Instructor:

Dr. Sree Nilakanta

3218 Gerdin

Phone: 515-294-8113

Email: nilakant@iastate.edu

Objective:

Synthesize concepts from earlier MIS core courses and focus on the design, development, and implementation of representative business solutions.

Prerequisites: MIS 432 and MIS 433.

“Iowa State University complies with the American with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.  Any student who may require an accommodation under such provisions should contact me as soon as possible and no later than the end of the first week of class or as soon as you become aware.  No retroactive accommodations will be provided in this class.”

Course requirements and evaluation:

This is a capstone course in the MIS curriculum. Therefore, the emphasis is on integrating concepts and skills acquired in your prior MIS courses and applying that knowledge in developing an information systems product. You will use appropriate enterprise level software to build this system.

Text:

S. Robertson and J. Robertson, Mastering the Requirements Process, Addison-Wesley, 2nd Ed, 2006.

M. N. Browne and S. M. Keeley, Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking, Pearson Prentice Hall, 8th edition, 2007.

The course evaluation is based on the following:

1.      Individual software project – 300 points

2.      Individual essay on a topic (choose from a given list of topics) – 200 points

3.      Group software project – 500 points

4.      Class participation – 200 points

Course evaluation is based on a successful completion of each milestone of the project. The milestones (click here to go to project schedules) are as follows:

• Preparing a systems requirements and specification (SRS) document - 20%
• Preparing the logical design and detailed specification (DS) document - 20%
• Preparing the physical design and implementation document (PDI) document - 20%
• Demonstrating the system - 20% (see presentation guidelines)
• Peer and group evaluation - 20%  (valid for group project only. See the peer evaluation)

Note:

Specific timelines for the projects will be available after the first week of class. Essay is due on the first day of the dead week of class.

All documentation must be presented in a three-ring binder and must follow standard, professional technical report guidelines. You will also use on-line repository for maintaining a digital version. The digital version should be exhaustive. If you are unfamiliar with the requirements, please contact the communication center for assistance.

Communication Center

Across the College of Business, it is our goal to strengthen student communication skills and enhance your critical thinking skills by creating opportunities for you to practice communication skills throughout your academic careers. Representatives in our Communication Center are available to support your written, oral, and visual communication assignments this semester. These Communication Consultants will be available to:

- Review basic grammar

- Provide feedback on paper organization and flow

- Give suggestions on document design, including written documents and slide presentations

- Other services as needed

To schedule an appointment please e-mail commctr@iastate.edu or call 515.294.9693. The Communication Center is located in 3132 Gerdin.

Schedule of class sessions

While there will be no week-by-week listing of topics, the sessions will address the following:

• Overview of business processes

• Overview of systems analysis and design

• Overview of data management

• Overview of systems development

• Overview of project management

• Overview of information and application security

• Overview of application management

In order to have fruitful class discussions on these topics you are expected to read relevant material (either from prior texts or industry sources) prior to class. You will be called on to lead discussion on a topic. Additionally, you are responsible for reading and discussing the texts. A tentative schedule for discussing the text is found here.