BA 371 is the second course in the BA 370-8/371/372 information systems analysis, design & development ("370s") series. It builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in BA 370-8 and it implements the necessary background for BA 372. Whereas BA 370-8 introduced us to the field of MIS, its main objectives, technologies, governing principles, history and evolution, in BA 371 we learn and practice actual analysis, support and improvement of business processes with information system technology and methods. We will practice these skills and insights through a real-world, externally sponsored case-study.

1. We will continue to grow our programming skills so that we are ready to take on the development work in BA 372. This programming involves some algorithmic work, some GUI work and some program-database interaction. In BA 372 we will yet further extend these skills with some advanced database programming (i.e., stored procedures & triggers), HTTP programming and XML-based web services.
   
2. We will design and implement the case-study's database schema so that we can run our applications against it in BA 372.

BA371 Course Contents:

In this course we study information system (IS) analysis and design:

• IS needs and opportunities in the context of business process (re)design:

• Need for continued business process (re)design.
• Analysis of business processes.
• Design of IS to support and improve business processes.

• Business value of IS ROI/impact -- (productivity, competitive advantage, efficiency/effectiveness, etc.).
• IS ROI and impact analysis; "you can't control what you don't measure."
• Systems development life cycle (SDLC) models.
• Needs or requirements analysis and modeling (BA 371).
• IS impact evaluation design (BA 371).
• High level architectural design (BA 372).
• Data (base) design (BA 371).
• Software design (BA 372).
• System development (BA 372; practice in BA371).
• Maintenance.
• Documentation and reporting (BA 371/372).

• Development:
  

• VB.Net 2005:
  
• VB.Net as a compiled language.
• Basic language components: from C (CS 151) to VB.NET (or a refresher for BA 272).

• Classes, objects and OOP.

• Events, Graphic User Interfaces (GUIs) and 'visual' programming.

• VB.Net DB interaction.
• HTTP programming (BA 372).

• XML programming (BA 372).

• SQLServer triggers & procedures (BA 372).

• ASP.Net (BA 372)
  

• Linux (BA 372):

• Linux command line exploration.

• MySQL (BA 372 homework).
  

• PHP.
  

• Upon completion of this course you should be able to:

• Understand and explain the phases of the classic systems development life cycle (ex deployment and maintenance) and apply its early phases to a small, real-world, externally sponsored case study.
• Understand the reasons and main characteristics of continued business process (re)design.
• Apply the concepts of business process (re)design to a small, well-defined real-world case study.
• Formulate a plan for determining and measuring IS ROI/impact analysis.
• Understand and participate in task-centered needs/use-case analysis.
• Document, read and understand the results of task-centered use-case analysis.

• Conceptualize use-cases in terms of natural language, activity diagrams and communication flow diagrams.
  

• Design and implement a normalized relational database that reflects the data needs of a small, well-defined real-world case study.

• Navigate the Visual Studio 2005 'world' and implement small programs (DB interaction, GUI, HTTP, etc.) in VB.Net.
  

• Review and judge the programming work of fellow coders.

• Communicate design decisions and design motivations within and across teams of designers.

• Understand and communicate the differences between object-oriented and non-object oriented views.

Course components:

• Lectures.

• VB.Net labs (most Wednesdays in BXL 120): self-guided exercises and three (3) coding assignments (homework). For assignments and deadlines, see the schedule below.

• Since code reviews are a normal part of software development, you will each be asked to review and grade the coding assignments of two of your colleagues.
  

• Team design and prototype project: teams of three (3) people will each design and document the initial parts of an externally-sponsored IS application.

• Form a design team and email your instructor the names of your team members by Friday Jan. 18, 2007 5:00 PM. Only one email per team!!

• Case Study Introduction & ROI report due Feb. 15, 2008 5:00 PM. For details, see the BA 371 project page.

• Business Process Modeling & Redesign report due Feb. 29, 2008 5:00 PM. For details, see the BA 371 project page

• Final reports (includes database design & database creation program) due at Mar. 14, 2008 5:00 PM. For details, see the BA 371 project page.

• Exams:

  • Midterm exam: Monday Feb. 11 (in class).

Text:

Kock, N. (2006) Systems Analysis & Design Fundamentals. A Business Process Redesign Approach. Sage Publications. Available from the OSU Bookstore.

Schedule (deadlines, mandatory presence, deliveries and exams in italics):

Grading Scheme

Case study introduction and ROI / IS impact analysis report -- team grade

Case study business process modeling & redesign report -- team grade

Midterm exam -- individual grade

VB.Net programming and review assignments -- individual grade 

(Note: you will only receive credit for your coding work if you turn in good, 
serious and on-time code reviews) 

Case study final report (includes DB design & DB creation script) -- team grade

Peer evaluation grade -- individual grade

Your instructor reserves the right to make final grade adjustments based on 
the observed individual contributions to team/class projects. Up to 10 grade 
points "bonus" or "penalty" can be designated for "exceptional" (+10) or 
"below expectation" (-10) performance.

The following number-to-letter grade scale will be used for calculating the final letter grade:

F < 55.00
55.00 <= C- < 60.00
60.00 <= C < 65.00
65.00 <= C+ < 70.00
70.00 <= B- < 75.00
75.00 <= B < 80.00
80.00 <= B+ < 85.00
85.00 <= A- < 90.00
A >= 90.00

!!! Deadlines, exam dates, submission dates and presentation dates stated in this syllabus are firm and will not be altered to accommodate the schedules of individual students !!!

Academic Honesty

Students assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work they submit. The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work, examinations, reports, and projects must be that student's own work for individual assignments, and the group's own work for group assignments/projects. Students are guilty of academic dishonesty if they:

• Use or obtain unauthorized materials or assistance in any academic work; i.e., cheating.
• Falsify or invent any information regarded as cheating by the instructor; i.e., fabrication.
• Give unauthorized assistance to other students; i.e., assisting in dishonesty.
• Represent the work of others as their own; i.e., plagiarism.
• Modify, without instructor approval, an examination, paper, record or report for the purpose of obtaining additional credit; i.e., tampering.

Reitsma classes and office hours