INFO101 Assignment 1 – My Digital Genesis & Access Audit (30%) 

Assignment Overview

In this assignment, you will explore and analyse your own digital life through the lens of Information Systems (IS). You will reflect on your digital origins (Genesis), assess your digital access and participation (Access), and apply foundational IS concepts to better understand how digital systems shape your experiences.

This assignment is designed to help you:

1. Reflect and describe key moments in your “digital genesis” (how your digital life began and grew) and explain what datafication means in everyday life.
2. Analyse a digital system using the IS components: people, data, technology, process.
3. Explain the infrastructure behind the digital system (hardware, software, networks/cloud) and why these matter for access.
4. Evaluate barriers to participation in the digital system.

Tasks

Part A — Digital Genesis Snapshot (20%)

Create a digital life timeline with 5–8 key moments (examples: first device/account, first platform used for learning, first time a system “decided something” about you, first time you lost access, etc.).

Then write a reflection that answers:

• Which of these moments were your choice, and which were decided by others (family, school, organisations, platforms)?
• What kinds of data were created about you at these moments?
• How did this shape your opportunities, identity, or participation?

Length guide: A maximum of 400 words

Part B — Choose one “Participation System” (10%)

Choose one information system you use frequently and describe:

• State and describe the digital system of your choice.
• What you use it for (your participation)
• Why it matters (what it helps you do, and any tensions/frustrations)

Length guide: A maximum of 400 words

Part C — Information System Analysis (30%)

Analyse your chosen system using the four IS components.

• People (users, stakeholders, decision-makers)
• Data (what is collected/created, what it represents)
• Technology (features/interface/tools)
• Process (steps, rules, workflow) In your writing, address:

People

• Who are the main user groups?
• Who benefits most from how it currently works?
• Who might be disadvantaged or left out?

Data

• What data does the system capture, store, or generate?
• What decisions are made using that data (even small ones like prioritising content, prompting reminders, restricting access, flagging risk)?

Technology

• What features shape how you behave or what you can do?
• What is easy vs difficult in the system, and why? Process
• What are the steps/rules that shape outcomes (including what happens when something goes wrong)?
• What “work” does the system make you do?

Length guide: A maximum of 800 words

Part D — System Failure & Recovery (30%)

Choose one time your participation system didn’t work as expected (failed, blocked you, or became hard to use). This can be a real experience or a realistic situation.

Examples: lockout/password reset, 2FA problems, upload failed, app crash, slow/outage, payment declined, content flagged/removed, Wi-Fi drop-out during a task.

Write up:

1) What happened (the story)

• What were you trying to do?
• What went wrong (what did you see)?
• What was the impact (time, stress, missed deadline, lost access, etc.)?

2) Why it might have happened (keep it practical)

Pick 2 of the prompts below (you do not need all of them):

• Rules/steps: Was there a rule, requirement, or step that caused the problem (or made it worse)?
• Technology/design: Did the app/site design make it confusing or hard to fix?
• Data/verification: Was there a code, login, file requirement, or “system decision” involved?
• People/support: Did you rely on someone (teacher, bank, helpdesk, family), or were you stuck alone?

3) What you did next (recovery)

• How did you try to fix it (or what would you do)?
• What “work” did the system make you do (extra steps, waiting, switching devices, resetting, contacting support)?

4) Who might struggle, and suggest one improvement

• Who might face this problem more often, and why?
• Suggest one realistic improvement (something the platform/organisation could change OR something users/schools could do).

Length guide: A maximum of 600 words

Submission Guidelines

Submit one document containing the following to Nuku:

• Part A–D (with headings)
• 2,200 words total (excluding references and optional appendix)
• File format: DOC, DOCX
• Reference list

Privacy and ethics considerations

• Do not include private personal identifiers (yours or others).
• If you use screenshots, redact names, emails, IDs, addresses, grades, etc.
• Do not share someone else’s messages/data without consent—describe it generally instead.

Academic integrity and AI tools

You may use grammar/spell-check tools. If you use generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) for idea generation, structure, or editing:

• You must acknowledge it in a short statement at the end. Structure it according to the template provided on Nuku: INFO 101 AI Policy
• Your analysis must be your own (your system choice, your incident diagnosis, your diagrams, your recommendations).
• Do not paste confidential or personal data into AI tools.

INFO101 Assignment 1 Marking Rubric