Syllabus - Stevens Institute of Technology

Howe School of Technology Management
Information Systems ARea
Tel +1.201.216.8322 Fax +1.201.216.5385

STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ∙ CASTLE POINT ON HUDSON ∙ HOBOKEN NJ 07030

Syllabus

MIS 201 – Fundamentals of Information Systems

Semester Day of Week/Time
Fall 2013 Lecture: Tuesday 01:00PM - 02:40PM
Lab A: Thursday 11:00AM - 12:40AM
Dr. Michael zur Muehlen Lab B: Thursday 01:00PM - 02:40PM
Stevens Institute of Technology
Howe School of Technology Management Office Hours:
Babbio 426 Tuesdays, 9:00-10:30AM
Schedule appointments via:
Lab instructors: http://mzm_stevens.youcanbook.me
Yue Han & Harris Kyriakou
Class Website:
http://moodle.stevens.edu

Catalog Description

This course provides an introduction to systems and development concepts, information
technology and application software. It explains how information is used in organizations and the
effects IT has on the organization’s structure, processes, employees, customers, and suppliers. In
addition, the course describes how IT enables improvement in quality, timeliness, and competitive
advantage. Structure and functions of computers and telecommunications systems are also
examined.

Overview

Information Systems permeate our personal and professional lives. From apps on your smartphone
to large scale systems that handle millions of stock trades every day on the New York Stock
Exchange, Information Systems help organizations execute their processes, deliver products and
services, organize data and make better decisions. This course begins with a fundamental discussion
of the components of information systems and takes participants through the components of
Information Systems, leading to various use cases of Information Systems in business settings. The
course is complemented by an Excel lab that teaches participants how to master the most popular
office application in today’s businesses.

Relationship of Course to Rest of Curriculum

MIS 201 is a core course in the BS in Business curriculum. It is a precursor to many Information

MIS 201 Fundamentals of Information Systems

Syllabus

Systems related courses that can be taken later in the curriculum, for instance BT 416 – Business
Process Management, BT 421 – Systems Analysis & Design, BT 460 – IT Strategy, and BT 330 –
Database Management.

Learning Goals

The learning goals of this course are ordered according to Bloom’s Taxonomy:
1. Knowledge: Students will be conversant in the terms used to describe, analyze, and
improve Information Systems in organizations.
2. Comprehension: Students will be able to understand the difference between transactional
and decision-making Information Systems.
3. Application: Students will be able to use a common office Information System (Excel).
4. Analysis: Students will be able to identify the requirements for a specific information
system and express these requirements in a form usable by Information Technology
professionals.
5. Synthesis: Students will be able to apply the concepts learned during the lecture in the lab
using different IT platforms.
6. Evaluation: Students will be able to determine the advantages and disadvantages of
different Information Systems for a specific application.
7. Students will improve their ability to communicate in group and presentation settings.

Pedagogy

 Lecture
 Lab, using hands-on student exercises with Office Information Systems
 Case Studies
 Guest speakers from industry (if available)
 Student individual assignments in the lab
 Midterm & Final
 Readings from texts and selected relevant articles and publications

Recommended Text

 R. Kelly Rainer; Casey G. Cegielski: Introduction to Information Systems: Enabling and Transforming
Business. John Wiley & Sons.
Available via Safari Tech Books Online on the Stevens Library Website. Chapters are mapped
to lecture weeks for reference.

 Professor’s slides (will be updated throughout the semester)

Software

– Microsoft Office Excel
– Firefox or Chrome Web Browser
– Twitter account

Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 www.stevens.edu

MIS 201 Fundamentals of Information Systems
Syllabus

Assignments Due
Week 2-13
Assignments
Lab Assignments Week 8
Midterm Week 15
Final

Grading

Grading for each deliverable will be done on a scale from 0-100. The final grade will be computed based on the
weighting of the deliverables according to the following resolution:

Points (100 scale) Grade Types of Assignments Final Grade Weight

95-100 A Individual Assignments 40
90-94 A- Midterm 20
85-89 B+ Final 30
80-84 B Reliability and Participation 10
75-79 B- Total Grade 100
70-74 C+
65-69 C
60-64 C-
50-59 D
0-49 F

Ethical Conduct

Stevens Honor System: Enrollment into the undergraduate class of Stevens signifies a student’s
commitment to the Honor System. It is the responsibility of each student to become acquainted with and to
uphold the ideals set forth in the Honor System Constitution. All students are reminded that, as a condition
of being admitted to Stevens, they will uphold and adhere to the standards of the Stevens Honor System.
Specific student responsibilities include:
 Maintaining honesty and fair play in all aspects of academic life at Stevens
 Writing and signing the pledge, in full, on all submitted academic work
 Reporting any suspected violations to an Honor Board member or to the Dean of Undergraduate

Academics
 Cooperating with the Honor Board during investigations and hearings

Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 www.stevens.edu

MIS 201 Fundamentals of Information Systems
Syllabus

Course Schedule

Lecture/ Title Description Assignment Reading
Lab Due  Rainer, Cegielski,
Introduction What will you learn?
Week 1  Overview of the course Assignment 1  Rainer, Cegielski
08/27/13 Excel  Information, Systems Technology
Lecture Introduction Assignment 2 Guides 1 & 2
and Information Systems Analysis of an
08/29/13 The one with Introduction to Microsoft Excel  Rainer, Cegielski
Lab the iPad (Yue & Harris) Information Chapter 5
Why doesn’t my iPad App work on my System
Week 2 Excel Galaxy Tab?  Rainer, Cegielski
09/03/13 Lab  Hardware vs Software Assignment 3 Chapter 12
Lecture  Operating Systems and Applications
Basic Excel Layout, Navigation, Basic  Rainer, Cegielski
09/05/13 Math, Relative & Absolute Cell Chapter 6
Lab Referencing (Yue)
Assignment 1 Passed Out
Week 3
09/10/13 The one with How does a book end up on Amazon?
Lecture the Twilight  Data Management and Modelings

09/12/13 Excel Data & Text Manipulation, Auto & Flash
Lab Lab Fill, Freeze & Lock Panes (Harris)
Assignment 2 Passed Out
Week 4
09/17/13 The one with How do databases enable decision-
Lecture the Party making?
 Databases and Web Applications
09/19/13
Lab Excel Add or subtract Time, Conditional
Lab Formatting (Yue)
Week 5 Assignment 3 Passed Out
09/24/13
Lecture The one with How does a Skype Call work?
the Skype  Networks, Infrastructure and Protocols
09/26/13 Call
Lab
Excel Integrating Data across Files, Drop-Down
Week 6 Lab Lists (Harris)
10/01/13 Assignment 4 Passed Out
Lecture
The one with Can I watch a BluRay over the Internet?
the new TV  Multimedia and Bandwidth
 Data Encoding and Encryption

Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 www.stevens.edu

MIS 201 Fundamentals of Information Systems
Syllabus

Lecture/ Title Description Assignment Reading
Lab Due  Rainer, Cegielski
Excel Pivot Tables (Harris)
10/03/13 Lab Assignment 5 Passed Out Assignment 4 Chapter 3
Lab How do businesses use Social Media? Assignment 5
The one with  Social Networks and Network Data Assignment 6  Rainer, Cegielski
Week 7 the Flight  Micro-blogging and its application Chapter 7
10/08/13 Advanced Functions (Yue) Midterm
Lecture Excel Assignment 6 Passed Out  Rainer, Cegielski
10/10/13 Lab Assignment 7 Chapter 9

Lab No Class – Monday Schedule Assignment 8
Week 8
10/15/13 Excel Lab Review Session
10/17/13 Lab (Yue & Harris)
How do Information Systems support
Lab The one with Business Processes?
the Amazon  CRM, SCM, and PLM Processes
Week 9  Workflow Systems
10/22/13 Excel Macro Programming I (Harris)
Lecture Lab Assignment 7 Passed Out
How do Information Systems support
10/24/13 The one with Financial Services?
Lab the NASDAQ  Transactional vs Batch Processes
 Typical Systems in Financial Services
Week 10 Scary Excel
10/29/13 Companies
Lecture The one with Macro Programming II (Yue)
the Election Assignment 8 Passed Out
10/31/13 How have Information Systems been used
Lab Excel in political campaigns?
Lab  Data Mining
Week 11 The one with  E-mail marketing
11/05/13 the Angry  Micro-targeting
Lecture Bird  Social media
Introduction to R (Harris)
11/07/13 Assignment 9 Passed Out
Lab How is Software Developed?
 Software development models
Week 12  Requirements Engineering
11/12/13  Software re-use
Lecture

Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 www.stevens.edu

MIS 201 Fundamentals of Information Systems
Syllabus

Lecture/ Title Description Assignment Reading
Lab Due
Excel Do more with R (Harris)
11/14/13 Assignment 9
Lab Lab Assignment 10 Passed Out Design of an
Information
Week 13 How can Information Systems help me
11/19/13 System
Lecture The on with find my car keys? Assignment 10

11/21/13 the Tile  The Internet of Things Assignment 11
Lab Final (In Class)
 RFID and NFC
11/26/13
11/29/13 Excel Introduction to Python (Yue)

Week 14 Lab Assignment 11 Passed Out
12/03/13
Lecture No Class – Instructor Travel

12/05/13 No Lab – Thanksgiving Holiday
Lab
How can we integrate Information
Week 15
12/10/13 The one with Systems

Exam the City  IS Design vs. Urban Planning

 The role of Standards

Course Recap Prepare for the Final Exam (Yue & Harris)

Final Exam Show what you learned

All assignments are due as noted on Moodle.
In fairness to others, late work will be penalized 10% per day overdue.

Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 www.stevens.edu