You have chosen your client and performed your initial consultation and investigation. Criterion B, Analysis, is a key part of the ITGS project as it involves fully documenting the needs of the client and the requirements for any solution that will solve his / her problem. Criterion B consists of several parts, most of which can be written as bullet points. The sections are:
Proposed solution: after listing the various solutions you considered (which do not need to be IT-based solutions), you indicate the solution you have chosen.
Requirements specification: here you indicate the requirements that the solution must need, including inputs, outputs, and security requirements. In some cases it is a good idea to split the input requirements into two: the data that are input by you, the student, during the creation of the product, and the data entered by the client or user during use. In the same way, there may be different hardware and software requirements for developing the product compared to using it (for example, you will need web development software to create a website but not to host it).
Specific Performance Criteria: these are clear, specific bullet points which indicate the things your product must do in order to be considered a ‘success’. You will assess yourself against these criteria in Criterion F, so it is essential to get them correct. Precision is vital: criteria must be specific and measurable. For example ‘the website must be attractive’ is hard to measure (it is subjective), whereas ‘the website must have a consistent look and feel on all pages’ can easily be measured.
Justification of Chosen Solution: here you write a short piece explaining why your chosen solution is the best solution. You should make clear reference to the client’s problems at all times. You can also say why other solutions are weaker (why they don’t solve the client’s problems) and make reference to available tools and resources (for example, if you are familiar with Microsoft Access and have the skills to use it, that can be used as part of the justification).
In each part of this criterion, clarity and precision of language is essential. This is especially true in the Specific Performance Criteria, which you will use in Criterion F to assess the success of your final product. Mistakes or omissions in the analysis will only come back to bite you later as you try to design and implement your chosen product.
Now you are ready to move on to Criterion C.
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