The Modelling Journey Part 1: Introduction to Systems Modelling

Introductions Dr. David Millard Senior Lecturer of Computer Science University of Southampton Dr. Yvonne Howard Senior Research Fellow University of Southampton Part of the JISC Community Support Team

Objectives “ Model (noun): A simplified or idealized description or conception of a particular system, situation, or process, often in mathematical terms, that is put forward as a basis for theoretical or empirical understanding, or for calculations, predictions, etc.; a conceptual or mental representation of something.” Oxford English Dictionary To widen the perception of what modelling is To demonstrate modelling techniques with a common example To illustrate the affordances of those modelling approaches, and how they connect together

Why a Journey? Modelling is a spectrum of activity The soft Portfolios of evidence Scenarios and Personas Systems Theory (SSM etc.) The hard Universal Modelling Language Business Process Modelling EA Modelling

Why a Journey? Modelling is a spectrum of activity The soft Portfolios of evidence Scenarios and Personas Systems Theory (SSM etc.) The hard Universal Modelling Language Business Process Modelling EA Modelling Communication Decision Support Technical Specification Business Intelligence

Evidence Gathering The first stage of modelling is to gather evidence This portfolio of evidence is itself a lightweight model Used to communicate problems As evidence for potential solutions Useful to others as context

Evidence Gathering Documentation Stakeholder Analysis Surveys Interviews Ethnography Related Studies Induction Policy Induction Policy Example: Induction Process SSLC Minutes SSLC Minutes Mission Statement Mission Statement

Evidence Gathering Documentation Stakeholder Analysis Surveys Interviews Ethnography Related Studies Induction Policy Induction Policy Example: Induction Process SSLC Minutes SSLC Minutes Mission Statement Mission Statement Q1: what? Q2: why? Q3: when? Q1: what? Q2: why? Q3: when? Stakeholders Primary: Secondary: Key: Stakeholders Primary: Secondary: Key:

Evidence Gathering Documentation Stakeholder Analysis Surveys Interviews Ethnography Related Studies Induction Policy Induction Policy Example: Induction Process SSLC Minutes SSLC Minutes Mission Statement Mission Statement Q1: what? Q2: why? Q3: when? Q1: what? Q2: why? Q3: when? Observation Notes Observation Notes Stakeholders Primary: Secondary: Key: Stakeholders Primary: Secondary: Key:

Evidence Gathering Documentation Stakeholder Analysis Surveys Interviews Ethnography Related Studies Induction Policy Induction Policy Example: Induction Process SSLC Minutes SSLC Minutes Mission Statement Mission Statement Q1: what? Q2: why? Q3: when? Q1: what? Q2: why? Q3: when? Observation Notes Observation Notes Stakeholders Primary: Secondary: Key: Stakeholders Primary: Secondary: Key: Induction at KCL Induction at Bolton

Scenarios and Personas Written Scenarios capture a person interacting with a system during a particular activity Accompanying Personas can capture the context of that interaction (motivations, concerns, priorities, etc.) Together they can help give insight into how different individuals experience a system

Scenarios and Personas Induction Scenario After students have registered at the centre the School of Arts and Media holds a welcome event where they are introduced to the course, given core materials and receive a welcome from library staff. The School then runs a two day induction workshop. During this time students are given a tour of the facilities by staff, and are introduced to their peers and personal tutor (one of the lecturing staff) at an icebreaking event. Their tutor then helps them to get to know one another a bit better by producing and sharing a professional CV. They also attend WebCT training and have talks and discussions on lifelong learning. After the workshop they engage in ongoing tutorials on topics such as diversity, personal planning and numeracy. A scenario is a narrative account of how a particular interaction unfolds Easy to understand But can be ambiguous A Persona helps to highlight key issues for imaginary (but realistic) participants

Scenarios and Personas Persona: Louise Louise is a new full-time student in the School of Arts and Media at Bolton University. She is confident of her own abilities, and excited about the new course. Louise took a few years out after college and is concerned about fitting in with younger students. Her accommodation is a few miles from campus, so she is worried about making friends and getting involved in social activities. Induction Scenario After students have registered at the centre the School of Arts and Media holds a welcome event where they are introduced to the course, given core materials and receive a welcome from library staff. The School then runs a two day induction workshop. During this time students are given a tour of the facilities by staff, and are introduced to their peers and personal tutor (one of the lecturing staff) at an icebreaking event. Their tutor then helps them to get to know one another a bit better by producing and sharing a professional CV. They also attend WebCT training and have talks and discussions on lifelong learning. After the workshop they engage in ongoing tutorials on topics such as diversity, personal planning and numeracy.

Scenarios and Personas Persona: Tom Tom is a Lecturer in the School of Arts and Media at Bolton University. He has worked at the University for over ten years, and is proud of their courses and facilities. Tom’s teaching load is very high, particularly in the first semester, and he is concerned that more pastoral activities (such as tutoring, skills training or induction) will have a negative impact on his time and workload. Induction Scenario After students have registered at the centre the School of Arts and Media holds a welcome event where they are introduced to the course, given core materials and receive a welcome from library staff. The School then runs a two day induction workshop. During this time students are given a tour of the facilities by staff, and are introduced to their peers and personal tutor (one of the lecturing staff) at an icebreaking event. Their tutor then helps them to get to know one another a bit better by producing and sharing a professional CV. They also attend WebCT training and have talks and discussions on lifelong learning. After the workshop they engage in ongoing tutorials on topics such as diversity, personal planning and numeracy.

Systems Thinking

The structure of the system (components, relationships) creates its behaviour, the emergent properties Components with no structure have individual behaviour but no emergent properties The system as a whole displays behaviour or properties that the individual components do not Soft Systems Methodology Systems Dynamics Critical Systems Heuristics

Soft Systems Method: 7 stage description Construct conceptual problem Compare models with problem situation Get information Draw pictures Analyse problem situation Conceive logical system CATWOE Debate with actors Actions for change Real world Conceptual world

a system owned by Owner to do What by Actor by means of a Transformation (given the constraints of some Environment) in order to achieve X for Customer Used when formulating definitions for a desired system: called a root definition because it describes the root or core of the activity to be modelled helpful when exploring the problem situation as a basis for change Soft Systems Method: CATWOE Customers/clients Actors Transformation World view Owners Environment Customers/clients Actors Transformation World view Owners Environment

Soft Systems Diagram Critical Systems Heuristics Heuristics – because it uses a framework to discover ‘boundary’ judgements To build a reference diagram (Soft Systems Diagram) which can provide a narrative for the evidence that is collected Shows where evidence and information is missing or unsupported Critical – because the framework encourages critical questioning of: Legitimacy Ownership Assumptions Motivations

Soft Systems Diagram: name, boundary and owner Student Induction System System owner ??? System Boundary

Student Induction System System owner ??? New Students Students prepared for learning Beneficiaries & victims Manager/Supervisor Soft Systems Diagram: inputs, outputs, beneficiaries and victims

Student Induction System System owner ??? New Students Students prepared for learning Beneficiaries & victims Intro to Student Services School Welcome School Induction Activities University Welcome Programme Induction Soft Systems Diagram: actors and processes

Student Induction System System owner ??? New Students Students prepared for learning Beneficiaries & victims Intro to Student Services School Welcome School Induction Activities University Welcome Standards ??? ???? Student feedback Retention rates Student feedback Retention rates Manager/Supervisor measurements Corrective action Programme Induction Soft Systems Diagram: control sub-systems

Student Induction System System owner ??? New Students Students prepared for learning Beneficiaries & victims Intro to Student Services School Welcome School Induction Activities University Welcome Standards ??? ???? Student feedback Retention rates Student feedback Retention rates Manager/Supervisor measurements Corrective action webCt, Lifelong learning resources Health & safety Legislation Student sense of belonging Cohort identity Student retention Student sense of belonging Cohort identity Student retention Programme Induction Soft Systems Diagram: resources, authorities, emergent properties

Student Induction System System owner ??? New Students Students prepared for learning Beneficiaries & victims Intro to Student Services School Welcome School Induction Activities University Welcome Standards ??? ???? Student feedback Retention rates Student feedback Retention rates Manager/Supervisor measurements Corrective action webCt, Lifelong learning resources Health & safety Legislation alliances conflicts Beliefs Values Attitudes Motivation How can I increase student retention ? Everyone we lose costs £££ Student sense of belonging Cohort identity Student retention Student sense of belonging Cohort identity Student retention Programme Induction I have so much to do already and now thaey want me to blog and measure student satisfaction Soft Systems Diagram: alliances, conflicts, beliefs, values, attitudes, motivations

Uni bid review process Soft Systems Activity Scenario: Successfully responding to a JISC Call, and setting up a new project in a University context Evidence: Activity: Drawing on both the evidence and your own experiences create a Soft Systems Diagram of this process JISC Call JISC Guide JISC Conditions Uni Mission Statement Uni Best Practise Guide

The Modelling Journey Part 2: Tools and Methods

Why a Journey? Modelling is a spectrum of activity The soft Portfolios of evidence Scenarios and Personas Systems Theory (SSM etc.) The hard Universal Modelling Language Business Process Modelling EA Modelling Communication Decision Support Technical Specification Business Intelligence

UML Unified Modelling Language – created in the 1990’s by Is a visual language for developing software systems it has syntax and semantics It is not a programming language Two types of model Structural What is in the system and their relationships Behavioural Captures interactions in the system 13 types of diagram Grady Booch Ivar Jacobsen And othersJames Rumbaugh

Identifying Key Areas Use your systems diagram to help you to focus in on an area ( decomposition: breaking the problem into manageable chunks) You can choose to start: At the beginning Where the most need for change is The biggest opportunity for improvement is Use noun and verb analysis to identify Objects ( nouns) and processes

Use Case Analysis Use cases model: What the system should do Who uses (benefits from) the system From the user’s point of view A Use Case captures a contract with the stakeholders of a system about its behaviour: The Use Case describes how the system reacts to a request from a primary actor in order to achieve a goal Use cases are essentially textual but have visual diagrams : For each use case A collection of use cases in a scenario (system) Use case analysis gathers different requests together

Use Case Analysis for Induction Tours The use case Sign up for Tours will execute Display Tours The use case Record Completed tours will execute Display Tours

Use Case Analysis for Induction Tours The use case Sign up for Tours will execute Display Tours The use case Record Completed tours will execute Display Tours Both the Student and the School administrator will be able to Display tours If a student’s results fall below a threshold mark, the school administrator will set up a literacy course for the student

Activity and Sequence UML includes other notations for describing how use cases relate to one another (Or what is inside a use case) Activity Diagrams (workflow) Show order and dependency Sequence Diagrams (communication) Show interaction and communication

Activity Diagram Describes workflow Start and End states Choice Concurrency Iteration Logical partitions To aid clarity Introduction Course Need Library Course? Library Course [Yes] [No] Tutorials Ice Breakers CVs Intro to WebCT

Activity Diagram Describes workflow Start and End states Choice Concurrency Iteration Logical partitions To aid clarity Introduction Course Need Library Course? Library Course [Yes] [No] Tutorials Ice Breakers CVs Intro to WebCT IntroductionInduction

Sequence Diagram Describe interaction Objects Object Lifelines Activation Boxes Messages Often describe one scenario of interaction UML notes for clarity Student School Student Services Start of Year Enroll Confirm true Student id

Sequence Diagram Describe interaction Objects Object Lifelines Activation Boxes Messages Often describe one scenario of interaction UML notes for clarity Student SchoolLibrary Student Services Start of Year Enroll Confirm true Student id Request Induction Schedule Check Library requirement true Induction Schedule Student requires id for interactions with School Interaction for Enrollment: Success Scenario

BPMN Business Process Modelling Notation 2001 – Version 1, 2009 version 2 Simple but expressive set of shapes for ease of understanding For modelling workflows of objects triggered by events or messages Very similar to UML Activity Diagrams But unlike UML, BPMN can produce code that can be executed through a workflow engine Either by its own transformation Or by translation into Business Process Execution Language (not yet a simple transformation)

BPMN

Enterprise Architecture A model of how a whole business fits together Potentially broad and shallow But capable of drilling down into areas of interest Enterprise Architecture enables us to connect together models of parts of a business despite different: Business areas Modelling approaches Complexity Completeness

Student Induction Welcome New Students Welcome New Students Example: Archimate Introduction Course Introduction Course Workshop Library Course Library Course Course Handbook CVs Tutorials Ice Breakers Ice Breakers Intro to WebCT Intro to WebCT

Student Induction Welcome New Students Welcome New Students Example: Archimate Introduction Course Introduction Course Workshop Library Course Library Course Course Handbook CVs Tutorials Ice Breakers Ice Breakers Intro to WebCT Intro to WebCT Start of new academic year Student CV Student CV

Student Induction Welcome New Students Welcome New Students Example: Archimate Introduction Course Introduction Course Workshop Library Course Library Course Course Handbook CVs Tutorials Ice Breakers Ice Breakers Intro to WebCT Intro to WebCT Start of new academic year WebCT Student CV Student CV

Student Induction Welcome New Students Welcome New Students Example: Archimate Introduction Course Introduction Course Workshop Library Course Library Course Course Handbook CVs Tutorials Ice Breakers Ice Breakers Intro to WebCT Intro to WebCT Start of new academic year WebCT Student CV Student CV Head of School Academic Tutor Academic StudentLibrarian

Conclusion There is a broad spectrum of modelling From simple to complex From ambiguous to precise Many tools and methodologies E.g. Stakeholder analysis, Personas and Scenarios, Soft Systems Diagrams, UML, BPMN, Archimate Model for a purpose Choose appropriate Formality, Complexity and Completeness for your task

Next Steps Objectives: To widen the perception of what modelling is To demonstrate modelling techniques with a common example To illustrate the affordances of those modelling approaches, and how they connect together InnovationBase.net

Mission Statement Mission Statement Thank You David Millard and Yvonne Howard {dem, Stakeholders Primary: Secondary: Key: Stakeholders Primary: Secondary: Key: Persona: Louise Louise is a new full-time student in the School of Arts and Media at Bolton University. She is confident of her own abilities, and excited about the new course. Louise took a few years out after college and is concerned about fitting in with younger students. Her accommodation is a few miles from campus, so she is worried about making friends and getting involved in social activities. Induction at Bolton Observation Notes Observation Notes