Overview of Syllabus and Intro to MIS Overview

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Overview of Syllabus and Intro to MIS Overview

• Course homepage http//www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/
  roseg/MIS250/index.html

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Syllabus

• We will read the syllabus together and then have
  a quick overview of the course Web site
• Following that, I will talk about
• What MIS is
• What you can expect to learn this semester
• And what the MIS program at WSU offers

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Intro to MIS Overview

• Course talks of Management of Information
  Systemsso what needs to be managed?
• Three parts
• Hardware the brains body
• Software the process put into code that takes
  inputs and makes outputsincludes graphical
  output and various forms of input
• Information Resources inputs at rest the
  outputs
• Data, Information, and Knowledge
• Information resources are why we have IS in the
  first place
• Hardware and Software get us there

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Intro to MIS Overview

• For each of the above parts, managers need to
  create strategies for 1) acquisition, 2) use, and
  3) maintenance
• In a down year (2002), companies spent 4 of
  gross revenues on IT and IT accounted for 75 of
  operations expenses (Source Chapter 8, Total
  Cost of Ownership, from IT Spending How Do You
  Stack Up?, Gartner Executive Report Library,
  2003).
• And 74 of IT projects are considered failures
  (http//searchcio.techtarget.com/originalContent/0
  ,289142,sid19_gci968258,00.html).
• Regardless of your discipline, you need to
  understand MIS
• For MIS majors, organizations need MIS people to
  consult, build, buy, operate, and maintain
• For non-MIS majors, you need to understand MIS to
  have a fair chance when relying with MIS folks
  when making and managing those expensive risky
  decisions

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Intro to MIS Overview

• Sequence of this semester
• Part 1 of Course Strategic Uses of Information
  Technology
• WHY do people have information technology
• WHAT does it do for the organization
• WHICH solutions are available
• and for WHOM
• and HOW do firms choose IT?
• These issues are important for all of you to learn

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Intro to MIS Overview

• Sequence of this semester (cont.)
• Part 2 of Course How Information Technology
  Works
• How does IT work.
• Some of you know this already but I need to make
  sure all of you do before you leave here.
• These topics are only graded as tutorials and
  fill-in-the-blank questions on quizzes and exams.
  
• Tutorials can be worked on with any assistance
  you can find. The only rule is you must enter
  your own keystrokes. At the end of class, we can
  form support teams.
• If you know the tutorials, you can propose a
  surrogate directed reading.
• If you know the chapter materials, you can skip
  the QA periods and just study the book keywords
  for these parts.
• Also having guest speaker series to talk about
  the jobs themselves

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Intro to MIS Overview

• Sequence of this semester (cont.)
• Part 3 of Course Behind the scenes
• Negative Consequences
• Other lectures of semester are positive view of
  IT.
• This part includes counter arguments to balance
  class perspective
• How Information Technology is Managed, Built,
  Implemented and Maintained
• Makes what you are getting involved with more
  transparent
• Or helps you know what an MIS major is about in
  case you are considering the major

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MIS Overview

• An overview of the field, our curriculum, and
  opportunities

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How are we different than other computing related
fields?

• Digital Technology and Culture (DTC) front end /
  artistry
• Computer Science Back end / engineering
• Management Information Systems Middle /
  organizational needs and management
• Business Processes
• Design
• Development
• Operations

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Information Systems Specialists focus on

• Integrating information technology solutions
  business processes to meet the information needs
  of businessesenabling them to achieve their
  objectives in efficient and effective ways
• We emphasize information, and see technology as
  an instrument to bring about change

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The MIS program here at WSU

• Most comprehensive curriculum in the Northwest,
  and probably the entire West coast.
• Over the past five years, weve been among the
  largest undergraduate programs in the nation
  system-wide (although modest at Vancouver).
• One of the best doctoral programs in the world
• Comprehensive distance degree program

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What does our curriculum look like?

• Curriculum includes courses on
• Web Usability, Intro to Programming with XHTML
• Systems analysis and design
• Database management (SQL Server and XSLT)
• Systems development (Microsoft .NET platform)
• Web Server Management
• ECommerce
• Project Management
• IT Strategy
• being taught by an actual systems analyst,
  project manager, and software engineer

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MIS Courses
Programming Classes
Take 1st or 2nd year if possible
MIS 171 Web Technologies Innovations
MIS 271 Intermediate Business Programming
MIS 250
MIS 325 Enterprise Business Programming
MIS 420 Business Intelligence
MIS 322 Systems Analysis Design
MIS 375 Global E-Commerce
MIS 374 Information Technology Infrastructure
MIS Certificate

MIS Minor
MIS 372 Data Management
MIS 448 Global IS Project Management

MIS Major
Note MIS372 can be taken instead of 374 for the
certificate
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What are MIS graduates doing?

• Consultants / Business Analysts
• Systems Analysts
• Programmer Analysts
• Technology and Security Risk Assurance (IS
  Auditing)
• Network and System Administrators
• IS Project Management
• Computer Training and Support

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What skills do we look for in applicants to our
MIS program?

• Great people skills
• An interest in technology
• An interest in how to make organizations, and the
  people in them, function more effectively and
  efficiently
• Interest in joining SAO (its free at
  www.sao.org) and going to events like mine each
  July and November here on campus
• http//www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/roseg/MIS250/MISj
  obs.ppt

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Last Slide My background and teaching philosophy

• Who I am, why I teach, where Ive been, and what
  this means for you
• Class discussion
• I will try to not let one or two people dominate
  conversation
• I will try to encourage everyone to participate
  (dont be intimidated if you think you dont know
  an answer)
• Make sure to ask questions when you arent sure
  of something! MIS is complex and so are essay
  Qs.
• If I think you are a conscientious student,
  easier to give you benefit of doubt later
• Good luck with this semester and I am glad to be
  teaching you