The General/Logical and the Specific/Physical
Consider the process in which you, a student, register for a course at your university. Consider how this process was performed
While the above three processes are different in many ways, they essentially follow the same basic steps.
Describe TEN (10) basic common steps involved in the above processes in a language that would be equally applicable to all three versions despite dramatic changes in technology over time. Number them 1 to 10. Make sure to include "back-end" processes that are invisible to the outside users but have to be performed by the system to preserve the integrity of the process, such as updating certain files, when transactions take place, to reflect the details of those transactions in the database (whether paper-based or electronic). Therefore, the 10 steps are NOT all from the viewpoint of the student. Also make sure to include conditions (reflected in "IF ... THEN ..." statements) and what role they play in the process, such as IF the student owes the University back money at the time of registration, THEN ...... Your steps must cover every possible scenario/contingency. Organize your steps with as much logical flow as possible.
This process has very specific boundaries (beginning/ending). The process begins right after students have already decided what courses they want/need to take the following academic term (semester, quarter), and ends when they are assured by the systems that, in fact, their names have been entered into the requested classes.