BSA/375 –
Fundamentals of Business Systems Development
12/8,
12/15, 1/5, 1/12, 1/19. Note, there is no class on 12/22 or 12/29.
All materials can be found on rEsource, which can be
accessed through the University of Phoenix eCampus Web site.
This course
requires business diagramming software such as Microsoft Visio Professional.
Additionally, project planning software is recommended, but not required (e.g.,
Microsoft Project.) The instructor will accept assignments prepared with
alternative software to the extent that assignment quality does not suffer and
work is easily integrated into learning team deliverables. The instructor
suggests freely available, open-source tools such as KVIO and Project, both
available in Linux distributions. Contact the instructor for additional
information.
The
instructor’s website, http://madsen.us/uop/BSA375/, may contain additional information
for this course. In the unlikely event of a conflict between this syllabus and
the instructor’s website, the instructor’s website will govern.
Kurt Madsen
kurtmadsen@email.phoenix.edu
madsen@tampabay.rr.com
Telephone Number(s)
(813) 991-0177
Please call Mon thru Fri,
7:00 p.m. thru 9:00 p.m.; weekends, 12:00 a.m. thru 10:00 p.m.
Kurt Madsen has eighteen years of information technology
(IT) experience in the following domains: e-commerce, telecommunications,
financial services, aviation, and healthcare. As a software engineer, manager,
and consultant, his work has spanned strategic planning, product development,
vendor assessment, business continuity, and operations.
2002 - Present. Mr.
Madsen founded MetaTech, Inc., a consulting firm that helps companies become
more agile with respect to continually changing IT requirements.
1998 - 2001. At
Perot Systems, Mr. Madsen was a management consultant specializing in business
and technology alignment through process and architecture re-engineering.
Projects: B2B digital marketplace start-up, Business-To-Employee (B2E) portals,
and wireless banking.
1993 - 1998. At
Salomon Brothers, a wholesale investment bank, he designed a
Business-To-Business (B2B) integration product used by banks in New York,
London, and Hong Kong for electronic trade confirmation and securities
clearance.
1986 - 1993. Mr.
Madsen began his career at Nynex Science and Technology, a preeminent R&D
laboratory in the telecommunications industry. There, he developed strong
software engineering skills, specializing in object-oriented technologies and
distributed computing.
Mr. Madsen has a Master of Science in Computer Science from
Polytechnic University in New York and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from
Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Please review University Policies regarding topics such as
student conduct, attendance, and plagiarism in your Program Handbook, which can
be accessed through the University of Phoenix eCampus Web site.
Mr. Madsen prefers to see original work wherever possible. When
writing papers or other assignments, it is OK to include limited 3rd- party
quotes as long as the source is properly referenced in the back of your paper.
Excessive copying of blocks or pages of text from 3rd- party sources (e.g.,
Internet) directly into your paper will reduce your grade even when properly
referenced. For this course, at least 80% of the text of an assignment must be
original content.
All documents are to be typed, spell-checked and grammar
checked, submitted double-spaced, and prepared in the proper APA format
required for the program. The instructor
will use The Little, Brown Compact Handbook (3rd ed.) for format reference.
Assignments will be evaluated on the following criteria:
In summary, follow these steps when writing papers:
1.
Research
and read 3rd-party content to learn the topic and get ideas.
2.
Then,
Develop a document outline and, optionally, a logic map.
3.
Next,
write your own material to fill in the outline.
4.
Finally,
add references to the bibliography section of your paper.
Do these steps and your understanding will shine through on
your papers.
All assignments must be turned in by 6:00 p.m. on the night
in which they are due. No emailed revisions will be accepted past the due date
(without assessing a late penalty).
A 5% late penalty will be assessed for all late or
incomplete work. All missed assignments must be made up by the next session.
Assignments not submitted during next session immediately following the due
date will receive a zero. No assignments will be accepted past the last night
of the course.
Under rare and extenuating circumstances, an “I” grade may
be issued if requested and approved by the instructor, before course
completion. The “I” must be made up
within three weeks and the highest grade possible for those assignments is a “B”.
Students are strongly encouraged to attend all workshop and
learning team sessions. Per university policy, students are allowed one
workshop absence and one absence for learning team meetings during the course.
AN INSTRUCTOR CANNOT ISSUE A GRADE OTHER THAN “W” OR “WF” TO A STUDENT WITH
MORE THAN ONE WORKSHOP ABSENCE OR LEARNING TEAM MEETING. There is no approval
for second absences.
Mr. Madsen is sympathetic and flexible with regard to the
occasional need for students to miss one workshop due to reasons such as a
business trip, being sick, a military assignment, etc. Unfortunately, any
absence for any reason will adversely affect the final course grade because
this course is only a few weeks in duration. Missing one workshop will result
in the loss of attendance and
participation points for that workshop and possibly a late penalty if an
assignment is late. A late penalty can be avoided by planning ahead and turning
in assignments early.
Academic
honesty is highly valued at the University of Phoenix. Students must always submit work that
represents their original words or ideas.
If any words or ideas used in a class posting or assignment submission
do not represent the student’s original words or ideas, all relevant sources
must be cited along with the extent to which such sources were used. Words or ideas that require citation
include, but are not limited to, all hard copy or electronic publications,
whether copyrighted or not, and all verbal or visual communication when the
content of such communication clearly originates from an identifiable
source. Please see the University of
Phoenix Catalog for more information about academic honesty, including
consequences of academic dishonesty.
One of the
highlights of the University of Phoenix academic experience is that students
can draw on the wealth of examples from their organizations in class
discussions and in their written work.
However, it is imperative that students not share information that is
confidential, privileged, or proprietary in nature. Students must be mindful of any contracts they have agreed to
with their companies.
WEIGHTING of ASSIGNMENTS
|
Individual Assignments (70%) |
Points |
|
Week Two |
20% |
|
Week Three |
20% |
|
Week Four |
20% |
|
Participation (all weeks) |
10% |
|
Learning Team Assignments (30%) |
|
|
Meeting Five |
30% |
TOTAL |
100 |
|
100-95 |
A |
76-74 |
C |
|
94-90 |
A- |
73-70 |
C- |
|
89-87 |
B+ |
69-67 |
D+ |
|
86-84 |
B |
66-64 |
D |
|
83-80 |
B- |
63-60 |
D- |
|
79-77 |
C+ |
59 or
< |
F |
INDIVIDUAL
ASSIGNMENTS
·
Complete
assignments posted on the rEsource course page.
·
Discussion
Question(s):
The
discussion questions for week one are related to the articles for week one.
§
Do
heuristics and biases play a major role in the success/failure of an IT
project? Why or why not? What specific kinds are the most
influential/impact factors – in general and for your specific organization?
§
How
does organization culture play a role in the successful reliance on the JAD
process to identify/gather business requirements? Would JAD\ work in your company?
Why or why not?
·
Discussion
Question(s):
The
discussion questions for week two are related to the articles for week two.
§
What is
“enterprise-wide analytics technology” and how can it play a part in understand
business processes? What are the
challenges in rolling out a Business Intelligence tool?
§
What are some of the challenges
associated with “requirement elicitation”?
How does this iterative approach help that process?
·
Prepare
a 4-6-page paper (350 words per page) that analyzes a work-related project that
used systems analysis for a selected business system at the department or
division level. Include
information-gathering techniques and design methods used in the project. Analyze and evaluate what made the project a
success or a failure utilizing concepts from Business Process Re-engineering
(BPR) as introduced in Unit 1, Workflow Management Pt 1 (NETg). This project
situation will be used as the basis for the individual assignments for Weeks
Two, Three and Four. Cite and discuss 3-4 references in addition to the
required readings and relevant to the assignment. Be sure to include citations
and references using the University of Phoenix approved style guide format.
·
Discussion
Question(s):
The
discussion questions for week three are related to the articles for week three.
§
What are the differences between the
“human centered” and “user centered” approaches? Do you agree that that human centered approach is more
effective? Why or why not?
§
What are the advantages and
disadvantage of a phased development approach?
Do you agree with the author’s assessment that this was a “blessing in
disguise”? Why?
§
“Carriers need to review the
methodologies and architectures used to create or update systems with an eye
toward strategic goals. It is essential to adopt overall system design principles and
architectures that do not exacerbate the problems that arise in system development.” What are some of the design principles
that you think the author was referring to?
·
Prepare a 4-6-page paper (350 words
per page) that analyzes a work-related project specified in Week Two describing
a workplace application architecture and process design. Apply the tools of systems analysis to
describe a work-related information system’s architecture in terms of data,
processes, interfaces and network. Draw
the physical data flow diagram(s) and be prepared to present and explain the
diagram to the class. You may need to
talk to your systems department for some help. Use Visio to prepare examples of
flow charts and data flow diagrams. Consider this assignment as an addition to
the assignment in workshop two. This assignment incorporates transition from
analysis to design for the selected business system. Cite and discuss 3-4
references in addition to the required readings and relevant to the assignment.
Be sure to include citations and references using the University of Phoenix
approved style guide format.
·
Discussion
Question(s):
The
discussion questions for week four are related to the articles for week four.
§
How do
the issues faced by the managers at the catalog companies in the article relate
to the situation in your company, or in companies in general?
§
Is
testing a distinct phase of the project or does it come into play during other
phases? Please explain. How can tools help the quality and
effectiveness of testing?
·
Prepare
a 4-6-page paper (350 words per page), which describes the individual project
situation specified for Week One and Two for the implementation stage. Include discussion of the six major
activities for the implementation stage as described within the text: (1)
coding, (2) testing, (3) installation, (4) documentation, (5) training, and (6)
support. The discussion of these six activities should describe specifically
how each activity would be planned for the individual project situation. Also, include discussion of benefits of
using defined and repeatable processes for accomplishing these activities for
the implementation stage. Discussion should identify which Workflow Application
Categories are most appropriate and why, as introduced in Unit 3 -Workflow
Management Pt 1 (NETg). Use the same
project addressed in the individual assignment for Week Two. Consider this as a follow-on assignment,
which incorporates the transition from design to implementation for selected
business system at the department or division level. Cite and discuss 3-4
references in addition to the required readings and relevant to the assignment.
Be sure to include citations and references using the University of Phoenix
approved style guide format.
·
Discussion
Question(s):
The
discussion questions for week five are related to the articles for week five.
§
When
does it make sense to outsource – specifically the maintenance and support of
an application system?
§
How
would you rank the six strategies in order of importance? Explain your thinking.
§
Do you
think this type of application system provides a competitive edge in the car
rental industry?
·
Complete
a Learning Team Evaluation.
LEARNING TEAM ASSIGNMENTS
Each Learning Team will prepare a
course project that applies the SDLC methodology and tools presented in the
course. The core project should identify a real world issue at the
departmental/divisional level. The primary goal for the project is to apply
workflow and process management concepts in addressing the specific needs of a
selected functional area.
The project will consist of a presentation
and a paper, due in Week Five.
Each Learning Team will submit a 12-16-page paper (350 words per page) and a
Microsoft PowerPoint presentation of the project for grading. Both the paper and the presentation should
reflect professional preparation.
Assume that both works are to be presented to an executive management
committee. At a minimum, the paper should include the following:
·
Business objectives with supporting measures of success for
the project.
·
Description of current business process/system with
identification of scope/boundaries of the project.
·
Project constraints: financial, time, resources,
organizational policies/culture.
·
Business functional requirements.
·
Description of new business process/system--utilize the
process objectives/model and the system objectives/model.
·
Design requirements: input/output design, interface design,
data model, network model.
·
Cost/benefit analysis.
Apply systems development
analysis.
During the last week of the
course, each Learning Team will submit a 12-16-page paper (350 words per page)
and a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation of the project for grading.
In addition to the guidelines
presented in this syllabus, refer to “Standards for Written Work” and
“Standards for Presentations” in your Program Handbook, which can be accessed
through the University of Phoenix eCampus Web site.
Learning Team Project
The
Learning Team project for this course is in the form of a Service Request from
Riordan Manufacturing. It will be
necessary for the learning team to access Riordan Manufacturing from the
Virtual Organizations Portal of the course rEsource page.
|
Service Request |
|
Service Request ID: RM002 Organization Name: Riordan Manufacturing Locations: All Plant Locations Requester: Hugh McCauley, Chief Operating Officer Mark Neitzel, VP Operations Description of
Request: An evaluation for the development of an MRP system to
track and manage raw materials and a finished product inventory across all
plants. Background of Request: We would like to reduce our raw materials and finished
goods inventory costs. Expected
Results/Impact when completed: Create a business requirements definition for the development or
acquisition of an MRP system to support the objective of this request. |
·
Create
a Learning Team Charter.
·
Review
the Service Request RM002 for Riordan Manufacturing.
·
Define
the scope and stakeholders associated with the project. Identify the preliminary assignments and
tasks for each group member. Create a detailed outline for each section of the
paper.
·
Draft
the first 4-6 page paper (350 words per page) to include the following (not
submitted for grading – this is an interim section of the paper):
§
Statement of Scope and Goals
Specify what functions will be included in the project. Identify the goals (accomplishments, not
solution).
§
Supporting Measures for Success
Specify tangible measures for determining the relative degree of success
of the completed project. The measures
must correlate with the goals specified in the first section of this
deliverable.
§
Summary of Project Feasibility
Include specific operational, technical and economic feasibility
analysis. Operational and technical
issues should specify how each issue will be addressed. The economic analysis must include
quantified specific benefit and cost areas.
§
Current Business Process Summary
Provide a flowchart and a separate high-level logical data flow diagram
of the current process.
§
Proposed System Requirement List
List specific individual requirement needs in measurable and objective
terms.
·
Continue
the draft development of the paper to include the following (not submitted for
grading – this is an interim section of the paper):
§
Determination of Requirements
Identify specific analysis methods, which will be used to determine user
needs.
§
List of Confirmed Requirements
Categorize each system requirement identified for the Week Two
deliverable as “mandatory” or “optional”.
§
Proposed System Process View
Provide a flowchart of the proposed process.
§
Functional Allocation Modeling
Specify how each proposed system function would be allocated in terms of
the required hardware, software and HCI human-computer interface).
§
Logical Model of the System
Provide a high-level logical data flow diagram of the proposed system.
·
Continue
to draft the next 4-6 pages (350 words per page) on the following (not
submitted for grading – this is an interim section of the paper):
§
Preliminary Design Model
Provide a diagram, which illustrates the overall logical information
architecture.
§
Design Trade-off Approach
Specify the tradeoffs among cost, schedule and performance. For example, a fast, inexpensive solution
may not address performance requirements adequately.
§
Detailed Design Process and Design Specifications
Specify separate recommended decisions for software design, hardware and
network(s). Include resolution of
human-computer interface considerations.
§
Physical Model of the System
Illustrate the recommended decisions in information architecture
diagrams.
·
Complete
the final section to include 4-6 pages (360 words per page) on the following:
§
Testing Process Summary
Define a test plan/script, which identifies major software functionality
and hardware to be tested along with the required outcomes.
§
Installation Process and Training Plan Summary
Provide a time line, which identifies the specific steps (including
training) and related resources required to implement the recommended
system. Include a narrative
explanation, which includes a discussion of the impacts of project constraints,
such as time, conversion method, etc. and a description of the recommended
training plan.
§
Documentation Plan Summary
Specify and explain each type of documentation, which will be required
for ongoing support (technical and user) of the proposed system.
§
Support
& Maintenance Plan Summary
Provide a plan, which outlines responsibilities and related resources
necessary to support and maintain proposed system (software, hardware and
networks).
·
Complete
the final draft of the paper based on the weekly meeting assignments. Check for cohesiveness in the paper from
individual contributions. Ensure the
paper meets the requirements of the project.
Make corrections and improvements to the paper. Finalize the project presentation.