M IS 584 Capst one

Credit Hours: 3
Term Year: Fall 2015
Online Section, to Access the Course Web site Visit bb.uis.edu
Rassule Hadidi, Ph.D.
First Hanson Professional Services Faculty Scholar
Professor and Chair, MIS Department

Instructor: http://www.uis.edu/~hadidi/homepage.html
Office: UHB 4034
Tuesdays, Thursdays 10:00 - 11:30 AM. Other times by appointment.
Office Hours: Online Office Hours By Appointment
Phone: 217-206-7294
Email: hadidi@uis.edu
Fax: 217-206-7543
Course Description
Covers current topics in MIS including issues related to areas of business environment,
technology, globalization, politics, ethics, legal, regulatory, and demographic diversity. The role
of MIS in those areas will be addressed. In each semester, these selected topics may not be the
same depending on what topics are current and emerging. Assignments include paper critiques,
group discussions, and a final paper or project. This course is primarily for MIS majors and
should be taken in the last semester of the MIS degree program. NOTE: If this course is not
completed during the initial three-hour enrollment, students must register for the course and retake it again. Access to the Internet is required. Prerequisite: 24 hours of 500-level coursework
in MIS. Restricted to Management Information Systems. Restricted to Graduate students.
Course Objectives
The objectives of this course are:
1. To synthesize research and curriculum concepts from the graduate MIS core courses
2. To synthesize how the coursework has influenced the students' professional development
3. To prepare students with both technical and business knowledge and skills that are
necessary for information technology/information systems (IT/IS) professionals who
participate and/or manage IT/IS projects in a real organization both for profit and not-forprofit.

Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify the
instructor during the first week of class of any accommodations needed for the course. Late notification may
cause the requested accommodations to be unavailable. All accommodations must be approved through the
Office of Disability Services (ODS) in the Human Resources Building (HRB), Room 80, 217-206-6666.
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Prerequisites
24 hours of 500-level coursework in MIS. Restricted to Management Information Systems.
Restricted to Graduate students.
Learning Outcomes

Describe current, emerging, and critical MIS topics and their related issues and concerns.

Demonstrate the ability to analysis and design an information system for an organization.

Demonstrate ability to review and critique articles from the peer-reviewed journals in the
areas of his/her interests.

Demonstrate an understanding that the IS function exists to serve the business goals; as
such, IS problem definitions have a root in business situations and must be treated that
way.
Demonstrate that IS professionals need to work in a group environment to manage and
execute various projects.
Demonstrate that the IS function represent an integrated activity and not just isolated
technical skills.
Demonstrate skills in integrating technical and managerial techniques in the practice of IS
function.

Demonstrate critical thinking, leadership, and communication skills (verbal and written).

Course Content and Learning Outcomes

Text book chapters and other
Assignments
Orientation
Text book introduction section
Chapter 7: Managing Service Delivery
Chapter 9: Governance of the IT
Function
Capstone Project Theme Selection

Learning Outcome
Describe current, emerging, and critical
MIS topics and their related issues and
concerns.

Discussion Questions
Capstone Project Report and
Presentation

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Demonstrate the ability to analysis and

design an information system for an
organization

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Text book chapters and other

Assignments
Business/Technology Analysis Report
Discussion Questions
Chapter One Understanding Business
Models
Chapter 6: Assuring Reliable and
Secure IT Services
Introduction /Case I-1
(IBMs Decade of Transformation:
Turnaround to Growth

Learning Outcome

Demonstrate ability to review and

critique articles from the peer-reviewed
journals in the areas of his/her interests.

Demonstrate an understanding that the IS

function exists to serve the business
goals; as such, IS problem definitions
have a root in business situations and
must be treated that way.

Case 1-1 Five Competitive Forces that

Shape Strategy

Chapter 10: Leadership of the IT

Function
Capstone Project,

Demonstrate that IS professionals need to

work in a group environment to manage
and execute various projects.

Business/Technology Analysis Report

Discussion Questions
Chapter 2: IT Impact on Business
Models
Chapter 3: IT Impact on Organizations
Chapter 4: Making the Case for IT
Chapter 5: Understanding IT
Infrastructure
Chapter 8: Managing IT Project
Delivery
Capstone Project Report and
Presentation
Business/Technology Analysis Report

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Demonstrate that the IS function

represent an integrated activity and not
just isolated technical skills.
Demonstrate
skills
in
integrating
technical and managerial techniques in
the practice of IS function.

Demonstrate
critical
thinking,
leadership, and communication skills
(verbal and written).

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It is your responsibility to make sure you are aware of the current schedule and your assignment
responsibilities. Course and assignments schedules are posted separately. Any changes will be
posted on the class Blackboard Web site.
Required Text
Applegate, Austin, Soule, Corporate Information Strategy & Management: Text & Cases, 8th
Edition, Copyright year: 2009, ISBN: 0073402931
Strongly Recommended Text (Free Online Download)
I have posted this pdf file of an online easy to read textbook you can download free of charge. It
is an easy to read textbook that is very helpful for doing your data analysis for your research type
Capstone projects.
https://edocs.uis.edu/rhadi1/www/Social_Science_Research.pdf
Other materials to be distributed via Blackboard
Course Overview
The goal of this course is to prepare students to become capable, responsible, and effective
Information Systems (IS) professionals. This course covers current topics in MIS including
issues related to several areas such as business environment, technology, globalization, politics,
ethics, legal and regulatory, and demographic diversity. The role of MIS in those areas will be
addressed. In each semester, these selected topics may not be the same depending on what topics
are interesting and current. Assignments include case discussions, individual assignments, group
assignments, and a final capstone project; all of which prepare students for challenges that they
are to face no matter whether they will be managers, systems developers, or business users. Skill
sets such as problem solving, critical thinking, and interpersonal communication are necessary to
succeed in this course. This course is primarily for MIS majors and should be taken in the last
semester of the MS in MIS degree program.
Course Requirements
A large proportion of each student's grade in this course will be assessed on the basis of the
student's performance on various activities that are expected to complete during the semester.
All assignments are to be completed by individuals as well as groups. No extra credit
assignments are possible. Instructions for all assignments are posted on the Assignments section
of the course Blackboard as well as on this syllabus and other sections of the course Blackboard
site.
There are several major assignments in this class:
Discussion Leadership allows each individual to lead a class discussion on a topic chosen by the
instructor. As an IS professional, you need to keep abreast with current and emerging topics in

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your field. Oftentimes, you have to share and discuss those topics with your colleagues or
subordinates. Your ability to lead and facilitate a discussion and act as an expert in the area is
critical for gaining respect among your peers and for your professional growth.
Business/Technology Analysis Report (BTAR) will give you an opportunity to face a practical
business and information systems problem. You will play two roles in this exercise. First, you
will create a real business situation that requires an immediate attention. Your situation will be
assigned to another participant in this class to analyze. Second, in the same token, you will be
assigned a situation written by another student. Your task is to identify the root of the problems
(instead of the symptoms) and analyze the connection of these problems with the business goals
of the organization.
Reflections are assigned after a certain activity. As an IS professional or someone who is
impacted by IS, you are aware that reflection on learning is an important approach to strengthen
what has been learned and to help incorporate the learned material into the framework of
knowledge you can call upon routinely. This course includes some reflection assignments to
assist you in this process. Writing a reflection is a useful exercise, which stimulates not only your
thoughts but also enables critical thinking.
Capstone Project
A capstone project is similar to a graduation project in the way that it requires extensive research
on a selected topic or design and development of a small scale system and its demonstration. A
capstone project may be done by an individual or a group of 5-6 students. It is your choice to
decide to do an individual or a group capstone project. Each student will sign up for a topic that
he/she is interested in or select the design and development option. Once this is done, an
individual or a group is formed, and project contracts (a formal agreement that details the design
and/or research process, means by which design and research will be accomplished, and
milestones and deliverables) will be subsequently submitted. I will use the contract to monitor
your progress throughout the semester. All work submitted must be original and produced
specifically for this course. This means that you cannot submit the same work that you have
created for other courses.
Design oriented projects:
The nature of the design type project is contingent on the career goals of the individuals or
groups who select this option. A design project represents the synthesis of course work,
experience, and applied research and study in the field of Management Information Systems.
Since creativity is involved in these kinds of projects, more specific description and/or guidelines
than the following may hamper the creative nature associated with each activity. It is generally
expected that a project will show the culmination of the graduate education of the student in the
MIS program.
A project may involve, for example, analysis and design of an information system for an
organization; development of one or more databases for an application; analysis of managerial
needs or uses for information that is accessible in an existing database; analysis of the technical

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infrastructure needed to maintain a digital archive for an organization; process mapping, process
improvement, and process management for an organization; or design, development, and
implementation of a computer network. The end product of the project is a document that
discusses all relevant aspects of the project as well as demonstration of it as applicable.
The following is a partial list of potential areas from which you can select an individual or a
group project. Note that the items listed present only a sample from a large pool of equally
challenging and, possibly, more interesting topical areas in the MIS field. Each individual or
group is expected to select an area of interest and seek approval concerning the quality and scope
of the project.
Potential Project Topics:
1. Database Design and Administration
2. Data warehousing
3. Business Process Management
4. Business Applications
5. Knowledge Base Management Systems (KBMS)
6. Analysis and Design of a virtual governmental agency
7. Analysis and Design of an E-commerce site
8. Security and trust issues related to governmental interoperable systems
9. Group Decision Support Systems
10. Executive Information Systems
11. Environmental Scanning Systems
12. Competitive Information Systems
13. Marketing on the Internet
14. Information Requirements Analysis
15. Design, Development, and Implementation of a LAN
Research oriented Capstone Projects could be in a topic similar to the following themes:
1. Market Structure and Industry Dynamics
2. Evolving Business Models
3. IT Impact
4. Prioritizing IT Investments
5. Assimilation and Organizational Learning
6. Buy versus Make Decisions
7. Partnership among key Constituencies as IS/IT Evolves
8. Protecting IT assets and Managing Risks
9. Pervasive Computing: Opportunities and Risks
10. Virtualization and its Applications
11. Cloud Computing and its Applications
12. Teaching and Learning Technologies Classroom of the Future

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Evaluation and Feedback

I strongly believe in evaluation and feedback as an avenue to improve learning. Evaluation in
this class will serve as a tool for measuring individual progress toward the goals of the course.
Every graded activity will be evaluated by a certain set of predetermined criteria. An instruction
of each activity will state clearly which set of criteria will be used. The Assessment Criteria
folder is located in the Course Information section on Blackboard.
For the Capstone project, if you do a group project, you will be asked to evaluate your team
members. Peer evaluation will be taken into account in grading, and the instructor also reserves
the right to adjust the peer evaluation score as appropriate.
In response to any on time submitted materials, I will provide evaluative feedback via comments,
advice, and resource suggestions. The class will have multiple opportunities to critique each
other's ideas, progress, and final products. I hope these efforts will guide each individual in class
toward achieving the desired outcomes.
Successful learning requires two-way communication. Developing the final Capstone project in
this class is not a one-time effort. Feedback from the instructor should be used to improve your
work when you submit it the next round. In order to make sure products from this class reach the
expected quality, they may have to go through several rounds of revisions as time allows. Please
understand that multiple revisions are perfectly normal. This is not an instructors bias to pick on
a particular group or person. This is simply a continuous improvement effort to help everyone
reach his/her goals.
Assignment's Timeliness Submission
It is very important to submit all assignments on time. All assignments are due on the specified
date stated in the instruction, unless an extension is announced. Late assignments will be subject
to a penalty (e.g., 10% reduction everyday after the due date until the score reaches zero). This
policy is strictly enforced, unless you inform the instructor 24 hours before the due date with
acceptable excuses (see the Acceptable Excuses section). It is your responsibility to know when
the assignments are due. I don't plan to go after you if your assignments are not turned in. If you
submit the assignments on time, I will give you feedback (if any) within a reasonable amount of
time (3-5 working days). If you don't receive any feedback, you need to send me a reminder
because it could be that I didn't receive your assignment. Make sure to save a copy of all your
assignments and communication with me.
The means of submitting assignments will be stated clearly in the instructions, which can be
found in the Assignments section and also in the course schedule on Blackboard. All submissions
must be in an electronic format (preferably .doc or .docx).

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Attendance and Participation

You are not required to log on to Blackboard at a particular time or place unless we schedule an
online chat/discussion/presentation session. You can demonstrate your attendance and
participation by completing and meeting the expectations of weekly activities assigned. Only
logging on Blackboard frequently does not count as attendance. Unlike a typical lecture-type
class where an instructor does all the talking, this class requires heavy interaction between all
participants and an individuals ability to lead a discussion. Your participation is important to the
learning process for yourself and your classmates. Although there is no specific participation
score assigned to some activities, I do keep a participation record, which can influence your final
grade if your grade is on the border line.
You will be allowed to miss a total of 2 participations in the Discussion Leadership activity led
by your classmates without penalty (alternatively, I will drop two of your lowest grades for this
assignment). I recognize that we all have other obligations and may not be able to attend every
session of this activity and that is the reason for giving you some leeway.
Changes to the Syllabus
I reserve the right to alter the syllabus as necessary to meet the goals of the course at any time
during the semester. Any changes will be announced with a rationale in the Announcements
section of course Blackboard site.
Contact Information (For Technical Problems Only)
The following support units are available to help you solve technical problems while taking this
course. Please contact them directly when the problem arises. Your questions will be answered
sooner if you contact the right unit.
For technical questions such as how to use the Blackboard, please contact the UIS Technical
Support Center at techsupport@uis.edu or call 217-206-6000 or 877-847-0443. The Center is the
first stop for troubleshooting technical problems. Hours and contact information for the Center
are
listed
right
on
the
help
page
http://www.uis.edu/its.
For general academic support (e.g., writing, statistics, research methods), please contact the
Center for Teaching & Learning. For contact info, visit http://www.uis.edu/ctl
For PC application-related questions (e.g., how to use Word, PowerPoint, FrontPage, etc.) or
Mac application-related questions (e.g., how to use Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, etc.), please
contact ITS. For contact info, go to http://www.uis.edu/its/ or call 206-6000.
Communication
The best way to communicate with me is via email (hadidi@uis.edu). When you send me an
email, please include your name at the end of the message because more often I cant tell who
you are if your email address looks different from your name.

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You can also call me at my office (217-206-7294) and leave a message. I will often be attending
meetings, but I will check my voice and e-mail remotely many times daily. Please allow at least
a day for me to return your call in some cases. If you need immediate assistance, please call the
MIS office at 217-206-6067.
A forum titled "Professor's Office" in the Discussion Board on Blackboard is another area where
you can post your questions or find out what questions other students have asked. Please allow a
day for me to respond in some cases since I will check this forum a few times a week. I will use
this forum to collect questions and responses I gave to those who emailed or called me, so use
this as an area where you can find frequently asked questions (FAQ).
I will mainly use two means to communicate with you: e-mails and Announcements via
Blackboard. High priority messages such as revisions in the syllabus, extension of an
assignment deadline, and change in evaluation criteria will be sent via email as well as posted on
the Blackboard. In addition, feedback related to your assignments will be posted under your
individual and/or group boards as well as appropriate.
(Acceptable) Excuses
Acceptable excuses include verifiable illness, death/major illness in the immediate family, workrelated obligations that are scheduled before the semester starts, or any other emergency reasons
which sounds reasonable, discussed and agreed to in advance. If emergency circumstances
occur, please promptly notify me.
Grade Improvement
I understand that from time to time for any reasons some people do not perform well on an
assignment or discussion. As was mentioned earlier in the Attendance and Participation section,
you will be allowed to miss a total of 2 participations in the Discussion Leadership activity led
by your classmates without penalty. For other assignments and final project, although there will
be no substitute or make-up work, your persistence and attempt to excel in this class will be
taken into consideration when the final grade is issued.
In sum, to improve your grade, you would have to 1) regularly participate and engage in
discussion activities, 2) read and follow the instructions carefully, 3) submit the assignments on
time, 4) cooperate with your team members and contribute to your group assignments when you
are doing a group assignment. Do not fail in silence or request an extra credit at the end of the
semester. Remember to discuss this issue with me early before it is too late.
Please also note that an 'Incomplete' grade will be unlikely assigned to any one in this course.
Grading Scale
In order to pass the course, a student must receive a grade of B or better. (Grade of B- or lower is
not acceptable in this class for graduation). An incomplete grade is highly unlikely to be given.
Those who receive lower grade than B will have to repeat the course in the subsequent semesters

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or complete other alternatives such as a graduation project. Please note that this course is only
offered during Fall and Spring semesters and is not offered during the Summer session.
Students will be evaluated using the following metrics:
Discussion Leadership
Capstone Project
MIS program reflection
Business Analysis Report
Total

30 (10 for leading; 20 for participating)

45
10
15
100

Grades will be assigned using the following scale:

A (Greater than or equal to 94)
A- (Greater than or equal to 90 and less than 94)
B+ (Greater than or equal to 87 and less than 90)
B (Greater than or equal to 83and less than 87).
B- (Greater than or equal to 80and less than 83)
C+ (Greater than or equal to 77 and less than 80)
C (Greater than or equal to 73 and less than 77)
C- (Greater than or equal to 70 and less than 73)
D+ (Greater than or equal to 67 and less than 70)
D (Greater than or equal to 63 and less than 67)
D- (Greater than or equal to 60 and less than 63)
F Less than 60
Instructors Role
Unlike a traditional instruction, my role is not to lecturer, but to facilitate or mediate learning in
this course. Students will be provided with needed information and guidelines for working on an
assigned task while I observe and support students when needed. I will also be a coach who
provides directions, comments for improvements, and redirections of your efforts. A coach
provides the right amount of help when needed, so don't be afraid to ask me when you have
questions. During discussions, I may play the devil's advocate role by challenging your ideas
and thoughts simply to stimulate in-depth discussions and higher order thinking. When students
are challenged, it doesn't mean that they answer the questions wrong or are disliked by the
instructor. The intent is only to measure the depth and breadth of your knowledge in a certain
topic and to help enhance learning.
Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Journals
It is important for Information Systems (IS) professionals to be able to discern the differences
between peer-reviewed scholarly journals, trade magazines, and other literary sources. The
reason is obvious. IS professionals need to gather information from reliable sources so that they
can make trustworthy decisions. Many managers today are doing what I call Management by
Magazines by simply reading popular press or listening to the sale pitch and making a decision

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based on information from those sources alone. Oftentimes, IT/IS staff are not consulted or
allowed to participate in a strategic decision making process. The results warrant disaster.
For the above reasons, it is important for IS professionals to possess literature search skills and
obtain information from reliable sources. Unlike trade magazines that are full of opinions and
advertisements, scholarly journals adhere to rigorous standards and are reviewed by experts in
the field. The writing quality of scholarly articles is much higher than columns in trade
magazines. While those columns may sound exciting and informative, they are often based on
only the authors opinion. Published articles in scholarly journals, on the other hand, are based
on scientific research and facts that are carefully analyzed so that contributions are made to the
existing knowledge base in the area.
It is easy to spot a peer-reviewed article by simply looking at a list of references at the end of the
article. If there are more than 5 references from other journals, this is likely to be a peerreviewed article. Most publications or white papers on the Internet cite no source, thus has no list
of references.
Having said the above comment, it doesnt mean that you cant use sources from trade
magazines or the Internet-based publications. In spite of the weaknesses mentioned earlier, they
are informative and present interesting news about current/emerging technologies. Using a
combination of scholarly journals and trade publications would help broaden your view, and you
must use your own discretion to synthesize information that will be useful to help you solve
business problems.
Plagiarism Policy
The university plagiarism policy as stated in the UIS catalog applies: "If you are alleged to have
committed plagiarism, your instructor may refuse to grade the assignment and record it as no
credit. Penalties may include no credit (i.e., failure) in the course as well as recommendation for
disciplinary probation, suspension, or dismissal from the class, program or UIS." By enrolling in
this course, you agree that all of your work including Blackboard posts, at the instructor's
discretion, may be sent to a plagiarism prevention software system.
To ensure that learning is taken place in this course, the MIS department has a strong policy
against plagiarism. One way to enforce this policy is to ensure that students submit their own and
original work and give credit for those who they borrow ideas from. The software system enables
students and teachers to arrive at the same understanding on the issue of academic honesty and is
intended to serve as a learning tool that helps everyone achieve the desired goal. This system is
never meant to be harmful or to jeopardize your academic record.
Readings
There is a fairly substantial amount of reading materials to be covered in this course. This
amount though is typical for a graduate-level capstone course. It is very easy to fall behind
especially when we discuss two topics concurrently in the same week. You are responsible for
all the readings assigned. In order to generate useful discussions and stimulate critical thinking,

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you need to read in advance the materials assigned for a given week. Failure to do so will
negatively influence your participation score.

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