ITM353 (Systems Analysis and Design in Organizations)

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Course Description:

 Recall that the objectives of ITM352 were:

  • Acquiring basic programming skills in an IT context
     
  • Understanding why IT people need basic programming skills and knowledge
     
  • Gaining hands-on experience in developing software applications
     
  • Experience first-hand IT problems and solutions
     
  • Experience and understand first-hand project management, working in teams, software engineering issues
     
  • Gaining confidence in addressing IT problems

 

In ITM353 you will build upon the skills and experiences from ITM352 to help you to understand the broader challenges of information systems development and management. The objectives of ITM353 are:

  • To understand and identify the challenges of modern information systems acquisition and management

  • To acquire skills and strategies for becoming effective and efficient in all phases of planning, and managing application development

  • To directly experience the methods and practice of systems analysis and design from the MIS perspective

 

The overall GOAL of ITM353 is:

To learn how to think effectively on the acquisition and development of information systems in complex business environments.

 

The course subject and materials are constantly evolving and it is impossible to list precisely the topics we will cover. However, the course has a number of major "themes" that you will likely encounter:

- Information system acquisition business case

- Software systems project management

- Requirements elicitation and analysis

- Software and system design and representation using UML

- Creating user interfaces

- Testing and Maintenance

 

** MAJOR NOTE **

This is an upper division business school course for MIS majors. As such, you are responsible for meeting the course objectives through FULL and ACTIVE participation. It is not a passive lecture course where the instructor structures everything for you. The instructor is there to set up challenges for you to experience and guide you into overcoming them yourself. As it is in the "real world" of MIS, there are few answers or "correct" ways to do things. Your instructor will often not have "the answer" or will always be able to anticipate your troubles. The best MIS professionals have confidence in dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty and helping drive the organization to an effective and successful outcome. Keep in mind that you CHOSE to be in this class and to be an MIS major.  How you do in this class and what you get out of it is TOTALLY YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. The instructor WILL NOT monitor you or spoon feed you directions. Much of what you do in this class will be SELF DISCOVERY. This being said, ITM353 can be one of the richest and most rewarding classes you will take. If you can see this sometime during the course, you will surely meet the course objectives and will benefit greatly after you graduate.