assigment computer principles

School of Engineering and

Computing

UCLan Coursework Assessment

Brief

Academic Year 2025-26

Trimester 1

Module Title: Computing Principles

Module Code: CO1011

Level 4

CO1011 - Assignment

Coursework 

First sit

TRIMESTER 1

This assessment is worth 50% of

the overall module mark

THE BRIEF/INSTRUCTIONS

Your task is to analyse the Case Study and provide answers to the questions. You need to produce a MS Word document and

submit it on Turnitin.

Please see the Assignments Section on the VLE for further information.

Learning outcomes:

LO3: Describe a range of algorithmic and logical approaches to solve problems using computational thinking.

LO4: Identify and use fundamental hardware, software and programming resources and techniques.

Case Study DailyMart is a small supermarket chain that sells groceries including food and other non-food items. They have 20 branches

across London. They have records of the locations of all the branches. Their products come from suppliers from around the

EU. They keep records of all their products. They also have a loyalty card program. For that reason, they need to store customer

details. Currently, all their records are paper based.

They would like to have a centralised database for all these records. They also would like to communicate with each branch

electronically. Therefore, they would like a proposal of how that can be done.

Computers in each branch are running on Intel i3 processors with 2 GB of RAM and they don’t have any screens for their

Checkout/Till System. They would like to upgrade the Computer Systems and have touch screens at the Checkouts/Tills.

They would also like you to write a simple program in Java for their Checkout Systems. For instance, they have 10 cans of

coke in stock, and they must always have at least 5 cans in stock. What happens:

• If they sell 3 cans

• If they sell 7 cans

You are a System Analyst, and they have contacted you to propose to them a solution for the upgrade of their entire System

(hardware and software) and the Network.

You are required to do the following:

Tasks:

Write a report that includes the following:

1. Introduction – Briefly describe the problem that you have been presented and how you are going to approach the

solution logically.

2. Suggest hardware requirements with justifications (I/O devices, Storage, RAM, etc.).

3. Suggest Software requirements with justification (OS, Application Software, etc.).

4. Propose network connectivity and data solutions (Local or Cloud based? Explain why).

(Consider that different users will require different types of hardware and software).

5. Create a simple database structure (i.e. an ERD) for their database. Justify the Entities and the Attributes you have

chosen for the database. Explain the importance of Primary and Foreign Keys.

6. Describe what the purpose of an algorithm. Use one example of a searching algorithm.

7. Write an algorithm for linear search through a database. Explain the steps. You are encouraged to use

images/diagrams of the steps.

8. Create pseudocode based on the algorithm you have written.

9. Present 2 Diagrams – Use Case and Flow Chart, based on the algorithm and the pseudocode. Briefly explain the

diagrams.

10. Describe the different types of data with examples of where and how they can be used.

11. Describe the use of Variables and Constants with examples.

12. Briefly explain the difference between Compiler, Interpreter, Linker and Assembler.

13. Write a simple programme to implement the solution you have proposed. Include code and output snippets and

explain the code.

14. Demonstrate solution/output based on the code you have written.

15. Conclude your document summarising what you have produced and why.

16. Use citation and referencing in Harvard style throughout the report.

A Sample structure for your report can be found in the Resources Tile on the VLE.

Please note: While proposing your solution, you are allowed to make logical assumptions (optional). If you do, state the reasons

for your assumptions.

Recommended structure

The report needs to be structured in an essay format (introduction, main body, and conclusion), referenced using Harvard style

and communicated effectively and clearly.

Cover page must have:

1. Title of the report.

2. Title of the module.

3. Student number.

4. Date of submission.

5. Word count (excluding Title, Subtitles, Contents Page and Reference List)

Recommended Word Counts

Introduction: 250 words

A clear statement that summarises the aim of the report highlighting the different sections of the document.

Main body: 2000 words

Cover the tasks from 2 – 14 above.

Conclusion: 250 words

Summary of the key points from the main body with a reference to the case study.

Reference list:

This should present all cited sources referenced in the text in Harvard style.

Marking Criteria

Knowledge and Understanding

You are required to show a good awareness of how a

Computer System works and propose solutions to the

given case study. Furthermore, you need to demonstrate

knowledge of hardware, software (Operating and

Application Software), algorithm, pseudocode and basic

programming with valid references.

Application

Show how algorithm, pseudocode, programming and data

works together. To achieve this, you will apply a range of

appropriate sources in a clear and logical manner.

Evidence

• Provide a clear solution to the given case study.

• Present diagrams based on your solution.

• Demonstrate understanding of programming

(data types/variables/constants)

• Write sample code based on the solution you

provided.

Construction

You are required to construct your work based on the

tasks and the instructions provided. It should be well

presented with appropriate references. You must follow

the Harvard referencing style.

PREPARATION FOR THE ASSESSMENT

Formative Feedback

You will have the opportunity for one-to-one formative feedback throughout the trimester on different parts of this report.

• During week 9 you will have the opportunity to receive feedback on the structure of your report and your

progression.

• You will work on the feedback and show it to the lecturer in week 10.

• During week 11 and week 12, you should demonstrate the main report to the lecturer to get final feedback before

you submit your work.

Reading List for this assessment:

• Haigh, Thomas, and Paul E. Ceruzzi. A New History of Modern Computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2021

• Hare, K. (2020). Computer Science Principles: The Foundational Concepts of Computer Science. Yellow Dart.

Additional Guidance

Support materials and guidance can be found on the module VLE page.

RELEASE DATE AND HAND IN DEADLINE

Assessment Release date: Week 1

Assessment Deadline Date and time: Friday 12th December, 2 pm (Week 12)

Please note that this is the final time you can submit – not the time to submit! Indeed, it is strongly recommended that you

submit well before the deadline of 2PM, as technical and other support will not be available at this time should you

experience any difficulties within your submission. For a first submission, if you submit work late within five working

days of the deadline without an authorised extension, your work will be capped at 40. Any work submitted in excess

of five working days late will be awarded a mark of 0. For a reassessment, any work submitted late will be awarded

a mark of 0.

If you need to apply for mitigation you must do so two days prior to or on the day of the scheduled submission deadline.

You will then be given the opportunity to submit the assessment at the next assessment period. If you fail to submit it will be

treated as a fail, with the next re-sit opportunity in the next trimester period.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Please submit your assignment electronically as a word document through the Turnitin link. This can be found in the

Assessment Tile on the Module VLE page. There is a maximum word count of 1500 * (with 10% tolerance). The assessment

needs to be submitted anonymously, so do not give your name anywhere on the piece of work.

* Grade awarded may be affected by assignments significantly over or under the specified word count

AI Tools which you may use within your assessment submission:

The University defines the categories of Artificial Intelligence tools in line with guidance from the QAA which includes

translation software, paraphrasing tools and text generating software (essay bots), and tools to generate graphics or artworks,

without specific authorisation.” (Source QAA April 2023)

It is vital that the work you submit demonstrates your own understanding, thoughts, and ideas in relation to the learning

outcomes. You should not rely on GenAI tools to provide the content, analysis, or reflections that you are expected to

produce yourself.

The following categories of specific tools may be used in the creation of your assessed work:

Category Specific Tool Permitted

1 Assistive AI Tools MS Word spell check and grammar

2 Paraphrasing Tools https://www.wordtune.com/

3 Generative AI (text and graphics) https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt

4 Translation Software https://translate.google.com/

5 Use specific to the module and assessment Generative AI (graphics only)

NOTE: where you are permitted to include AI-generated content within your assessment, it must be referenced

appropriately. Additionally, you must record any usage of GenAI tools within the assessment coversheet, including the name

of the tool, what you have used it for, and screenshots of both the input prompt and the generated output.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this assessment brief is correct at time of publication.

In the unlikely event that any changes are deemed necessary, they will be communicated clearly

via e-mail and a new version of this assessment brief will be circulated.

Version: 1(AM)

Grade % Knowledge and

Understanding

Application Evidence Construction

Understanding

Relevance

Argument

Evaluation

Analysis

Explanation

Originality

Research

Evidence

Interpretation

Style

Presentation

Structure

Referencing

Clarity

Band % What do you know and

understand?

What do you do

with this?

How do you evidence/support this? How do you

communicate this?

Exceptional

1st /

Distinction

100 Demonstrates

outstanding knowledge

of fundamental concepts

of Computer Systems;

in terms of Hardware,

Software,

Algorithm,

Pseudocode and

Programming.

Demonstrates

outstanding

ability to apply

theoretical

knowledge into

practical

scenarios, utilising

both assigned and

independent

sources to justify

design choices.

Demonstrates outstanding

ability to research, select and

evidence clear solutions with

diagrams to a given problem.

Provides outstanding evidence of

understanding of

different data types and basic

programming.

Demonstrates and

documents outstanding

understanding of

Computing. It includes

discussion and

understanding of how a

Computer System

works, algorithm,

pseudocode, hardware,

software, data types

and programming.

Propose a solution to

the given case study in

a concise and logical

manner.

Outstanding

presentation of a title

page, table of contents,

the main body,

conclusion

and reference

list.

Exhibits outstanding

use of academic

language,

paraphrasing and

summarising with

intext citation and a

reference list in

Harvard Style. Made

exceptional use of

word limit

Very High

1st/

Distinction

94

High 1st/

Distinction

87

Mid 1st/

Distinction

80

Demonstrates excellent

knowledge of

fundamental concepts of

Demonstrates

excellent ability to

apply theoretical

Demonstrates excellent ability to

research, select and evidence clear

solutions with diagrams to a given

Demonstrates and

documents excellent

understanding of

Low 1st /

distinction

74 Computer Systems; in

terms of Hardware,

Software, Algorithm,

Pseudocode and

Programming.

knowledge into

practical scenarios,

utilising both

assigned and

independent sources

to justify design

choices.

problem. Provides excellent

evidence of understanding of

different data types and basic

programming.

Computing. It includes

discussion and

understanding of how a

Computer System

works, algorithm,

pseudocode, hardware,

software, data types and

programming.

Propose a solution to

the given case study in

a concise and logical

manner.

Excellent presentation

of a title page, table of

contents, the main

body, conclusion and

reference list.

Exhibits excellent use

of academic language,

paraphrasing and

summarising with

intext citation and a

reference list in

Harvard Style.

Effective use of word

limit

High

2.1/merit

68 Demonstrates very good

knowledge of

fundamental concepts of

Computer Systems; in

Demonstrates very

good ability to

apply theoretical

knowledge into

Demonstrates very good ability to

research, select and evidence clear

solutions with diagrams to a given

problem. Provides very good

Demonstrates and

documents very good

understanding of Mid

2.1/merit

65

Low

2.1/merit

62 terms of Hardware,

Software, Algorithm,

Pseudocode and

Programming.

practical scenarios,

utilising both

assigned and

independent sources

to justify design

choices.

evidence of understanding of

different data types and basic

programming.

Computing. It includes

discussion and

understanding of how a

Computer System

works, algorithm,

pseudocode, hardware,

software, data types

and programming.

Propose a solution to

the given case study in

a concise and logical

manner.

Very good presentation

of a title page, table of

contents, the main

body, conclusion and

reference list.

Exhibits Very good use

of academic language,

paraphrasing and

summarising with

intext citation and a

reference list in

Harvard Style.

Generally good use of

word limit.

High 2.2 /

High Pass

58

Demonstrates good

knowledge of the

fundamental concepts of

Computer Systems;

Demonstrates good

ability to apply

theoretical

knowledge into

practical

Demonstrates good ability to

research, select and evidence

clear solutions with diagrams to a

given problem. Provides good

evidence of

Demonstrates and

documents good

understanding of

Computing. It includes

discussion Mid 2.2 /

Mid+ Pass

55

Low 2.2/

Mid Pass

52 in terms of Hardware,

Software,

Algorithm,

Pseudocode and

Programming.

scenarios, utilising

both assigned and

independent sources

to justify design

choices.

understanding of different data

types and basic programming.

and understanding of

how a Computer

System works,

algorithm,

pseudocode, hardware,

software, data types

and programming.

Propose a solution to

the given case study in

a concise and logical

manner.

Good presentation of

a title page, table of

contents, the main

body, conclusion and

reference list.

Exhibits good use of

academic language,

paraphrasing and

summarising with

intext citation and a

reference list in

Harvard Style.

Some good use of word

limit.

High 3rd /

Low+ Pass

48 Demonstrates

satisfactory knowledge

of the fundamental

concepts of Computer

Systems; in terms of

Hardware,

Demonstrates

satisfactory ability

to apply theoretical

knowledge into

practical scenarios,

utilising both

Demonstrates satisfactory ability to

research, select and evidence clear

solutions with diagrams to a given

problem. Satisfactory evidence of

understanding of different data

types and basic programming.

Demonstrates and

documents Satisfactory

understanding of

Computing. It includes

discussion and Mid 3rd /

Low Pass

45

Low 3rd /

Low- Pass

42 Software,

Algorithm,

Pseudocode and

Programming.

assigned and

independent sources

to justify design

choices.

understanding of how a

Computer System

works, algorithm,

pseudocode, hardware,

software, data types and

programming. Propose

a solution to the given

case study in a concise

and logical manner.

Satisfactory

presentation of a title

page, table of contents,

the main body,

conclusion

and reference

list.

Exhibits satisfactory

use of academic

language,

paraphrasing and

summarising with

intext citation and a

reference list in

Harvard Style. Some

issues fitting within

word limit.

Marginal

Fail

35* Demonstrates

limited ability to

Demonstrates limited ability to

research, select and evidence clear

Demonstrates and

documents limited

Mid Fail 30* Demonstrates limited

knowledge of the

fundamental concepts of

Computer Systems; in

terms of Hardware,

Software, Algorithm,

Pseudocode and

Programming.

apply theoretical

knowledge into

practical scenarios,

utilising both

assigned and

independent sources

to justify design

choices.

solutions with diagrams to a given

problem. Limited evidence of

understanding of

different data types and basic

programming.

understanding of

Computing. It includes

limited discussion and

understanding of how a

Computer System

works, algorithm,

pseudocode, hardware,

software, data types

and programming.

Proposes a limited

solution to the given

case study in a concise

and logical manner.

Limited presentation of

a title page, table of

contents, the main

body, conclusion and

reference list.

Exhibits limited use of

academic language,

paraphrasing and

summarising with

intext citation and a

reference list in

Harvard Style.

Significant issues

fitting within word

limit.

Low Fail 25 Demonstrates extremely

limited knowledge of

the fundamental

concepts of Computer

Systems; in terms of

Hardware,

Software,

Algorithm,

Pseudocode and

Programming.

Demonstrates

extremely limited

ability to apply

theoretical

knowledge into

practical scenarios,

utilising both

assigned and

independent

sources to justify

design choices.

Demonstrates extremely limited

ability to research, select and

evidence clear solutions with

diagrams to a given problem.

Extremely limited evidence of

understanding of different data

types and basic programming.

Demonstrates and

documents extremely

limited understanding

of Computing. Does

not include sufficient

discussion and

understanding of how a

Computer System

works, algorithm,

pseudocode, hardware,

software, data types

and programming.

Does not propose a

solution to the given

case study in a concise

and logical manner.

Extremely limited

presentation of a title

page, table of contents,

the main

body, conclusion and

reference list.

Exhibits extremely

limited use of academic

language, paraphrasing

and summarising with

intext citation and a

reference list in

Harvard Style.

Fail 10 Demonstrates inability

to apply the knowledge

of the fundamental

concepts of Computer

Systems; in terms of

Hardware,

Software,

Algorithm,

Pseudocode and

Programming.

Demonstrates

inability to apply

theoretical

knowledge into

practical scenarios,

utilising both

assigned and

independent sources

to justify design

choices.

Demonstrates inability to research,

select and evidence clear solutions

with diagrams to a given problem.

Inability to provide evidence of

understanding of different data

types and basic programming.

Demonstrates inability

in understanding

Computing. It does

not include

discussion and

understanding of how a

Computer System

works, algorithm,

pseudocode, hardware,

software, data types

and programming.

Does not propose a

solution to the given

case study in a concise

and logical manner.

Inability to present a

title page, table of

contents, the main

body, conclusion and

reference list.

Inability to use

academic language,

paraphrasing and

summarising with

intext citation and a

reference list in

Harvard Style.

Poor/inappropriate use

of word limit.