Syllabus: IS 605 Systems Analysis

Systems Analysis
Information Systems |
College of Information Technology and Engineering
Fall 2008
Dr. Patricia Y.
Logan

 

This course begins August 27, 2008 and ends Dec 10, 2008

 

Office

Office:  GC 326 (in South Charleston)
Phone: (304) 746-1951
Email: loganp@marshall.edu
Office hrs: On-line daily from 8 am to
8 pm (Check for Who’s Online Now for chat)

Wednesdays in Charleston and before class

Available by appt or contact me by MU or Vista email

 

About Me

 

I have taught in information systems and computer science for a number of years.  My specialization is in information security, computer forensics and networks.  I have worked as a software developer, team lead, and manager in banking and insurance industries.  

 

Course Requirements

 

Pre-requisites:  Permission of instructor

 

Course Materials and Cost

·        Kendall & Kendall  Systems Analysis and Design,  7th edition (Pearson, 2008).  Required.  Cost is approximately $166.

·        Access to a PC/Laptop for software and connection to the Internet for Vista course materials

·       DSL or cable broadband connection (dial-up is painful)

·       MS Project and Visio from MSDNA available through CITE.

 

Technical Requirements

 

 

  • HELP DESK PHONE NUMBERS:
    (304) 696-3200 (
    Huntington, WV)
    (304) 746-1969 (
    Charleston, WV)
    (877) 689-8638 (Toll free)

 

 

Course Details

         

This course presents a thorough coverage of information system analysis from the perspective of the systems consultant. The course emphasizes the system development life cycle (SDLC), project management, information gathering, decision analysis, and management reporting. This is not a programming course.

After completing the course, students will be able to:

·       Describe the role of systems analysts

·       Outline the steps in the SDLC

·       Use MS Project to define the analysis task components of the project plan

·       Depict a system graphically using Visio’s UML stencils

·       Consider the organizational issues in recommending a solution

·       Define a problem and determine the feasibility of a solution

·       Plan a project and be able identify activities and to schedule them

·       Consider alternate solutions to the same problem

·       Design interview questions

·       Write effective survey questions

·       Describe the importance of human information requirements analysis

·       Use prototyping for RAD

 

Course Format

 

The course is 16 weeks.  All activities for the course are available in the Table of Contents for each chapter and displayed to the left of the chapter’s Introduction page.  Students should plan to check for course changes and for announcements by the instructor. 

 

Assignments

 

All assignments are done individually.  There are 4 assignments: 1 for each unit that assist the student in mastering the skills of systems analysis. The course objectives will be met by a variety of assessments including: quizzes, case study analysis, analysis project, and exercises in analysis techniques.

 

Submission of Homework and Assignments

Assignments are to be submitted to the instructor via the Vista Assignment drop box only and must be received prior to the stated deadline (midnight on due date for local time).  Please do not paste your assignment into the comments section.  All assignments must be submitted as an attachment. Assignments are due on the date given by midnight. No assignments will be accepted via email. Late assignments will not be accepted.  Make sure to check for assignments returned with comments to edit rather than a grade. Copying content from web resources without proper attribution is the same as plagiarism and will be penalized.

 

Discussions

Discussions take place with the Discussions Tool.

The on-line discussion component provides a way to earn points for participation.  Each unit has major concepts that we will discuss as well as topics that are related that come from current issues of popular IT publications (i.e., ComputerWorld).  Students may choose to earn course participation credit by providing a one page response to the week’s discussion topic and turning it in to the instructor via Vista email.  Students may not combine discussion and written responses.  Written comments will be graded on the basis of originality of response, thoroughness of analysis, and research support for the student’s views.  Poorly written work will be penalized.  All students must participate in the first discussion that introduces you to the class.

The instructor will provide students with an introduction to using Vista. There are 15 graded discussions for each week of the course with the first discussion (un-graded) that will serve as practice and a way to get to know each other. The course requirement is to post a response to each thread (discussion topic) at least 3 times per week.  Discussions run from Monday to Sunday each week except when there are breaks.  On-line discussions will be graded according to the following rubric:  Each discussion is graded on number of posts and quality of the posts.  No participation earns a zero and full participation earns 8 pts with partial contributions earning between 1 and 8 pts depending on the number of posts.  The quality of your contributions will be graded on whether your discussions includes analysis of the question, extends the topic's discussion, includes references to the textbook reading for reinforcement of your viewpoint and includes outside sources.  A series of quality posts that exceed the minimum number (3) for each discussion can earn up to 12 pts with fewer posts and lesser contributions earning between 1 and 12 pts.  No posts will earn a zero.   Simple responses are not discouraged but they do not count for the quality component of the grade.  The rubric below will be used to assign quality points.

High

Your contributions to each Topic indicate your mastery of the materials assigned. Your responses might integrate multiple views and/or show value as a seed for reflection for other participants' responses to the thread.  You provide evidence that you are reading the assigned materials and other student postings and are responding accordingly, bringing out interesting interpretations.  You know the facts and are able to analyze them and handle conceptual ideas.

Medium

Your responses build on the ideas of another participant (or more) and dig deeper into assignment questions or issues. When you make intelligent posts during the week, including some good critique of the course material, then you have demonstrated you have an understanding of the material, are reading posts of your colleagues, and are contributing to the class.  Your posts demonstrate confidence with the materials, but may be just a bit off target in one area or another.

Low

You have meaningful interaction with other participants' postings. Posts that state “I agree” or “I disagree” include an explanation of what is disagreed or agreed upon and why, or introduce an argument that adds to the discussion.  However, you may have rambling, lengthy posts that show no sign of having been re-read and refined before posting, and your writing suffers lack of clarity and comprehension. 

Unsatisfactory

You will receive little credit in the week's discussion by just showing up and making trivial comments, without adding any new thought to the discussion.  At the low end of the spectrum, no participation gets a "0." If you are not in the discussion, you do not earn any points.

The content of the online discussion will be used for quizzes so reading posts throughout the week will prepare you to do well on the unit quiz.

Exams and Quizzes

 

Quizzes:  There are quizzes worth 25 points each that are available during each chapter.  They become available on Sunday at midnight and disappear on the next Sunday at midnight. Quiz questions are based on the articles, textbook and web resources.  If you forget to take a quiz it cannot be made-up. All quizzes are open book and have a time limit of approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the type of questions.

 

Course Grading

Assessment    

Assignments (4)                                              400

Participation (discussion or written comment)     300

Quizzes                                                           200

Analysis Project                                               300

                                                                      _____

                                                                      1200   points total

                       

Grade Evaluation: 

A                      90% - 100%

B                      82% - 89%

C                     72% - 81%           

D                     60% - 71%

F                      59% or below

 

Please note that the grading scale is not traditional.  Excellent work must be superior in quality and content and the student must receive maximum participation points to earn an “A” grade.  The grade of “B” indicates acceptable work with deficiencies in content, quality, or on-line participation.  Less than a “B” grade is not an acceptable graduate level rating and may place the student on academic probation. A grade lower than “B” in a graduate level class indicates severe deficiencies in content, quality or class participation. An incomplete will not be given unless a documented emergency exists at the end of the semester that prevents the completion of the class.  An Incomplete will be given only when all assignments have been turned in and the student received a passing grade up to the point of the request for the incomplete.  The work not completed must have an agreed-upon due date for completion.

 

Course Policies

 

  • There are no exams for the course.  Graduate students are expected to master the course content through a demonstration of all of the following: critical analysis,   discussion, writing, and research. 
  • CITE provides software for use during your graduate work.  MS Project 2007 and Visio 2007 are both available for download.  See http://www.marshall.edu/CITE/info/software.htm.
  • There will be 8 quizzes worth 25 points each beginning with the 1st chapter.  Quiz content is based on the reading (both textbook and articles), PowerPoint slides, and class discussion.
  • The course Gradebook (to track your progress) will be available in Vista. Please check it and alert the instructor if an assignment grade does not appear or is incorrect. 
  • Assignments are individual. All work submitted must be completely the original work of the student submitting them and include proper citations to the published work of others. I prefer that students use APA style for all papers that require citations.  Cutting and pasting from online resources must include a citation.  Citing an entire article will not count as an original work for grading purposes. 
  • There are a number of tools that can help you use Vista. Links to downloads http://www.marshall.edu/muonline/vista101guide.asp  and a demo course at http://www.marshall.edu/muonline/vista101_student.asp will help orient you to the tool set.
  • Students should check online for new assignments and announcements.  Lecture slides may also be downloaded from the web site.
  • The Analysis Project will require work outside of class for interviews and observations.  
  • If you do not know how to use MS Project or Visio there are tutorials provided for you that will help you learn how to do the basics.  There is no substitute for these tools (that includes Excel and PowerPoint).  You must practice using these tools in order to do the assignments.
  • Poor preparation demonstrated by major spelling and grammar errors on written work, lack of organization of student work and failure to participate in class activities will result in a poor grade. Students with weak English language skills should consider using the Writing Center on the Huntington campus to assist them in editing their papers. The link to the campus writing center is http://www.marshall.edu/english/writingcenter.

·        Incompletes will not be given unless a medical or other serious circumstances arise beyond the control of the student.  Any medical emergencies must be appropriately documented.  An incomplete is awarded only when all the coursework has been turned in and passed prior to the request for an Incomplete.  The Incomplete grade must be made up by a mutually agreeable date not to exceed one year.

 

Resources

Me: Don't hesitate to contact me directly with questions or concerns. You can reach me through the VISTA Mail Tool. MU email or if necessary by phone at (304) 746-1951. Please don't let your questions hang out there and simmer. If you are not sure about something the best thing to do is to ask about it right away! Something that may seem obvious to me may not be obvious to you at all!

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