Course coordinator
Dr Aneesha Bakharia
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Elec Engineering & Comp Science School
This course is to introduce aspects of Web-based information systems (WIS). It has a focus on the latest technologies for WIS development. It covers concepts & fundamentals of WIS (Python based MVC frameworks, Databases, HTML, CSS), recent advances of server-side technologies (AJAX, Web Security, Web Search, Web Services), and current trends in WIS.
This course provides a thorough introduction to building database-driven Web Information Systems (WIS), covering the latest technologies and methodologies. Students will learn about MVC frameworks and their importance in web development, design relational databases essential for data-driven sites, and explore cloud deployment techniques for scalable web and mobile applications. The course also includes practical training in server-side development and emphasises the development of responsive websites and mobile applications, ensuring an accessible and user-friendly experience across different devices.
Course Changes in Response to Previous Student Feedback:
- The course has been updated from PHP and the CodeIgniter framework to use Python and Django. This modernization enhances the course by leveraging Django’s full MVC architecture, built-in Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) for efficient database interactions, and libraries for building modern RESTful APIs. These improvements align with current industry standards and best practices, providing students with up-to-date skills in web development.
- Course assessment and assessment weightings have changed. The Weekly Activities weighting has increased from 10% to 15%. The Final exam weighting has increased from 30% to 35%. The mid-project Code Review has been replaced with and end of project Project Demonstration.
- Guest Lecturers will be invited to expose students to real-world life experiences from the context of the workplace and allow students to get insights and perspectives from an expert.
Course requirements
Assumed background
Students taking this course are expected to have:
- experience in client-side development (e.g, HTML5, CSS & Javascript)
- knowledge of designing relational database applications
- adequate programming skills
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
(CSSE1001 or ENGG1001) and INFS1200 and DECO1400
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
INFS7202
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Dr Aneesha Bakharia
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
Note: No Labs (practicals) will be run in Week 1.
Aims and outcomes
The primary aim of this course is to introduce aspects of Web-based information systems (WIS). It has a focus on the latest technologies for WIS development. It covers fundamental concepts of WIS and recent advances in server-side technologies. By taking this course, students are expected to be capable of building up sophisticated web systems including both frontend and backend functionalities.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Apply system architecture principles to design and deploy Web Information Systems (WIS) solutions.
LO2.
Evaluate and articulate the scope, complexity, and key considerations in the design and implementation of Web Information Systems.
LO3.
Design and program Web Information Systems (WIS) with server-side functionalities.
LO4.
Develop responsive Web-based, database-driven applications using efficient and effective technologies.
LO5.
Evaluate and justify the suitability of Web Information Systems solutions in various contexts, considering factors such as user needs and technical constraints.
LO6.
Judge in which situations WIS solutions are more or less appropriate.
LO7.
Critically analyze current issues and emerging trends in Web Information Systems development, and predict potential impacts on future practices and technologies.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Code, Participation/ Student contribution |
Weekly Activities
|
15% |
14/03/2025 - 23/05/2025
Due weekly at 3pm on Friday from Week 3 - 12, except in Week 8 where the due date is Thurs 17/4/25. |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Project | Design Document | 20% |
4/04/2025 3:00 pm
Due at the end of Week 6. |
| Computer Code, Project |
Web Project
|
30% |
16/05/2025 3:00 pm |
| Examination |
Final Exam
|
35% |
End of Semester Exam Period 7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025 |
A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.
Assessment details
Weekly Activities
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Computer Code, Participation/ Student contribution
- Weight
- 15%
- Due date
14/03/2025 - 23/05/2025
Due weekly at 3pm on Friday from Week 3 - 12, except in Week 8 where the due date is Thurs 17/4/25.
- Other conditions
- Peer assessed.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L07
Task description
In the Weekly Activities assessment, students will regularly participate in a series of activities via the course's Blackboard site. These activities will enable students to track their learning and received regular feedback through regular quizzes with peer interaction.
You will submit these deliverables:
- From Week 3 to Week 12 (i.e. 10 weeks), students will be participating in an online platform where they create, moderate and answer questions.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Submission details will be available via the assessment brief on Blackboard.
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
No extensions available and 100% Late penalty applied for the online quizzes as results and feedback are released immediately after the due date.
To accommodate unforeseen circumstances such as illness, your mark will be based on the best 8 out of 10 submissions.
Late submission
You will receive a mark of 0 if this assessment is submitted late.
Design Document
- Mode
- Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Project
- Weight
- 20%
- Due date
4/04/2025 3:00 pm
Due at the end of Week 6.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L05, L06, L07
Task description
1. The assignment is designed to test your ability to design and document a WIS, with a focus on the database and web user interface design.
2. Students will be able to select from one of three project topics. Students will be required to select ONLY ONE of the projects and author a comprehensive design document.
3. For the students who have extensive experience in Web system development, you have the option to propose a new project topic. However, you must submit a project proposal in Week 2 and seek pre-approval from the Course Coordinator.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Submission details will be available via the assessment brief on Blackboard.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
This course uses a progressive assessment approach where feedback and/or detailed solutions will be released to students within 14 days.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Web Project
- In-person
- Mode
- Oral, Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia
- Category
- Computer Code, Project
- Weight
- 30%
- Due date
16/05/2025 3:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L03, L04
Task description
1. The assignment is designed to test your ability to develop a WIS based on a specification and design document, with a focus on the technology part of this course.
2. The implemented project must match your submitted Design Document. Students will not be allowed to change project topics.
3. This assessment item has two parts:
- Part one is an online code submission. All code will be required to be compressed into one file and submitted via Blackboard in Week 11 (3pm Friday). The submission will also need to include a link to the online deployment of the web project to UQCloud.
- Part two is an oral demonstration and review of your submitted code, which will be completed during an in-person meeting with a demonstrator scheduled during the Lab session in Week 12, after the code submission. In the meeting with the demonstrator, students will demonstrate all implemented functionality, explain their approach and answer questions specific to their code implementation. All oral assessments must be given live and will be recorded by the teaching team for archiving purposes.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Submission details will be available via the assessment brief on Blackboard.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
This course uses a progressive assessment approach where feedback and/or detailed solutions will be released to students within 14 days.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Final Exam
- Hurdle
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 35%
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L07
Task description
This course will have one final exam that is designed to test theoretical concepts and programming skills introduced in this course. The exam will address all materials covered by lectures and labs.
Hurdle requirements
The exam is an Identity Verified Assessment Hurdle. If the exam is not passed with a minimum score of 17.5/35, the final grade received will be capped at a 3 even if the overall score received is of greater than or equal to 50%.Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Calculator options | No calculators permitted |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 29 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 2 (Fail) | 30 - 46 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 47 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes |
Additional course grading information
Note that the final marks are calculated as a simple accumulation of all marks obtained in this semester. The Exam is an Identity Verified Assessment Hurdle and if not passed with a minimum score of 17.5/35, your final grade will be capped at a 3 even if your overall score is greater than or equal to 50%.
Mark Rounding:ﾠCourse marks will be rounded before application of grade cut-offs.
Moderation:ﾠThe course coordinator reserves the right to moderate marks.
When Submitting Assessments Online:
Please allow plenty of time for online submission, as many students are attempting the same task at the same time. Be sure to allow enough time for uploading of assessment files. It is your responsibility to check that submissions have been uploaded correctly.
Identify Verified Assessment:
The Exam is identity verified andﾠcontributes to the pass hurdle for the course.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
Having Troubles?
If you are having difficulties with any aspect of the course material, you should seek help and speak to the course teaching staff. If external circumstances are affecting your ability to work on the course, you should seek help as soon as possible. The University and UQ Union have organisations and staff who are able to help; for example, UQ Student Services are able to help with study and exam skills, tertiary learning skills, writing skills, financial assistance, personal issues, and disability services (among other things).
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Most materials and samples can be found on the Web, such as http://www.w3schools.com.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 1 To Week 13 |
Lecture |
Lectures Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
Multiple weeks From Week 2 To Week 13 |
Practical |
Lab Weekly labs will be used for: - step-by-step code walkthroughs available as a download from the course Blackboard site - individual project development and consultation - project demonstration/code review Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L05, L07 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: