Scenario Background (Provided to Students)
You are a System Analyst / Technical Writer contracted by Unity
University. The university currently manages student counseling services
through a manual, paper-based system. Students must physically visit the
counseling office, fill out forms, and wait for appointments. Counselors track
sessions using handwritten notes and Excel spreadsheets.
The university has decided to develop an online student counseling
application to modernize and improve these services. You are responsible
for creating the system documentation.
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Background of the Organization
Task: Write a 2–3 paragraph description of Unity University (fictional or real)
including:
Type of institution (private/public, size, number of students)
Existing counseling services offered
Organizational structure of the counseling department
Current technology environment (what systems exist)
Guiding questions:
How many students currently use counseling services?
How many counselors are employed?
What challenges does the current counseling process create for
students and staff?
1.2 Statement of the Problem and Justification
Task: Write a problem statement (1 page) that:
1. Identifies at least 5 specific problems with the current manual
system. Examples:
o Long wait times for appointments
2. Provides justification for why an online solution is necessary:
o Impact on student mental health and academic success
3. Includes supporting data (you may create realistic estimates):
o Current average wait time = ? days
o Number of students who abandon requests = ?%
o Counselor hours spent on paperwork = ? hours/week
1.3 Objectives of the Project
1.3.1 General Objective
Task: Write one clear general objective (provided to you – use this):
"To develop an online software application that would manage and keep
track of the information of counseling appointments and sessions, provide
online sessions (text and video chat), and deliver necessary information to
students and counselors."
1.3.2 Specific Objectives
Task: Write a clear, measurable statement for each of the following specific
objectives (already defined – present them professionally with numbering):
1. Develop an online application that provides a 'Voice-Out'
platform where students can post opinions, views, suggestions, or
personal problems anonymously.
2. Design a database for the storage and management of student
counseling appointments, sessions, seminars, and events.
For each objective, add a "Success Metric" – how will you know it is
achieved?
1.4 Methodology
1.4.1 Data Collection
Task: Describe how you will gather requirements for this system. Include:
Target Expected
Method Purpose
Audience Outcome
List of pain
Understand
Interviews Counselors points and
current workflow
needs
Students Ranked
Surveys/ Identify desired
(current & feature
Questionnaires features
past users) priorities
Existing
Understand data Data dictionary
Document Analysis forms, logs,
requirements draft
policies
Counseling See manual Process flow
Observation
office process in action diagram
Discuss
Student anonymous Privacy
Focus Groups
groups feature requirements
preferences
Provide at least 3 sample questions for the student survey.
1.4 Tools
Task: List and justify the tools you recommend for development:
Category Tool(s) Justification
Frontend Framework
Backend Framework
Database
Version Control
Project Management
Documentation
Chat/Video API (e.g., WebRTC, Zoom SDK)
Hosting/Deployment
1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Project
Task: Create two clear sections:
Scope (What IS included)
List 8–10 features/functions that are definitely part of this project
(based on objectives)
User roles to be supported (Student, Counselor, Admin)
Platforms (web only? mobile responsive?)
Timeframe (e.g., 6 months development)
Limitations (What is NOT included – at least 5)
Examples:
o Mobile native apps (iOS/Android) – not included in v1.0
o Integration with university's SIS (student information system) –
deferred to v2.0
o Voice/video recording storage – excluded for privacy reasons
o Automated counselor matching algorithm – manual selection in
v1.0
o Payment processing (if applicable)
1.6 Significance of the Project
Task: Write 1–2 paragraphs explaining the value of this project to each
stakeholder:
Stakeholder Benefit from This System
Students
Counselors
University Administration
Parents/Families
IT Department
1.7 Feasibility Study
Task: Analyze feasibility across three dimensions:
Your Assessment
Type Questions to Answer
(High/Medium/Low)
Does the university have existing
Technical
infrastructure? Are the required skills available?
Feasibility
Can chat/video be implemented?
Estimated development cost? Estimated annual
Economic
maintenance? Expected ROI or cost savings?
Feasibility
(Provide rough numbers)
Will counselors adopt the system? Will students
Operational
use anonymous features responsibly? Is
Feasibility
training feasible?
*Provide a Cost-Benefit Summary Table with at least 3 costs and 3
benefits.*
1.8 Risk Assessment
Task: Identify and analyze at least 6 risks using this table:
Ris Risk
Probabilit Impac Mitigation
k Risk Description Score
y (1-5) t (1-5) Strategy
ID (P x I)
R1 Students may 4 4 16 Moderation
misuse tools +
anonymous reporting
Ris Risk
Probabilit Impac Mitigation
k Risk Description Score
y (1-5) t (1-5) Strategy
ID (P x I)
posting system +
(cyberbullying) terms of use
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
Include at least one privacy/security risk (student data breach) and one
technical risk (video chat reliability).
1.9 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Task: Create a hierarchical breakdown of all tasks required to complete this
project.
Format: Use a numbered outline or visual tree. Example:
text
1.0 Project Management
1.1 Kickoff meeting
1.2 Weekly status reports
1.3 Stakeholder reviews
2.0 Requirements Gathering
2.1 Student surveys
2.2 Counselor interviews
2.3 Document analysis
3.0 System Design
3.1 Database design
3.2 UI/UX wireframes
3.3 API design
4.0 Development (by feature)
4.1 User authentication
4.2 Appointment request system
4.3 Voice-Out anonymous posting
4.4 Chatroom (text)
4.5 Video chat integration
4.6 Alerts & notifications
4.7 New student information module
4.8 Report generation
5.0 Testing
5.1 Unit testing
5.2 Integration testing
5.3 User acceptance testing (students + counselors)
6.0 Deployment & Training
6.1 Pilot launch (one department)
6.2 Counselor training sessions
6.3 Student orientation materials
6.4 Full university launch
7.0 Maintenance & Support
Also provide: Estimated duration for each major phase (in weeks) and
responsible role.
Chapter 2: Requirement Analysis and
Specification
2.1 Current System (As-Is)
Task: Document the existing manual system.
Include:
1. Description: How do students currently request counseling? (Walk
through the process step by step)
2. Process Flow Diagram: Create a simple flowchart showing:
oStudent walks to counseling office
oFills out paper form
oReceptionist checks availability
oetc.
3. Current System Limitations Table:
Limitation Impact Severity (High/Med/Low)
No appointment reminders High no-show rate H
(add 5+ more)
4. Data Storage Current State: Describe how data is stored now
(paper files, Excel, email). What are the risks?
2.2 Business Rules
Task: Identify at least 10 business rules that govern how the counseling
system should operate.
Format: Each rule should be a clear, testable statement.
Examples:
BR-01: A student cannot request an appointment with a counselor who
has reached maximum daily capacity.
BR-02: Anonymous posts must not store any personally identifiable
information (IP address, student ID, email).
BR-03: Counseling session chat logs must be retained for 6 months,
then automatically anonymized.
BR-04: Only counselors can reply to anonymous posts publicly.
BR-05: A student must have an active enrollment status to access
counseling services.
BR-06: Appointment requests made after 5:00 PM are considered next-
day requests.
BR-07: No more than 3 appointment requests can be pending per
student at one time.
BR-08: Workshop alerts must be sent 3 days and 1 day before the
event.
BR-09: Counselors must generate monthly reports by the 5th of each
month.
BR-10: New students must complete the orientation module before
accessing career counseling.
(Add your own – ensure they cover all 8 specific objectives)
2.3 Proposed System (To-Be)
2.3.1 Overview
Task: Write a 2–3 paragraph high-level description of the proposed online
counseling system. Include:
System purpose and value proposition
Key capabilities (summarize the 8 specific objectives)
User roles and their main actions
System architecture (simple diagram or description: web-based, client-
server, cloud-hosted?)
2.3.2 Functional Requirements
Task: Write functional requirements organized by module. Each requirement
should follow the format:
FR-[Module]-[Number]: The system shall [action] [conditions] [expected
result].
Minimum 25 functional requirements distributed across these modules:
Minimum
Module Example
Requirements
User
FR-AUTH-01: The system shall allow students to
Authentication & 3
log in using university email and password.
Roles
Appointment FR-APP-01: The system shall display available
4
Request System time slots for each counselor.
Voice-Out FR-VOICE-01: The system shall not store the
(Anonymous 4 student's name, email, or IP address with any
Posting) anonymous post.
FR-CHAT-01: The system shall display a
Chatroom Session
3 timestamp for each message sent in a chat
(Text)
session.
FR-VIDEO-01: The system shall launch a video
Video Chat 2
session using a third-party API (e.g., Zoom, Jitsi).
Alerts & FR-ALERT-01: The system shall send email
3
Notifications notifications for appointment confirmations.
Educational & FR-CONTENT-01: The system shall provide a
3
Counseling Content searchable library of career guidance articles.
New Student FR-NEW-01: The system shall present a
2
Information mandatory orientation module for first-time users.
Minimum
Module Example
Requirements
FR-REPORT-01: The system shall generate a
Report Generation 4 report of appointments per counselor by date
range.
FR-GEN-01: The system shall support at least 500
General System 2
concurrent users.
Template for each requirement:
Requirement ID
Description
Priority (Must Have / Should Have / Could Have)
Source (which stakeholder or document)
2.3.3 Nonfunctional Requirements
Task: Write nonfunctional requirements across these categories.
Minimum 15 total.
Category Minimum Example
NFR-PERF-01: The system shall load the student
Performance 2
dashboard within 3 seconds under normal load.
NFR-SEC-01: All chat logs shall be encrypted at rest
Security 3
using AES-256.
Availability & NFR-AVAIL-01: The system shall have 99.5% uptime
2
Reliability during business hours (8 AM – 8 PM).
Usability 2 NFR-USE-01: A new student shall be able to request an
Category Minimum Example
appointment within 2 minutes without training.
3 (critical for NFR-PRIV-01: Anonymous posts shall be unrecoverable
Privacy
this system) after 6 months.
1 NFR-COMP-01: The system shall comply with
Compliance university data protection policies and relevant
privacy laws.
NFR-SCALE-01: The system shall support up to 5,000
Scalability 1
active student users.
NFR-MAINT-01: The system shall include a logging
Maintainability 1
mechanism that records all administrative actions.
For each nonfunctional requirement, include:
Requirement ID
Description
Measurement / Acceptance Criteria (how will you test it?)
Priority (Must / Should / Could)
Cover Page Template
Student Counseling Online Application
Prepared for: [Instructor Name]
Prepared by: [Student Name]
Date: [Submission Date]
Course: Creating Technical Documentation
Module: Website Development & Database Administration