IFSM300 Full Course Latest 2020 November

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Week 1 Discussion

This class uses a different approach to discussions.  Each student is assigned to one of four groups (Group 1-4) and each group has 2 weeks during the 8-week class in which the group members are responsible for the initial response postings, and the other 6 weeks the groups respond to others’ postings.  The responses will be done by each member of the group; this is not a “group project,” but just a way to divide the class.  To determine which group you are in, go to My Tools > Groups.    

Weekly Assignments for Groups

Group 1:  Each member posts main responses in Weeks 1 and 5; replies to other students’ main responses in weeks 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8.

Group 2:  Each member posts main responses in Weeks 2 and 6; replies to other students’ main responses in weeks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8.

Group 3:  Each member posts main responses in Weeks 3 and 7; replies to other students’ main responses in weeks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8.

Group 4:  Each member posts main responses in Weeks 4 and 8; replies to other students’ main responses in weeks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7.

Using Information Systems for Strategic Purposes

star emoticon Before participating in the Week 1 Discussion, Everyone should watch the short video What is an Information System?  This will help develop a common understanding of information systems.

As mentioned in this week’s reading, Introduction to Information Systems (Week 1 Content), understanding how businesses use information technology effectively is a critical skill in today’s business world.  Often a position is established for the role of a business analyst, which may reside either within a functional department or the Information Technology (IT) department.  Throughout this course, you will be approaching a Case Study and series of staged assignments from the role of a Business Analyst in the IT Department.  Think of the business analyst role as the liaison between a functional department and IT who helps analyze business processes, gather requirements from key stakeholders, and identify technology solutions to benefit the business.  Aligning technology solutions or information systems to help the organization achieve its business strategy is an important part of maximizing the investment in IT.

 To help you understand this role and the importance of information systems, this week’s discussion focuses on analyzing how a business uses an information system for STRATEGIC purposes.  Each member of Group 1 should do some research, or draw from his or her own experience, and tell us about a company that used an information system for STRATEGIC purposes.  Please be sure to tell us what the strategy was that they were working toward.  There are many examples in the Course Content reading, but our discussion will be much richer if you select something that is not covered there. Be sure you’re not just discussing their business strategy but also including the use of information systems to enable that strategy.  Searching on a company’s mission and strategic goals can help you align the pieces.

For this week, each member of Group 1 should create a main posting by Friday midnight, and each member of Groups 2, 3 and 4 should respond to a minimum of three class members by Tuesday midnight.  Responses to initial postings should be specific and assess whether the posting accurately and sufficiently addresses the questions asked in the discussion topic.  Incorporating additional research will strengthen your participation. Explain your assessment as to why the information is or is not correct and/or complete, providing correct information to enhance the discussion. Members of Group 1 should read the responses and reply to a minimum of two responses, reacting to the response and furthering the discussion.

Since this is a “discussion,” you should check back to see if I or anyone in the class have a question for you, or make a comment to which you wish to respond.

Please review the Grading Rubric located in the Discussions area to see how discussion participation will be graded, and note that if you are doing the primary response, you need to reply back to at least two classmates who post in your thread; and if you are in the groups replying, three replies are needed to receive full points (a grade of “A”).  

 

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Week 2 Discussion

Using IT for Decision Making

First, read Week 2 Content on Data and How Information Supports Decision Making, paying particular attention to the Levels of Decision Making.  For purposes of this discussion, we will use a retail business as an example.  This retail business is comprised of the corporate headquarters, regions (oversees several stores in a geographic area) and individual stores.  Each of these aligns to one of the three levels of decision makers in an organization. 

Main Postings:  Select one of the levels of decision making and identify one decision that a manager at that level might make.  The decision must relate to the retail business and what it does.  Then, explain what information a manager at that level might get from the IT systems  (such as inventory management or customer information system) to aid in making that decision.

Example:  Managerial Level:  The Regional Director makes a decision to shift inventory that is not selling in one store to another store where sales in those items are high.  To support this decision, the Regional Director would need information on sales of specific products by store.

Remember – the Group 2 initial posting is due by Friday midnight; it should be about two short paragraphs in length, supported by external research, and it should be posted by clicking on “Start a New Thread”.  Please look at what has been posted by your classmates before choosing your examples and then select something that has not yet been discussed, if possible. Let’s try to spread the discussion across as many examples as possible.  

Then members of Groups 1, 3 and 4 should reply to at least three different postings by other classmates before Tuesday midnight.  Responses to initial postings should be specific and assess whether posting accurately and sufficiently addresses the questions asked in the discussion topic and should incorporate relevant research correctly.  Explain your assessment as to why the information is or is not correct and/or complete, providing correct information to enhance the discussion.

Members of Group 2 should read the responses and reply to a minimum of two responses, reacting to the response and furthering the discussion.

All students have a responsibility to check back and see if any questions have been posed to them and to respond as you would in a classroom setting. Use the Grading Rubric posted in the Discussion area to ensure your posting meets the expectations.

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Week 3 Discussion

In the Week 3 Content, we cover Business Processes, including Process Improvement through streamlining and re-engineering, and process modeling of both the As-Is and the To-Be processes.     Read that content before responding to this discussion.                                                    

Group 3:   Drawing from your own experience, select a process (a set of specified steps to accomplish a task) used at your place of work or in your interaction with a business that you would like to see improved and briefly describe the process.  Be sure you have identified a specific process rather than a general business problem or area.

1)  Explain why you picked that process.

2)  Explain the steps you might take to analyze how to improve the process.

3)  Who should be involved with you?

4)  What are some of the questions you should ask about the current process?

5)  How will you know if the process was actually improved?

First, we need to be sure you can identify a process; many students have difficulty with that, so refer to your class readings.  Be sure to pick a fairly narrow scope for your process – for example, processing an invoice for payment vs. Accounts Payable. I am also interested in the method to be used to improve the process, not a solution.  (For example, I am not looking for something like:  “The Café where I work is not selling enough coffee. We should use social media to advertise more.”  The discussion here is about identifying a specific process and how a business would go about deciding how to improve that process, who should be involved, what should be considered, and what steps should be taken to be able to analyze the current process and plan for improvement.)  You should employ the techniques discussed in class or those that you find in your research.  Keep in mind that outside resources strengthen your responses.

Remember – the Group 3 initial posting is due by Friday midnight; it should be about two short paragraphs in length, supported by external research, and it should be posted by clicking on “Start a New Thread”.  These postings need to thoroughly respond to the questions and incorporate relevant research correctly.  Please look at what has been posted by your classmates before choosing your examples, and then select something that has not yet been discussed, if possible. Let’s try to spread the discussion across as many examples as possible.

Then members of Groups 1, 2 and 4 should reply to at least three different postings by other classmates before Tuesday midnight.  Responses to initial postings should be specific and assess whether posting accurately and sufficiently addresses the questions asked in the discussion topic and should incorporate relevant research correctly.  Explain your assessment as to why the information is or is not correct and/or complete, providing correct information to enhance the discussion.

Members of Group 3 should read the responses and reply to a minimum of two responses, reacting to the response and furthering the discussion

All students have a responsibility to check back and see if any questions have been posed to them and to respond as you would in a classroom setting. Use the Grading Rubric posted in the Discussion area to ensure your posting meets the expectations.  Let’s have a great discussion and some interesting examples to take a look at improving business processes!

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Week 4 Discussion

Information Systems in Organizations                   

In Week 1 Content –  What is an Information System – there are several examples of definitions of an information system.  The one constant in those definitions is that they are used to hold data and enable the use of it to support an organization’s use of that data.

This week’s reading on Analyzing Process Improvements Supported by IT explains how systems enable communication, collaboration and workflow throughout an organization.

In Section II Process Analysis (Stage 2 Assignment), the focus is on process analysis and improvement as well as benefits of improvements on some specific non-technical areas (Stage 2 Assignment is due at the end of Week 4).

For this week’s discussion, select one of the three areas (listed below) and discuss how companies can use information systems and the data within them to address that aspect.  Conduct some research and provide specific examples including what companies have focused on in these areas and examples of types of information systems used to gather, analyze and distribute data.  Simply typing “use of data to support organizational collaboration” (or whatever aspect you select) into your web browser will produce results but be sure to evaluate the sources to make sure they are relevant to this discussion. The idea is to discuss these various aspects and how companies use information systems to improve in these areas, as examples to help you as you think about the Stage 2 assignment.

As you select your topic, insert your topic in the subject line of your response.  Please address an area not selected by another student if not all have been selected; if all areas have been selected, make sure your posting provides additional information to expand the discussion.

Communication

Collaboration

Workflow

Remember – the Group 4 initial posting is due by Friday midnight; it should be about two short paragraphs in length, supported by external research, and it should be posted by clicking on “Start a New Thread”.  These postings need to thoroughly respond to the questions and incorporate relevant research correctly.  Please look at what has been posted by your classmates before choosing your examples, and then select something that has not yet been discussed, if possible. Let’s try to spread the discussion across as many examples as possible.

Then members of Groups 1, 2, and 3 should reply to at least three different postings by other classmates before Tuesday midnight.  Responses to initial postings should be specific and assess whether the original posting accurately and sufficiently addresses the questions asked in the discussion topic and should incorporate relevant research correctly.  Explain your assessment as to why the information is or is not correct and/or complete, providing correct information to enhance the discussion.

Members of Group 4 should read the responses and reply to a minimum of two responses, reacting to the response and furthering the discussion.

Let me know if you have questions.  Failure to address discussion topics appropriately will result in less than full participation credit.  All students have a responsibility to check back and see if any questions have been posed to them and to respond as you would in a classroom setting. Use the Grading Rubric posted in the Discussion area to ensure your posting meets the expectations.

 

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Week 5 Discussion

Analyze organizational processes to identify information systems requirements

Before responding to this discussion, read both Requirements and Developing Requirements for an IT System assigned for Week 5.

For your Stage 3 assignment, you will analyze the hiring process at Maryland Technology Consultants (MTC) to identify the essential requirements for the hiring system.  For this discussion, you will practice analyzing processes to identify user requirements for a system to improve a process.

Some students may still have difficulty identifying processes; be sure to refer to the Week 3 readings that describe various processes and review the Week 3 discussion.  Keep in mind that a process is a set of specified steps to accomplish a task.

This week’s discussion topic focuses on system requirements that need to be clearly written so that the people who are developing the system or evaluating a system for use can discern whether the requirements are met or not.

The requirement statement:

Is a complete sentence, with a subject (system) and predicate (intended result, action or condition)

Identifies only one requirement; does not include the words “and,” “also,” “with,” and “or.”

For User Requirements, states what tasks the system will support or perform

Includes a measure or metric that can be used to determine whether the requirement is met (time or quantity), where appropriate

Is stated in positive terms and uses “must” (not “may” or “should”); e.g., “the system must xxxx” not “the system must not xxx”

Avoids the use of terms that cannot be defined and measured, such as “approximately,” “robust,” “user friendly,” etc.

Must be testable; that is, there must be some way to test the system to determine whether the requirement is met

Group 1:

1.      Drawing from your own experience, select a process used at your place of work or in your interaction with an organization that you would like to see improved.  Explain why you picked that process.

2.      Imagine that a system is to be implemented (or an existing system improved) to make that process better and write five (5) user requirements that the system would need to satisfy.  Each requirement is one sentence in length and addresses one thing the system must do.  Here we are interested in user requirements – the activities the system must perform to support the identified process.  We are not including system performance, quality or security requirements that express how the system would perform.  Use the information above to create your requirements statements.

Groups 2, 3, and 4:  Reply to three different main postings.  You are to critically evaluate all of the following as you reply:

1.      Should the process identified actually be considered a “process”?  That is, does it meet the definition of “a set of specified steps to accomplish a task”? Why or why not?

2.      Do the requirements listed support the selected process?

3.      Are the requirements clearly stated such that system testers will be able to ascertain whether or not the requirement has been implemented? 

4.     Provide an example of a rewritten requirement that improves one of the user requirements using the information provided above. 

Remember – the Group 1 initial posting is due by Friday midnight; it should be about two short paragraphs in length, supported by external research, and it should be posted by clicking on “Start a New Thread”.  These postings need to thoroughly respond to the questions and incorporate relevant research correctly.  Please look at what has been posted by your classmates before choosing your examples, and then select something that has not yet been discussed, if possible. Let’s try to spread the discussion across as many examples as possible.

Then members of Groups 2, 3, and 4 should reply to at least three different postings by other classmates before Tuesday midnight.  Responses to initial postings should be specific and assess whether the posting accurately and sufficiently addresses the questions asked in the discussion topic and should incorporate relevant research correctly.  Explain your assessment as to why the information is or is not correct and/or complete, providing correct information to enhance the discussion.

Members of Group 1 should read the responses and reply to a minimum of two responses, reacting to the response and furthering the discussion.

All students have a responsibility to check back and see if any questions have been posed to them and to respond as you would in a classroom setting. Use the Grading Rubric posted in the Discussion area to ensure your posting meets the expectations.

 

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Week 6 Discussion

Explaining System Performance Requirements

Refer to the readings Requirements and Developing Requirements for an IT System provided in Week 5, where the types of requirements are defined and examples are given.  System performance requirements address quality (how the system must perform) and security.  The areas listed are:

Usability

Scalability

Availability

Reliability

Maintainability

Performance

Portability

Interoperability

Security

Protection of data as it is transmitted and when it is stored

User authentication

Authorization of user to perform specific functions

Data backup and recovery

Group 2:  For this week’s discussion, Group 2 will post an initial response with:

Choose one of the system performance or security areas listed above

Put the area you selected into the Subject/Title of your posting

Explain what this area means in terms of system performance.  Use the definitions provided in the Week 5 Requirements reading.  If you need additional clarification, you can search for other sources, but be aware that these terms are defined and used differently for other purposes; be sure you find explanations that support the definition provided in the Requirements reading.

Explain why it will be important to the MTC Hiring System.

Remember – the Group 2 initial posting is due by Friday midnight; it should be about two short paragraphs in length, supported by external research, and should be posted by clicking on “Start a New Thread”.  These postings need to thoroughly respond to the questions and incorporate relevant research correctly.  Please look at what has been posted by your classmates before choosing your examples, and then select something that has not yet been discussed, if possible. Let’s try to spread the discussion across as many examples as possible.

Then members of Groups 1, 3, and 4 should reply to at least three different postings by other classmates before Tuesday midnight.  Responses to initial postings should be specific and assess whether the posting accurately and sufficiently addresses the questions asked in the discussion topic, and should incorporate relevant research correctly.  Explain your assessment as to why the information is or is not correct and/or complete, providing correct information to enhance the discussion.

Members of Group 2 should read the responses and reply to a minimum of two responses, reacting to the response and furthering the discussion.

All students have a responsibility to check back and see if any questions have been posed to them and to respond as you would in a classroom setting. Use the Grading Rubric posted in the Discussion area to ensure your posting meets the expectations.

 

 

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Week 7 Discussion

First, read the section on IT Project Management, paying particular attention to the three areas identified as the “triple constraints” 

Group 3:  Please address the following 3 questions:

Which of the triple constraints do you think is the most important for the project of implementing an enterprise hiring system for MTC?  You should address from a project perspective not the business overall. (Note:  This is not about the hiring process itself, but the IT project to implement the technology solution to improve the hiring process.)

Explain briefly why you selected that constraint.

Discuss how you would ensure that this aspect was well addressed to maximize MTC’s chance for a successful implementation.

Remember – the Group 3 initial posting is due by Friday midnight; it should be about two short paragraphs in length, supported by external research, and it should be posted by clicking on “Start a New Thread”.  These postings need to thoroughly respond to the questions and incorporate relevant research correctly.  Please look at what has been posted by your classmates before choosing your examples, and then select something that has not yet been discussed, if possible. Let’s try to spread the discussion across as many examples as possible.

Then members of Groups 1, 2 and 4 should reply to at least three different postings by other classmates before Tuesday midnight.  Responses to initial postings should be specific and assess whether posting accurately and sufficiently addresses the questions asked in the discussion topic and should incorporate relevant research correctly.  Explain your assessment as to why the information is or is not correct and/or complete, providing correct information to enhance the discussion.

Members of Group 3 should read the responses and reply to a minimum of two responses, reacting to the response and furthering the discussion.

All students have a responsibility to check back and see if any questions have been posed to them and to respond as you would in a classroom setting. Use the Grading Rubric posted in the Discussion area to ensure your posting meets the expectations.

 

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Week 8 Discussion

DQ1 Referring to the MTC Case Study, Raj Patel, the Chief Information Officer (CIO), has indicated that the current IT strategy is to adopt Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions. This week’s discussion focuses on the benefits, considerations, and risks of adopting a SaaS solution.

Group 4: Review the Week 7 reading Implementing a SaaS Solution and then prepare your initial response as follows:

List two benefits of the IT Strategy to use a SaaS solution to support the hiring process.

Identify three things the CIO and his team should look for as they consider which SaaS vendor to select.  Explain what they are and why they are important to MTC’s business.

Then, explain what you think is MTC’s biggest risk in outsourcing this IT function, why you selected that risk, and what MTC’s IT department’s key responsibilities are to minimize risk and protect the business as they select and use a SaaS solution.

Remember – the Group 4 initial posting is due by Friday midnight; it should be about two short paragraphs in length, supported by external research, and it should be posted by clicking on “Start a New Thread”.  These postings need to thoroughly respond to the questions and incorporate relevant research correctly.  Please look at what has been posted by your classmates before choosing your examples, and then select something that has not yet been discussed, if possible. Let’s try to spread the discussion across as many examples as possible.

Then members of Groups 1,2 and 3 should reply to at least three different postings by other classmates before Tuesday midnight.  Responses to initial postings should be specific and assess whether posting accurately and sufficiently addresses the questions asked in the discussion topic and should incorporate relevant research correctly.  Explain your assessment as to why the information is or is not correct and/or complete, providing correct information to enhance the discussion.

Members of Group 4 should read the responses and reply to a minimum of two responses, reacting to the response and furthering the discussion.

All students have a responsibility to check back and see if any questions have been posed to them and to respond as you would in a classroom setting. Use the Grading Rubric posted in the Discussion area to ensure your posting meets the expectations.

Note:  There is also a second Topic for Week 8 that every class member should respond to by the end of this week.

DQ2 Many of you have said that you have learned a lot during this class.  I would like for each of you to think back over the class and then share with us one new and important concept that you learned during this class.                               

It could be something that peaked your interest, something you never heard of or did before, something you struggled with, etc.  Your response counts as part of this week’s participation grade, and you are not required (but are invited) to respond to your classmate’s postings.

Everyone should post a reply in this discussion as well as participate in the Week 8 Discussion Topic 1.  I look forward to reading your comments!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Stage 1 Assignment  

Instructions

The Stage 1 case study project is due as shown in the schedule.  The assignment instructions are attached. The Case Study is posted under Course Resources > Case Study.  Use the Case Study to develop your assignment and use the weekly readings to understand the concepts and what is required for the assignment.

When you submit your file for grading please include your last name in the filename.

                               

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Stage 2 Assignment  

Instructions

The Stage 2 case study project is due as shown in the schedule.  The assignment instructions are attached. The Case Study is posted under Course Resources > Case Study.  Use the Case Study to develop your assignment and use the weekly readings to understand the concepts and what is required for the assignment.

When you submit your file for grading please include your last name in the filename.

 

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Stage 3 Assignment  

Instructions

The Stage 3 case study project is due as shown in the schedule.  The assignment instructions are attached. The Case Study is posted under Course Resources > Case Study.  Use the Case Study to develop your assignment and use the weekly readings to understand the concepts and what is required for the assignment.

When you submit your file for grading please include your last name in the filename.

 

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Stage 4 Assignment  

The Stage 4 case study project is due as shown in the schedule.  The assignment instructions and vendor brochure are attached. The Case Study is posted under Course Resources > Case Study.  Use the Case Study to develop your assignment and use the weekly readings to understand the concepts and what is required for the assignment.

When you submit your file for grading please include your last name in the filename.

 

IFSM300 Information systems in Organization

Quiz 1

Question 1          Which of the following are the two primary methods for obtaining competitive advantage described by Michael Porter? (select the two that apply)

A) value chain creation

B) differentiation advantage

C) advantage of bringing new products to market

D) cost advantage

Question 2          Which of the following are critical in today’s business world?  (select all that apply)