAA PSM - Good or Bad?

Compared to other methodologies out there, the VCAA PSM looks fairly detailed and well thought-out. But just how accurate is it in reaching a solution?
The VCAA PSM is just another example of a problem solving methodology (PSM) that has been created, and it has a fairly easy to understand layout, with four stages each taking one step closer to a final product.

1. Analysis
        This stage, being the first stage, is all about taking scope of the situation and figuring out what the end goal is. It has three key parts; identifying solution requirements, establishing solution constraints and defining the scope of the solution. At the end of this stage, the user should know what the goal is and what can and can't be done to get there
2. Design
        The design stage has two parts; the solution design and the evaluation criteria. The first is about creating a blueprint for what the final result should look like. It should show what the solution should look like, and and how the data and information elements should be created or structured. The second stage is to create a set of guidelines for the last stage so that everyone involved in the creation of the work or solution knows what level of work needs to be achieved.
3. Development
        This stage is the 'creation' stage. Here the developers take the design and creates and tests (validates) the work. The four parts of development are, manipulation, validation, testing and documentation. The first stages create the work and test it whilst the final stage involves recording what happened so any errors found in the last stage could be found more easily.
4. Evaluation
        The final stage has only two important steps; creating an evaluation 'strategy' and reporting on the success of the result. The aim of the final stage is to check whether the result is a success or if it failed to achieve the result.
If that was to badly explained to follow, there is a helpful PDF here, (I didn't make it)

Personally, I believe that, compared to other methodologies (such as the 8D and GROW methods, found here on wikipedia) this study method is not as accurate as the others are. Even the GROW method, which is a much more simple form of this method, provides better planning and would result in a smoother production or work 'phase'. This method may be better suited to working out a maths problem or solving an error in a bunch of code, but I think that, as it has more applications, simple methods like this are superior to the detailed methods such as the VCAA's, even if it is just because it is easier to follow.

For anyone who doesn't want to scroll down through a PDF, here is an image of the VCAA's PSM:
Find it here
For people wanting to learn more about the GROW and 8D models there are some good websites here;

I hope this post helped you decide on which PSM to use, and while I never actually answered the question in the post title, I do not believe it is specifically good or bad, just that there is a place for every methodology and in many situations the VCAA's PSM may be too complicated for many situations...

Wednesday 5 February 2014

People's Roles in a Computer System

Hello again
Some work I was doing in class; people's roles in a computer system, also what people use computers for...
Past
Present
Future
Not as many people used computers or had access to them
More access for people at home, computers are no longer used just at work
Computers will continue to be made to be used  for larger audiences and larger groups of people
The types of people who used computers were very different to the people who have access to them today
Games are more accessible and can be played by a wider audience, thus enabling computers to be used by a younger audience
More types of people will have access to computers and have reasons to use them. People with different attributes and personalities as well as jobs
Accountants, Business people, Less home computers















I don't know how useful it might be, as most of it just came from my head, but for some more information, try some of these sites;
Wikipedia - yes I know it's wikipedia, but it does help to explain an example of a role in a computer system
Education.com - ways that people use computers today are very different from in the past and possibly in the future

Hope this helps someone... or maybe just gets someone thinking
Clocks again
I need to get a better image...

Welcome to my Blog + A Little Bit About Me

Welcome to My Blog!
After a lot of toil I have decided (been forced to) start a blog
I have been advised to start off with 5 things about myself, so here I go

1. I used to like reading. I would spend hours reading. People would have to yell at me to get me to stop reading. Now, however, I just cannot get into a book. Either it doesn't interest me long enough or I simply am so distracted while reading that I eventually get more interested by something else in my surroundings

2. Foods. I like foods. I don't like eating as much as I like making foods. Even though I rarely create a meal or "cook" dinner, when I do it gives me immense satisfaction and I never really want to eat it.

3. My life is not dictated by TV, but there are usually a few shows on each night that will make me drop everything to get to the TV. I like comedies and murder mystery shows. I will watch anything with a good joke in it somewhere.

4. I don't like crawling bugs. caterpillars, ants, anything that crawls gives me shivers. Except cockroaches. I take comfort in the knowledge that they aren't just scared of us, they are disgusted by us and will go as far as to wash themselves after coming into contact with us. For more about cockroaches this site seemed to be fairly informative.

5. The last fact or piece of info about me is that I am not much of an online person. Sure I use the internet and all that but I have never really got into Facebook or Twitter or any other site like these

So hopefully I can keep it up!

Now that I have introduced myself fairly well I should add some more pictures, so here's a picture of a cockroach.
Found here
And a nice clock image