IS226 Tutorial 5 Problems for Week 6

Modeling Systems Requirements – Event Tables, ERD

Review Questions
1. What is an event?

An event is an occurrence at a specific time and place that can be described and is
worth remembering by the system.

2. What are the three types of events?

External events, temporal events, and state events.

Thinking Critically
1. Consider the External event checklist given below (Fig 1.) and think about a
university course registration system. What is an example of an event of each
type in the checklist?

Fig 1. External Event Checklist

External agent wants something requiring transaction: Student submits registration

request.

External agent wants information: Student wants to look up open sections available.

Data change needs to be updated: Student submits change of address information.

Management wants some information: Department head wants enrollment data for
open sections.

2. Consider the following sequence of actions taken by a customer at a bank.

Which action is the event the analyst should define for a bank account
transaction processing system? (1) Kevin gets a check from grandma for his
 birthday. (2) Kevin wants a car. (3) Kevin decides to save his money. (4)
Kevin goes to the bank. (5) Kevin waits in line. (6) Kevin makes a deposit in
his savings account. (7) Kevin grabs the deposit receipt. (8) Kevin asks for a
brochure on auto loans.

The event for the bank is Customer makes a deposit. Grabbing the receipt is just the
way the response (receipt) is implemented. Asking for a brochure on auto loans might
be a separate event if the bank wants to remember that Kevin asked about it, or if they
want to deduct one brochure in their brochure inventory system (if they have such a
thing). If the bank does not need to remember the event, then doing something by the
system is not “required.”

3. Consider the following event table for a customer support system (Fig 2.).
Classify the events into External, Temporal or State events.
 Fig 2. Event table for customer support system

External Events – 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15

Temporal Events – 4, 5, 10, 12

Case Study
Read The Real State Multiple Listing Service System case study below and
answer the three questions that follow.
 THE REAL ESTATE MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE SYSTEM

The Real Estate Multiple Listing Service system supplies information that local real estate
agents use to help them sell houses to their customers. During the month, agents list houses
for sale (listings) by contracting with homeowners. The agent works for a real estate office,
which sends information on the listing to the multiple listing service. Therefore, any agent
in the community can get information on the listing.

Information on a listing includes the address, year built, square feet, number of bedrooms,
number of bathrooms, owner name, owner phone number, asking price, and status code. At any
time during the month, an agent might directly request information on listings that match
customer requirements, so the agent contacts the multiple listing service with the request.
Information is provided on the house, on the agent who listed the house, and on the real estate
office for which the agent works. For example, an agent might want to call the listing agent to ask
additional questions or call the homeowner directly to make an appointment to show the house.
Twice each month (on the 15th and 30th), the multiple list-ing service produces a listing book
that contains information on all listings. These books are sent to all of the real estate agents.
Many real estate agents want the books (which are easier to flip through), so they are provided
even though the information is often out of date. Sometimes agents and owners decide to change
information about a listing, such as reducing the price, correcting previous information on the
house, or indicating that the house is sold. The real estate office sends in these change requests to
the multiple listing service when the agent asks the office to do so.

1. To what events must the multiple listing service system respond? Create a
complete event table listing the event, trigger, source, use case, response, and
destination for each event.

List of events and resulting use cases with explanations:

1. Event: Real estate office submits new listing.

Use case: Add new listing.

The event is the real estate office sending in the information after the
agent signs the listing.

2. Event: Agent requests listing information.

Use case: Provide listing information.

This is the query facility where the agent can get listing information that
meets search criteria.

3. Event: Time to produce multiple listing book.

Use case: Produce multiple listing books.

This is a temporal event triggered twice a month, resulting in the multiple

listing book being sent to the real estate agents. Note the “book” does not
 have to be printed on paper, so this can remain a logical model. The class
might debate this, though.

4. Event: Real estate office submits listing change request.

Use case: Record listing change.

This represents changes in the listings to correct errors, update terms such
as price, and mark the status of a listing when it is under contract, sold, or
withdrawn.

5 & 6. There really should be two additional events and resulting use cases,
although they were not explicitly stated in the case. When real estate
offices are added or changed, the system needs to maintain real estate
office data. In addition, when an agent is added or needs updating, the
system needs to maintain agent data. These two events/use cases could be
added to the event table below.

Event Table

Event Trigger Source Use Case Response Destination

1. Real estate New listing RE Office Add new listing
office submits
new listing
2. Agent requests Listing query Agent Provide listing Listing Agent
listing info information information
3. Time to “15th and 30th Produce multiple Multiple Agent
produce multiple of the month” listing book listing book
listing book
4. Real estate Listing change RE Office Record listing change
office submits request
listing change
request

2. Draw an entity relationship diagram to represent the data storage

requirements for the multiple listing service system, including the attributes
mentioned. Does your model include data entities for offer, buyer, and
closing? If so, reconsider. Include information the multiple listing service
needs to store, which might be different from information the real estate
office needs to store.

Data entities and attributes for ERD:

This is limited to three data entities to store information on the listings and the
agent and office responsible for each listing. Buyers, sellers, and closings are not
included. The data entities and attributes are:
Real Estate Office

Office Number
Name
Office Manager Name
Address
Phone
FAX

Real Estate Agent

Agent Number (license number?)

Name
Office Phone
Home Phone
Email Address
Cell Phone

Real Estate Listing

Listing Number
Address
Year Built
Square Feet
Number Bedrooms
Number Baths
Owner Name
Owner Phone
Asking Price
Date Listed
Date Last Updated
Status Code

Dinesh Kumar