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1 | # C03 Resources — Software Requirements Specification & Critical Thinking |
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| 3 | **Criterion scope:** SRS document (functional/non-functional requirements, scope, constraints — economic/legal/social/technical, user characteristics, technical environment, analytical tools), critical thinking (data analysis questions, follow-up questions). |
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| 5 | --- |
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| 6 | ||||||||
| 7 | ## C3-1: SRS Document |
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| 8 | ||||||||
| 9 | ### Existing Materials (CriterionXX/) |
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| 11 | Criterion03/ is well-resourced: step-by-step SRS creation (steps 1-6), full SRS compilation, SRS reflection, NiceQuiz SRS exemplar, and SRS 2.0 writing test preparation. Strong existing coverage. |
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| 13 | ### External Resources |
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| 15 | | Resource | Source | Format | VCAA Mapping | Why It's Useful | |
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| 16 | |----------|--------|--------|--------------|-----------------| |
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| 17 | | [GeeksforGeeks — Software Requirement Specification (SRS) Format](https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/software-engineering/software-requirement-specification-srs-format/) | GeeksforGeeks | Reading | SRS structure, functional/non-functional requirements, constraints, scope | Well-structured overview of SRS format and components. Good reference for understanding the industry-standard SRS structure that VCAA mirrors. | |
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| 18 | | [Perforce — How to Write a Software Requirements Specification](https://www.perforce.com/blog/alm/how-write-software-requirements-specification-srs-document) | Perforce | Reading | SRS document structure, requirements, constraints | Professional perspective on SRS writing. Helps students understand that SRS is a real industry practice, not just a school exercise. | |
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| 19 | | [IEEE — Software Requirements Specifications](https://www.computer.org/resources/software-requirements-specifications) | IEEE Computer Society | Reading | SRS — industry standard | The professional standard that VCE SRS documents are based on. Good context for students to see the real-world origin. | |
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| 20 | | [Vermont SC — Applied Computing: Software Development](https://www.vermontsc.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CSD-3-4.pdf) | Vermont Secondary College | Reading (PDF) | SRS, constraints, scope — VCE-specific | VCE-specific course overview document. Shows how another school approaches the SRS requirement. | |
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| 21 | | [VCAA Teaching and Learning — Software Development](https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/curriculum/vce-curriculum/vce-study-designs/applied-computing-software-development/teaching-and-learning) | VCAA | Reading | All C3 topics — official teaching guidance | VCAA's own teaching guidance for software development. Essential reading for teachers. | |
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22 | | [FUNCTIONAL VS NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS. JUST WATCH THIS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fgfUHKITts) | YouTube — Jelvix (US) | Video (≈5 min) | C3-1: functional vs non-functional requirements (5–6 band) | Concrete side-by-side walkthrough of both requirement types with software examples. Embedded in the [Functional vs Non-Functional Requirements](/sd/C03/Functional%20vs%20Non-Functional%20Requirements) wiki page. Addresses the most common C3-1 mislabelling error. | |
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| 23 | | [Functional and Non-functional Requirements — What is the difference?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4WITZFLkUM) | YouTube — PMC Lounge (US) | Video (≈6 min) | C3-1: functional vs non-functional requirements | Clearly structured explainer with multiple worked examples showing the performance/quality distinction. Good second watch if Jelvix video above doesn't click. | |
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| 24 | | [What is MOSCOW Analysis? Project Management in Under 5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO5gftPdQT8) | YouTube — Online PM Courses (UK) | Video (≈5 min) | C3-1: MoSCoW scope, solution boundaries | Brisk walkthrough of the four MoSCoW categories with worked examples. Covers scope priority decisions; pair with the [Scope vs Constraints](/sd/C03/Scope%20vs%20Constraints) wiki page to distinguish scope from constraints. Origin is UK/agile; adapt "business" examples to school software context. | |
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| 25 | | [Design and Implementation Constraints in Software Engineering](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ny_96-N64U) | YouTube — Gate Smashers (US) | Video (≈7 min) | C3-1: constraints (technical, economic, social, legal) | Walks through multiple constraint categories specifically in a software engineering context — closer to VCE scope than generic project management videos. | |
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| 26 | | [Australian Privacy Principles from the Privacy Act 1988](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hdhIWaKlUs) | YouTube — IILPM (AU) | Video (≈10 min) | C3-1: legal constraints — Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) | Explains the Australian Privacy Principles in plain language. Essential background for students who skip legal constraints or write one-liners. Directly addresses the AU legislation relevant to most school software projects. | |
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| 27 | | [What is a User Persona? Explained in Five Minutes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zl5Q1GP_wM) | YouTube — Beyond Design (US) | Video (≈5 min) | C3-1: user characteristics — who, skills, needs | Covers the key dimensions of a user profile (goals, frustrations, tech skills, context). Maps directly to the five-column user characteristics table required at 7–8 band. Translate "persona" to "user characteristics" for VCE framing. | |
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| 29 | ### Wiki pages for C3-1 |
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| 31 | | Page | What it covers | |
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| 32 | |---|---| |
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| 33 | | [Functional vs Non-Functional Requirements](/sd/C03/Functional%20vs%20Non-Functional%20Requirements) | Side-by-side table of both requirement types for the same project; most common mislabelling errors; how to make NF requirements measurable (DRAFT) | |
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| 34 | | [Scope vs Constraints](/sd/C03/Scope%20vs%20Constraints) | Why budget is a constraint not a scope decision; MoSCoW and constraints table side-by-side; how a 9–10 band response links them (DRAFT) | |
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35 | | [Analytical Tools Template Guide](/sd/C03/Analytical%20Tools%20Template%20Guide) | How to use the pre-labelled Excalidraw file (UCD / Context Diagram / DFD skeletons); notation quick reference; what to check when updating diagrams from C02 (DRAFT) | |
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| 37 | ### Gaps — C3-1 |
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39 | - **Technical environment documentation** — students often struggle to describe the technical environment adequately. A worked example showing hardware/software/network requirements for a typical SAT project would help. No strong external resource found. Teacher-recorded walkthrough recommended. |
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| 40 | - **Excalidraw template file** — the wiki page ([Analytical Tools Template Guide](/sd/C03/Analytical%20Tools%20Template%20Guide)) is ready; the actual `C03-Analytical-Tools.excalidraw` file still needs to be created by Jeremy and distributed to students. |
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| 42 | --- |
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| 44 | ## C3-2: Critical Thinking |
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| 46 | ### Existing Materials (CriterionXX/) |
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| 48 | Criterion03/ has critical analysis question-writing guidance (steps 1-4), a simulation exercise with examples, and Census@School NZ data for practice. Good coverage. |
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| 50 | ### External Resources |
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| 51 | ||||||||
| 52 | | Resource | Source | Format | VCAA Mapping | Why It's Useful | |
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| 53 | |----------|--------|--------|--------------|-----------------| |
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54 | | [How I Conduct a Requirements Gathering Interview as a Business Analyst](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIAbSOvf96E) | YouTube — Stefano The Agile BA (US) | Video (≈12 min) | C3-2: writing client-facing data-gathering questions (not meta-questions about the document) | Shows what real requirements interview questions look like — aimed at extracting information from a client, not at evaluating a document. Useful contrast for students who write meta-questions ("Did I write my SRS correctly?") instead of client-facing ones. | |
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| 55 | | [Requirements Gathering 101 — My Secret to Asking Great Questions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmCGiTWJ9Gg) | YouTube — Angelo the BA (US) | Video (≈10 min) | C3-2: writing effective data-gathering questions | Focuses on question quality — open vs closed, probing follow-ups, avoiding leading questions. Directly addresses the question-quality judgment required at 7–8 band in C3-2 Indicator 2. | |
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56 | | [Probing in User Interviews](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bionYPAPhg) | YouTube — NNgroup (US) | Video (≈3 min) | C3-2: writing follow-up questions that add new information (not restatements) | Demonstrates two forms of probing follow-up: questions that prompt elaboration, and questions that probe a specific detail already mentioned. Maps to the C3-2 9–10 band expectation that follow-up questions "clarify collected data" rather than repeat the original question. Context is UX research, not VCE SRS — translate "participant" to "client/user" and "researcher" to "you." | |
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| 58 | ### Gaps — C3-2 |
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60 | - **Evaluating your own questions (High/Medium/Low)** — C032-Step-3-Evaluate-Questions.md requires students to rate each question's effectiveness honestly. No external resource models this self-assessment process in a VCE context. A teacher-recorded walkthrough of a real evaluation table with one High, one Medium, one Low decision argued would close this gap. |
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| 61 | - **SRS 2.0 — tracing the impact of a new scenario across all SRS sections** — C031-SRS-2-0.md is VCAA-specific. No external resource models how a single constraint change ripples into scope and non-functional requirements. A teacher-annotated walkthrough is the only suitable resource here. |
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| 63 | --- |
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| 65 | ## Recommended Actions |
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67 | 1. **New wiki pages** — [Functional vs Non-Functional Requirements](/sd/C03/Functional%20vs%20Non-Functional%20Requirements), [Scope vs Constraints](/sd/C03/Scope%20vs%20Constraints), and [Analytical Tools Template Guide](/sd/C03/Analytical%20Tools%20Template%20Guide) address the highest-frequency C3-1 pain points. |
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68 | 2. **Legal constraints gap** — the Australian Privacy Principles video (IILPM) is the best available resource for the Privacy Act angle; students commonly skip this entirely. |
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69 | 3. **Excalidraw template file** — the Analytical Tools Template Guide wiki page exists, but requires Jeremy to create and distribute the actual `C03-Analytical-Tools.excalidraw` file. Teacher action required. |
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| 70 | 4. **Technical environment documentation** — no suitable external video found for a 4-min annotated walkthrough of all five categories. Teacher-recorded walkthrough is the only viable solution. |
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| 71 | 5. **C3-2 self-assessment and SRS 2.0** — no suitable external resources found for evaluating questions (High/Medium/Low) or SRS 2.0 tracing. Teacher-recorded walkthroughs are the only viable solution for these VCAA-specific tasks. |
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