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Unit Outline: ISYS360

Unit Outline: ISYS360
Semester 1, 2012 (Version 16 Feb 2012)
General Information
Credit points: 3
Convenor: Cathy Campbell
Prerequisites: 40cp
Students should read this unit outline carefully at the start of semester. It contains important information about the unit. If anything in it is unclear, please consult one of the teaching staff in the unit.
About This Unit
The objective of this course is to provide you with an understanding of the principles and practices of management and, in particular, critical issues involved in the exploitation of new technology and the management of technology. Key aspects to be covered include:
1) Strategic and tactical planning and the difference between the two;
2) Managing People: technology teams, business users, customers, colleagues and managers;
3) Technology organisation models and their place in different types of organisations;
4) Operational technology versus innovation technology, the differences between them and how to manage both;
5) Saving money; making money, adding value capability and capacity: the role of technology in helping the organisation to run, grow or transform.
6) How to manage in the new world order: life in the cloud, Web 2.0+ , social media, open source, X as a service, crowdsourcing, constant change and more with less.
7) Managing, measuring, reporting on and improving Service Delivery
The course plan is organised around the four recognised management functions; planning, organising, leading and controlling.
Teaching Staff

Role	Name	Email	Room	Office hours
Convenor	Cathy Campbell	catherineclairecampbell@gmail.com	N/A	N/A

Teaching and Learning
Classes
Each week you should attend two hours of lectures and a two hour practical/tutorial. For details of days, times and rooms consult the timetables webpage.
Note that Prac Sessions commence in week 2.
Prac sessions involve group work. There are four Challenges spread over the semester , plus the group assignment. These will be completed in your groups.
Required and Recommended Texts
You are required to obtain a copy of the following text:

• Holtsnider, Bill & Jaffe, Brian D The IT Managers Handbook: Business Edition (Available also  in Kindle) Morgan Kaufman 2009

Additional reading that you may find useful for this unit:

• Andriole, Stephen J Its all about the people: technology management that overcomes disaffected people, stupid processes and deranged corporate cultures CRC Press 2012
• Applegate, Austin and Soule Corporate Information Strategy and Management (8th Edition)  McGraw Hill 2009
• Glen, Paul Leading Geeks: how to manage and lead people who deliver technology Jossy Base 2003
• Ross, Weill and Robertson Enterprise Architecture as Strategy Harvard Business School Press 2006
• Schilling, Melissa A Strategic Management of Technological Innovation (3rd Edition) McGraw Hill 2010
• Turban and Volonino Information Technology for Management: improving strategic and operational performance (8th Edition) Wiley 2011

Technology used
This course does not directly stipulate use of any particular technology tools, however it is expected that groups will have access to a computer to prepare and upload their weekly challenge response to the online learning system during the practical sessions. Challenge responses should be saved as PDF files before uploading.
Unit material
Material for the course can be found at http://learn.mq.edu.au/.
Staff-Student Liaison Committee
The Department has established a Staff-Student Liaison Committee at each level (100, 200, 300) to provide all students studying a Computing unit the opportunity to discuss related issues or problems with both students and staff.
The committee meets three times during the semester. For each meeting, an agenda is issued and minutes are taken. These are posted on the web at http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/undergrad/info/liaison/300-level/
If you have exhausted all other avenues, then you should consult the Director of Teaching (Dr. Christophe Doche) or the Head of Department (Prof. Bernard Mans). You are entitled to have your concerns raised, discussed and resolved.
Student Support Services

Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au.

Graduate capabilities
The course is aimed at providing the student with: 1) experience in the application of the management techniques discussed in lectures and practicals; and 2) exposure to some of the critical issues facing organisations attempting to exploit technologies to their maximum potential. To this end, considerable emphasis is placed on practical work (based on realistic business situations) and on presentations from guest speakers invited from industry. Students should not underestimate the potential value of this course, as many prospective employers will be liable to place as much (if not more) value on your views of the role of technology within the wider organisation as on your technical knowledge itself.
Teaching and Learning Strategy
Each week you should:

• Attend lectures, take notes, ask questions.
• Attend the practical session, participate in the weekly challenges.
• Read appropriate sections of the text, add to your notes and prepare questions for your lecturer.
• Work on any assignments that have been released.

Lecture notes will be made available each week but these notes are intended as an outline of the lecture only and are not a substitute for your own notes or the textbook.
Timetable and Venues

Lectures:	Tuesday 6 to 8pm	E7B T4 Lecture Theatre
Practicals:	Tuesday 4 to 6pm	TBA

Course Schedule
Note, the timing of assessments is subject to change if a large proportion of students attending this unit identify particularly intense workloads during certain weeks at the start of the semester.

Week	Lecture (2 hours)	Practical (2 hours)	Text & Readings
Week 1 28/2 (Tues)	What does a Technology Manager do? What makes them different from other types of Managers? What skills and knowledge do they need? Generic Management Skills and Specialist Technical Management Skills.	No practical this week, get into groups	H & J Ch 1
Week 2 6/3	Managing people: selecting and leading technical teams, managing customers and business users, managing colleagues and managing your manager. Communication styles, personal strengths and weaknesses, selecting the right team, organisational fit.	Group Assignment	H& J Ch 2 & 3 Andriole Ch1 Glen Part 1
Week 3 13/3	Strategic and Tactical Planning: the strategic planning process, templates and techniques; the Business Planning process, templates and techniques	Group assignment	Turban & Volonino Ch12 Applegate Ch1
Week 4 20/3	Operational Management: keeping the lights on, infrastructure management, service provision, maintenance, problem resolution, change control, metrics, SLA’s, reporting, security and disaster recovery, green IT, cost control, risk mgt and operational decision making.	Group assignment	H&J Ch 6, 7 & 8
Week 5 27/3	Service Delivery Management: what is SDM? Why is it hard? Culture, communication, process, people, support technology, measuring, motivating, rewarding, reporting and delivering. Service catalogue & SLA’s. Continuous improvement, learning organisation and knowledge management.	Group assignment	H&J Ch 9 Applegate Ch7
Week 6 3/4	Architecture Management: planning and decision making, handling legacy systems and technology, interoperability problems, support costs and problems, design considerations, documentation, politics and power, IT Lifecycles, process frameworks, Architecture frameworks and methodologies. Managing risk.	Group assignment	Weil & Ross Ch3; Hausman and Cook Ch 4
	Mid semester break 9th to 22nd April inclusive
Week 7 24/4	Innovation Management: delivering strategic advantage, business intelligence and analytics, agility, innovative technology, innovative culture, decision making, pipeline management, customer focused delivery, excellence, quality, the value chain and change management.	Group assignment	Schilling, Ch3, 10
Week 8 1/5	Organisational Models and process frameworks: different models for the management of technology, traditional versus radical models, matching the model to the organisation, the role of culture and process, change and innovation.	Group assignment	Andriole Ch 3; Applegate Ch2
Week 9 8/5	The new world order: the impact of the new technologies on old paradigms of technology management, models, processes and operations, globalisation, communication. How to manage life in the cloud, Web 2.0+ , social media, open source, X as a service, crowdsourcing, new devices, multiple platforms, interoperability, mobile computing, telecommuting, constant change and more with less.	Group assignment due Challenge 1: First month on the Job	H&J Ch 10; Andriole Ch4
Week 10 15/5	Bringing it all together. Saving money, making money, value, capability and capacity, run, grow transform. Strategic planning, innovation management and organisational models with the new technology.	Challenge 2: Security breach	H&J Ch5 Applegate Ch4
Week 11 22/5	Change Management Guest Speaker: Phil Gray Director of Change Management Westpac	Challenge 3: The Service Desk Stinks
Week 12 29/5	Decision Making Guest Speaker Amit Banerji Director PMWorks	Challenge 4: Responding to budget cuts: do more with less Individual Assignment due
Week 13 5/6	Summing up and exam revision	Challenge Awards

Learning Outcomes
A student completing the unit should have acquired:

• An understanding of the principles of people management
• An understanding of how to manage technology operations and innovation
• Practice in the decision making process and of strategic thinking
• Practice in responding to management challenges
• An understanding of the principles of good service delivery

The learning outcomes (LO) will be assessed against the following criteria:

• LO1: comprehend the principles of people management
• LO2: comprehend methods and techniques in technology management
• LO3: comprehend ways to think strategically
• LO4: comprehend decision making processes
• LO5: comprehend ways to provide good service delivery

In addition to the discipline-based learning objectives, all academic programs at Macquarie seek to develop students' generic skills in a range of areas. One of the aims of this unit is that students develop their skills in the following:

• Self-awareness and interpersonal skills;
• Communication skills;
• Critical analysis skills;
• Problem-solving skills;
• Creative thinking skills.

Graduate Capabilities
All academic programs at Macquarie University seek to develop a range of graduate capabilities. One of the aims of this unit is that students develop their skills in the following:

• Discipline Specific Knowledge and skills
• Effective Communication
• Problem Solving and Research Capability
• Creativity and Innovation
• Commitment to Continuous Learning

Assessment
The course will consist of lectures and tutorials. Assessment includes the following:

• Management Challenges: During four practical session (weeks 2 10,11 &12 inclusive) a series of Management Challenges will be executed in groups. Groups will be simulating a technology management team for an organisation. Each Challenge will address a Management Problem that the groups must solve. The groups response to the Challenge will be submitted online no later than 6:00 pm on the day it is due. Each groups performance on the Challenges will be marked against a set of criteria and marks awarded accordingly.
• Group Assignment: this assignment will be completed in the same groups and relates to a large problem the group will need to address in the form of a detailed written plan. Time will be allocated in the practical sessions for groups to meet and work on this.
• Individual Assignment: this assignment will be completed individually.
• Exam: A final exam will be held at the end of semester. You are expected to have read the specified readings prior to each lecture and will be examined on material covered in these readings, Material covered in challenges sessions (which are meant to reinforce concepts presented in lectures) will also be examined, as will the presentations from industry speakers.

Details of each Assignment and the challenges will be provided along with readings and lecture notes at appropriate times via the online learning system http://learn.mq.edu.au/ during the semester.
Marks for each Assessment item, together with assignment submission dates, are as follows:

Assessment:	Marks	Submission Date	Feedback	LO Assessed
1. Challenges	20	Weeks 2, 10, 11 & 12 in prac classes must be submitted by 6:00 pm prior to the lecture commencing.	Weekly	ALL
2. Group Assignment	25	4:00 pm 8 May 2012 (Week 9)	2 weeks	ALL
3. Individual Assignment	10	4:00 pm 29 May 2012 (Week 12)	1 week	ALL
5. Final exam	45	# June 2012	Exam Result

A satisfactory performance in all of the above segments, as well as satisfactory participation in the challenges is required to achieve a passing grade.
You are reminded that University Rules will be applied without reservation in relation to late assignments, plagiarism and failure to meet stated course requirements.

Holistic standards

Learning Objective	Developing	Functional	Proficient	Advanced
LO1: comprehend the principles of people management
understand qualities and responsibilities of a leader	can make basic statements of leadership qualities and how these impact the organisation	some reference to the literature regarding leadership qualities and how these impact the organisation	satisfactory reference to the literature regarding leadership qualities and how these impact the organisation	comprehensive literature review of successful leadership styles and have a detailed understanding of what aspects of qualities that have made the organisation successful
understand individual and group motivations	can make basic statement about how to motivate individual and groups	some reference to the literature about how to differently motivate individual and groups to achieve a particular objective	satisfactory review of models of motivation for individuals and groups, as well as being able illustrate the relevance of particular motivation techniques	excellent analysis of literature concerning individual and group motivations, and can provide detailed rationale of what techniques that can applied
Understand appropriate ways to communicate with different groups	can make basic statement about ways to communicate with different groups	some reference to the literature about ways to communicate with different groups to achieve a particular objective	satisfactory review of methods of communication for different groups, as well as being able to illustrate the relationship between appropriate communication and achieving successful outcomes	excellent analysis of literature concerning methods of communication for different group motivations, and can provide detailed rationale of what techniques that can be applied
LO2: comprehend methods and techniques in technology management
undertake SWOT analysis	limited understanding of SWOT and how it works, making a few simple mistakes	competent analysis of SWOT for a given organisation listing a few factors	good SWOT analysis, with some recourse to the literature providing similar examples	outstanding SWOT analysis with comprehensive recourse to the literature
understand organisation culture and how to change it	can identify the different types of organisational culture and management styles	can accurately identify different types of organisational culture, and identity what management styles are suitable and counterproductive	good understanding of the importance of corporate culture, and can use literature to make a convincing argument to improve it	provide outstanding insight into existing corporate culture, and use literature to make a strong case of either enhance or change organisational culture
understand how to make innovation systematic	explain what innovation is, but may not fully understand how to make it systematic within an organisation	explain the importance of systematic innovation and how it can be achieved	can site some examples of companies that have based their success of systematic innovation	provide understanding of existing literature into companies that have successfully used systematic innovation to drive continual success in the marketplace
LO3: comprehend ways to think strategically
mission, vision, objectives, policies, plans	able to define each element	able to define and link each element	good understand of each element and can explain in detail, and explain how each builds up for organisational success	outstanding understanding of each element with in-depth analysis of how each builds organisational success
how projects and programs achieve these objectives	able to define a rough project that supports the organisation objectives	able to define a detailed project plan that supports the organisation objectives	provide a well thought out project plan with realistic assumptions that support organisational objectives	provide an outstanding project plan that demonstrates innovation and realistic assumptions and constraints in supporting organisational objectives
appropriate allocation of different resources (especially IT) for projects to succeed	able name the resources requirements while taking into account the some environmental factors	able to name resources required and explain sufficiently the specific amount/effort needed	good analysis of  resourcing requirements, with some reference to literature	comprehensive analysis of resource requirements, with realistic timeliness and evidence for all assumptions
using balance scorecard to evaluate overall performance	can roughly use the balance scorecard to evaluate an organisation	can use the balance scorecard to evaluate organisational performance with some understanding of the relationship between elements	good application of the balance scorecard, with good understanding of relationship between elements	excellent application and understanding of the interdependency between financials, customers, internal business processes, and learning and growth areas of an organisation
LO4: comprehend decision making processes
understand decision making processes and criteria	limited understanding decision making processes	understands how to apply basic decision making processes	good understanding of decision making processes and how to identify criteria on which to make decisions	excellent understanding of decision making processes and criteria and the impact of a failure to make decisions
Understand the linkage between decision making and risk management	limited understanding of the linkage between decision making and risk management	understands how risk management supports decision making	good understanding of how to apply risk management and analytics to decision making	excellent understanding of decision making processes risk management and analytics
LO5: comprehend ways to provide good service delivery
Understand service management processes	Limited understanding of service management processes	competent explanation service management concepts and processes	good explanation of service management concepts and processes including how to measure and achieve good service levels	excellent explanation of service management processes and concepts and measures
understand how service management can be embedded into organisations	roughly explain how people, process and systems can deliver technology services	competently explain how people, process and systems can deliver technology services	good explanation how of people, process and systems can support technology services, with some reference to literature	excellent explanation of how people, process and systems can support technology services, with extensive reference to relevant literature

Please note the following table which will provide you with an understanding of the grading system used in ISYS360.

High Distinction
Outstanding quality with the addition of originality and/or creativity. Outstanding description of the background, communication and analysis of results. Excellent conclusion summarising the key points. Results presented in well-formatted and correctly labelled tables, figures, captions etc. Analysis and synthesis of the main ideas from the literature are integrated and strongly linked to the tasks expected. Several key references are used (typically about 8-10 at 300 level), cited in the text and without error in the references.
Distinction
Superior quality description, analysis and communication of the material covered in the unit. Superior quality description of the topic and conclusions of the material under investigation. Results presented in clear prose, clearly labelled tables, graphs, figures and so forth. Analysis and synthesis of the literature is linked clearly to the assignment and shows good insight into what the literature states with regard to the topic under study. Most aspects and formatting of the references are correct.
Credit
Good quality presentation, analysis and description of the material in the assignments and exam. Material making up the assignments and exam has been processed so that a clear understanding is shown. Tables, graphs and other supporting material are present but will not have the depth of analysis of discussion incorporated into the assignment to the degree evident for a distinction/high distinction. The title for tables and figures may have minor parts missing. Literature has been analysed and evaluated, but may still lack clear linkage with the topic under study. Most aspects of referencing are correct, but some references cited in the text may be missing or incorrectly formatted in the reference list.
Pass
Satisfactory description, analysis and presentation of results. All components of the assignment are present in the assignment. There may be an incorrect structure to the assignment in parts. Prose is perhaps not particularly fluid, but the main points are still present. An inappropriate means of presentation may have been used in the assignments. Literature has been used, but often will include textbook instead of journal articles/given readings on the specific topic under question. Most aspects of referencing are correct, however some references cited in the text may be missing or incorrectly formatted in the reference list.
Fail
Poor assignment coverage and structure. Very limited analysis and discussion of the results. Ideas are not clearly expressed and limited attention has been given to writing in academic form. Inadequate and/or incorrect referencing.

Examinations
The university examination period in First Half year 2012 is from 12-29th June.
You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of examinations.
You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching semester, that is the final day of the official examination period.
The only exception to not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for Special Consideration. Information about unavoidable disruption and the special consideration process is available on the web (PDF).
If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Special Consideration process the examination will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period. For details of the Special Consideration policy specific to the Department of Computing, see the Department's policy page.
Plagiarism
Please refer to the Department of Computing Plagiarism Policy for the definition of plagiarism, advice on avoiding it and the penalties in place if you are found to have submitted plagiarised work.
Student Support Services
Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au.
The Department of Computing provides a First Year Liaison Officer to help deal with non-unit related issues that you might have as a first year student at Macquarie. If you are falling behind in your work or having problems that interfere with your studies, please ask to see the Liaison officer: Ros Ballantyne, email ros@science.mq.edu.au, telephone 9850 9513.
Staff-Student Liaison Committee
The Department has established a Staff-Student Liaison Committee at each level (100, 200, 300) to provide all students studying a Computing unit the opportunity to discuss related issues or problems with both students and staff.
For each meeting, an agenda is issued and minutes are taken. These are posted on the web at:

• http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/units/300-liaison

Details of the regular meeting dates will be posted on the unit home page. Anyone with an interest in Computing units may attend. This includes staff involved in the teaching and administration of the units, and all students currently taking a Computing unit at that level. There are formal Liaison Committee representatives for each unit who attend to present the views of the student body; all students are welcome and are encouraged to attend.
The meetings are usually held in the Department of Computing Meeting Room, E6A357.
If you have exhausted all other avenues, then you should consult the Director of Teaching (Dr. Christophe Doche) or the Head of Department (Prof. Bernard Mans). You are entitled to have your concerns raised, discussed and resolved.
Changes from previous offerings
ISYS360 was formerly known as MPCE360. The tutorial and practical sessions are now mixed.