Regarding domain model

[sam joe]

Based on the travel glossary on the internet,
A flight can be a directing flight or connecting flight,
Connecting Flight - Air transportation arrangement that requires a passenger to change planes before reaching their final destination.
Direct Flight - A flight that does not require a passenger to change planes although there may be intermediate stops. Also known as a through flight.
A segment is to describe the unit of flight between take-off and landing. Sometimes used interchangeably with the term leg.
Obviously,
the flight should contains 1..n of segments, I cannot understand why it's a 1 to 1 relationship in the model ?

[Andrew Monkhouse]

Hi Sam,
[Note to anyone reading this: This is getting dangerously close to stepping outside the IMPORTANT - Position on real assignment (Part 2) questions. If you wish to add comments to this thread, please try and keep the answers non specific, or we will have to close this thread.]
Perhaps you should consider the order of classes in the domain model. Does the order match up with your descriptions above? Is it possible that they have a different meaning for one or more classes than what you have? Could they have mislabeled a class?
There is an important clause in the instructions: "You may not agree with the what the business analyst came up with, but the business analyst is no longer available to discuss the situation.". How does this apply to your question?
Regards, Andrew

[Nishant Anshul]

i havent yet downloaded part2 as currently tied up with projects...cant comment on the subject here..But its amazing to c the alertness and co-operation (at the same time) of andrew and ajith.. ...the moderators r doing really very good job...gr8...kudos !!

[sam joe]

I agree partially what you said and what stated in https://coderanch.com/t/150936/java-Architect-SCEA/certification/IMPORTANT-Position-real-assignment-Part .
What I don't agree is:
The forum should allow people to share the understanding of business rules. No matter how great a software architect is, if he can only model based on his 'wrong/partially wrong' understanding of the business rules, he has no way to prove himself 'a great architect' at all. I guess less than 1% here really have experience with airlines. Assume one great architect submits the assignment with great design but based on wrong business rules because of lacking experience with airline system, Will Sun feel happy to fail him? In reality, an architect can count on business analyst to understand business rules, but in this assignment, it is assumed you are expert for airline systems, but we are not. Sun is testing our ability as an architect not our literature ability. I am not asking questions regarding how we should design the system, because I know that's my job and that's how Sun mark the scores.

[Ajith Kallambella]

Sam,
I completely agree with your points. As an architect, one is held responsible for managing requirements, scope and validating business rules. However, it is also important to keep the current context in mind. Purely from an ethics point of view, it is hard to let people discuss freely about a publicly administered test, especially when we know literally everything in the test is branded confidential. I agree with everything you have said about the importance of understanding the domain model. But with my moderator's hat on, I consider such an activity a blatant violation of copyright laws enforced by Sun.

The forum should allow people to share the understanding of business rules. No matter how great a software architect is, if he can only model based on his 'wrong/partially wrong' understanding of the business rules, he has no way to prove himself 'a great architect' at all.

Agreed, the SCEA assignment is vague in certain areas including requirement definition and the domain model. The vagueness is not accidental, but intentional. As long as you have come up with a design and architecture to fulfill the *stated* business requirements, your submission will pass. While it may be a good idea to understand the business processes in Airline sector, the published domain object model and perhaps assess how the assignment has deviated from the widely accepted industry standards, you don't have to do these things to pass the test. If you think a business rule is vague or confusing, document your assumptions and include them with your submission.

Assume one great architect submits the assignment with great design but based on wrong business rules because of lacking experience with airline system, Will Sun feel happy to fail him? In reality, an architect can count on business analyst to understand business rules, but in this assignment, it is assumed you are expert for airline systems, but we are not.

I am not sure how you got this impression. Familiarity with the business processes of the airline industry has no bearing on your ability to pass the test. By no means Sun expects you to have solid understanding of the business sector to solve the assignment. As simply focus on the *stated* business requirements and ensure your design/architecture meets the expected functional behavior.
Thank you for your understanding.

[Andy Chow]

I would suggest you give a detailed assumption and explaination of your approach. As Andrew said SUN is not trying to test your understanding of the industry. As long as you make your assumption and solve the problem with the correct architecture decision then you are ok.
Andy