ISYS1055 Chap.14 Assessment Playbook: Draft Gates and the Design Project
Assessment Playbook: Draft Gates and the Design Project
The whole 100% of ISYS1055 sits in four continuous tasks and there is no exam, so this chapter is the map of where the marks actually are. Assessment Task 1 Database Design is 20%, Assessment Task 2 SQL Programming and Normalisation is 30%, Assessment Task 3 is five in-practical quizzes worth 20% in total, and Assessment Task 4 the Database Design Project is 30%. Three of the four open with a draft gate roughly two weeks before the final submission, each with its own stated penalty for a missing or incomplete draft, and the marks people lose here are the cheapest in the course. Hurdle requirements: none stated in the course source. Canvas sometimes calls Assessment Task 4 the "Final Assessment", but the link behind that phrase is the take-home Database Design Project, not an exam.
What this chapter covers
- 01The official weights, summing to exactly 100%: AT1 20%, AT2 30%, AT3 20%, AT4 30% - and no exam anywhere in the course
- 02AT1 rubric line items: Design ER Model 4, ER to Schema 4, Optimise ER Model 6, four Understanding the Model items at 1 each, SQL Statement Validity 1, SQL Statement 1
- 03AT2 structure: Part A five normalisation questions, Part B five SQL queries - read the ISYS1055 mark column, not the ISYS3412 one, and note the page's statement that the raw score is scaled to 30% of the course mark
- 04AT3: five online quizzes run inside the practical class in Weeks 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, described as a mixture of multiple choice and short answer, stated as 5 x 4 = 20 marks or 4% per quiz - and the coverage rule stated in the first lecture, that the first four quizzes cover the previous two weeks each while the last covers the previous ten weeks
- 05AT4 parts and marks: Part A Understanding the Data 0 (preliminary), Part B Designing the Database 10, Part C Creating the Database 10, Part D Data Retrieval 10
- 06The three draft gates, each quoted in its own wording, at the end of Weeks 4, 9 and 12, roughly two weeks before their finals
- 07Timeline discipline: the semester break after Week 7 is when Milestone 1 of the project begins, and Week 8's syllabus topic lists a live walkthrough for starting it
- 08Stated policy: feedback about two working weeks after a deadline, announcements on Canvas can change an assessment specification, the discussion board before email, and up to two business days for a reply
Read the assessment map: what a skipped draft costs, and what each quiz covers
- +1(a) Four continuous tasks: Assessment Task 1 Database Design 20%, Assessment Task 2 SQL Programming and Normalisation 30%, Assessment Task 3 in-class quizzes 20% and Assessment Task 4 Database Design Project 30%, which sums to exactly 100%. There is nothing to sit: Canvas labels Assessment Task 4 the "Final Assessment" and Week 8's syllabus topic row lists a guide to starting it, but the link resolves to the take-home Database Design Project. Hurdle requirements: none stated in the course source.
- +1(b) Three of the four tasks carry a draft gate, and the wording differs per task, so quote each as published rather than normalising them. For Assessment Task 1 the source says "up to 2 mark deduction if missing or incomplete", and elsewhere that failing to submit a draft results in a 2 mark deduction (2/20 marks). For Assessment Task 2 it says "up to 2% (mark) deduction if missing or incomplete". For Assessment Task 4 the draft is worth "2 marks depending on how complete/correct". The drafts fall at the end of Weeks 4, 9 and 12; the sensible move is to submit something complete-looking early rather than nothing on time, and to use special consideration if absence is genuine.
- +1(c) Two things are wrong. Each quiz is 4% and there are five of them, stated as 5 x 4 = 20 marks - so a skipped quiz forfeits a fifth of a component worth as much as the whole of Assessment Task 1. And the Week 11 quiz is the cumulative one: the course states in the first lecture that the first four quizzes cover the previous two weeks each while the last covers the previous ten weeks, so it is both the broadest and the last chance in that component. The quizzes run inside the practical class, so missing the practical means missing the quiz.
- +1(d) Well before Week 12. The Canvas Syllabus puts Milestone 1 of the Database Design Project in the semester break after Week 7, Week 8's syllabus topic lists a live walkthrough on starting it, the draft is due at the end of Week 12 and the final at the end of Week 14. Part A, Understanding the Data, carries 0 marks but gates everything else - Part B Designing 10, Part C Creating 10 and Part D Data Retrieval 10 all depend on having profiled the dataset first.
Key terms
- Draft gate
- The one penalty mechanic this course states. Three of the four tasks require a draft submission roughly two weeks before the final, and each carries its own published deduction for a missing or incomplete draft. For Assessment Tasks 1 and 2 the course words it purely as a deduction, so the draft is not graded work in its own right - it is a free feedback checkpoint with a cost attached to skipping it. Assessment Task 4's rubric row is worded differently, as "2 marks depending on how complete/correct"; because its Parts B, C and D already total the full 30 marks, read that as the same deduction scaled by how finished the draft is rather than as 2 marks on top. Confirm the wording for your own offering on Canvas.
- Assessment Task 1 - Database Design (20%)
- A take-home assignment on ER modelling and the relational database model, with rubric points Design ER Model 4, ER to Schema 4, Optimise ER Model 6, four Understanding the Model items at 1 each, SQL Statement Validity 1 and SQL Statement 1.
- Assessment Task 2 - SQL Programming and Normalisation (30%)
- A take-home assignment in two parts: Part A's five normalisation questions (listing functional dependencies, identifying the highest normal form, decomposing to 3NF, combining relations where possible, and the final relational schema) and Part B's five SQL queries of unequal weight. The published per-item marks are raw marks that the system scales to the 30% weight.
- Assessment Task 3 - in-class quizzes (20%)
- Five online quizzes run inside the practical class in Weeks 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, described as a mixture of multiple choice and short answer, and stated as 5 x 4 = 20 marks or 4% per quiz.
- Assessment Task 4 - Database Design Project (30%)
- A take-home project on a publicly available dataset: investigate and understand the data, design a conceptual model, build the database and host the data, then write SQL for a set of requirements. Part A Understanding the Data carries 0 marks as preliminary work; Part B Designing, Part C Creating and Part D Data Retrieval carry 10 each. Canvas also refers to it as the "Final Assessment".
- Dual-cohort mark column
- The course is co-taught in one Canvas shell with the postgraduate ISYS3412, and the Assessment Task 2 and Assessment Task 4 rubrics print two mark columns. Always read the ISYS1055 column.
Assessment Playbook: Draft Gates and the Design Project FAQ
Is there an exam in ISYS1055?
No. The four continuous tasks sum to exactly 100%: a 20% design assignment, a 30% SQL and normalisation assignment, five in-practical quizzes worth 20% in total and a 30% design project. The phrase that causes confusion is Canvas's label "Final Assessment" for Assessment Task 4, reinforced by a Week 8 syllabus topic row billed as a guide to starting it - but the link resolves to the Database Design Project, a take-home build on a publicly available dataset. There is no paper to sit and no timetabled paper to plan around.
What exactly does skipping a draft cost?
It depends which task, and the course words each one differently, so read them as published rather than assuming they are the same. Assessment Task 1: "up to 2 mark deduction if missing or incomplete", stated elsewhere as a 2 mark deduction out of 20. Assessment Task 2: "up to 2% (mark) deduction if missing or incomplete". Assessment Task 4: the syllabus header states "2 marks deduction if not submitted" and the rubric row states "2 marks depending on how complete/correct" - and because Parts B, C and D already total the full 30 marks, read this as the deduction scaling with completeness, the more finished your draft the less of the 2 marks you lose. The Assessment Summary page words the same gate as a 2 mark deduction out of 30. In every case submitting something complete-looking beats submitting nothing.
What do the five quizzes cover, and where are they held?
They run inside your practical class in Weeks 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 - not in the lectorial - and are described as a mixture of multiple choice and short answer, assessing relational database fundamentals, entity-relationship modelling and SQL programming applied to real-world applications. The coverage rule stated in the first lecture is that the first four quizzes each cover the previous two weeks, while the fifth covers the previous ten, which makes the Week 11 quiz cumulative and the one worth revising broadly for.
Is there a hurdle in this course?
None is stated in the course source - there is no must-pass component described anywhere in the course material. Do not assume one, and do not assume its absence either: the Course Guide (Part A and Part B) linked from Canvas is RMIT's definitive statement for your offering, and the Policies and Guidelines page is where the university-level rules sit, including important dates such as the census date and the process for special consideration.
Can AI help me plan and check my ISYS1055 assessments?
Yes, as a study aid. Sia is an AI tutor built to mirror how ISYS1055 is taught and assessed at RMIT University: it can rehearse the seven mapping steps in order before you attempt Task 2 of the first assignment, walk an FD list to a 3NF decomposition so you can compare it against your own working, explain why one of your queries returns the wrong rows, or help you plan the four parts of the Database Design Project against the draft and final dates. It does not complete graded assessment for you, and RMIT University academic-integrity rules apply to everything you submit - check what is permitted for each task on Canvas.
Assessment move
Build the whole semester backwards from four dates and put them in your calendar in Week 1: the Assessment Task 1 draft at the end of Week 4 and its final at the end of Week 6, the Assessment Task 2 draft at the end of Week 9 and its final at the end of Week 11, the Assessment Task 4 draft at the end of Week 12 and its final at the end of Week 14, and the five quiz weeks - 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 - in your practical. Then protect the two structural advantages the course gives you for free. The draft gate is a feedback checkpoint two weeks before every major submission, so treat it as a rehearsal rather than as paperwork, and expect feedback about two working weeks after a deadline. The semester break after Week 7 is designated time for reviewing Weeks 1-7 and starting Milestone 1 of the project, which means Part A can be finished before the Week 8 walkthrough instead of in Week 13. Ask questions on the discussion board rather than by email, allow up to two business days for a reply, and read every Canvas announcement, because announcements can change an assessment specification. Confirm all weights, dates and submission rules on Canvas and in the Course Guide (Part A and Part B) for your own offering.
Working through Assessment Playbook: Draft Gates and the Design Project in ISYS1055? Sia is AskSia’s AI Information Technology tutor — ask any ISYS1055 Assessment Playbook: Draft Gates and the Design Project question and get a clear, step-by-step explanation grounded in how ISYS1055 is taught and assessed. Read this chapter free, then take your hardest questions to Sia.
