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
Fall 2014
Day of Week/Time
Lecture: Tuesday
01:00PM - 02:40PM
Lab A: Thursday
11:00AM - 12:40AM
Lab B: Thursday
01:00PM - 02:40PM
Dr. Michael zur Muehlen
Stevens Institute of Technology
Howe School of Technology Management
Babbio 426
Office Hours:
Schedule appointments via:
http://mzm_stevens.youcanbook.me
Lab instructors:
Yue Han & Patrick Lohmann
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 Fundamentals of Information Systems
Syllabus
MIS 201 is a core course in the BS in Business curriculum. It is a precursor to many Information
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
Required Texts



Gallaugher, John: Information Systems: A Managers Guide to Harnessing Technology. ISBN 978-19361260-6-4 Available at http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=16
Burgeois, David T.: Information Systems for Business and Beyond. Available at
http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=189
Both are Open Textbooks, the PDFs are available for download at the above URLs.
Chapters are mapped to lecture weeks for reference.
Professor’s slides (will be updated throughout the semester)
Recommended Text for the Lab

Manzo, Joseph: How to Use Microsoft Excel. ISBN 978-1-4533223-6-9. Available at
http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/BookDetail.aspx?bookId=70
Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
www.stevens.edu
MIS 201 Fundamentals of Information Systems
Syllabus
Software
–
–
–
Microsoft Office Excel
Firefox or Chrome Web Browser
Twitter account
Assignments
Assignments
Lab Assignments
Midterm
Final
Due
Week 2-13
Week 8
Week 15
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)
95-100
90-94
85-89
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
50-59
0-49
Grade
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD
F
Types of Assignments
Individual Assignments
Midterm
Final
Reliability and Participation
Total Grade
Final Grade Weight
40
20
30
10
100
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
Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
www.stevens.edu
MIS 201 Fundamentals of Information Systems
Syllabus
Course Schedule
Lecture/
Lab
Description
Title
Assignment
Due
Reading
What will you learn?
Week 1
08/26/14
Lecture

Overview of the course

Information, Systems
 Bourgeois, Ch 1
and Information Systems
 Gallaugher, Ch 1
Introduction

Creating Competitive Advantage
through Information Systems
08/28/14
Excel
Lab
Introduction
Introduction to Microsoft Excel, Basic
Excel Layout, Navigation
(Yue & Patrick)
Why doesn’t my iPad App work on my
Week 2
09/02/14
Lecture
The one with
the iPad
09/04/14
Excel
Lab
Lab
Week 3
09/09/14
Lab
Excel
Lab
Galaxy Tab?

Hardware vs Software

Operating Systems and Applications

Lock In vs Open Source
Referencing (Yue)
Data & Text Manipulation, Auto & Flash
Fill, Freeze & Lock Panes (Patrick)
The one with
How does a book end up on Amazon?
Lecture
the Bestseller

09/16/14
Lecture
Excel
Lab
09/18/14
The one with
Lab
the Diet
Week 5
The one with
09/23/14
the Skype
Lecture
Call
09/25/14
Excel
Lab
Lab
 Gallaugher Ch 2, 9
Basic Math, Relative & Absolute Cell
09/11/14
Week 4
 Bourgeois, Ch 2 & 3
Data Management and Modeling
Assignment 1
 Bourgeois, Ch 4
Add or subtract Time, Conditional
Formatting (Yue)
How do databases enable decisionmaking?

Assignment 2
Databases and Web Applications
How does a Skype Call work?

Lists (Patrick)
Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
 Gallaugher, Ch 4
 Bourgeois, Ch 5
Networks, Infrastructure and Protocols
Integrating Data across Files, Drop-Down
 Bourgeois, Ch 4
 Gallaugher Ch 5
Assignment 3
www.stevens.edu
MIS 201 Fundamentals of Information Systems
Syllabus
Lecture/
Lab
Week 6
09/30/14
Lecture
The one with
Lab
The one with
the Flight
10/09/14
Excel
Lab
Lab
Week 8
10/16/14
Excel
Lab
Lab
10/21/14
Lecture
Information Safety vs Information
Bourgeois, Ch 6

Data Encoding and Encryption
Pivot Tables (Patrick)
Assignment 4
How do businesses use Social Media?

Social Networks and Network Data

Micro-blogging and its application
Advanced Functions (Yue)
 Gallaugher Ch. 6.4, 6.5,
7
Assignment 5
No Class – Monday Schedule
10/14/14
Week 9
Reading
Due
Security

Lab
Lecture

the Queen
Excel
Week 7
Assignment
What is Cybersecurity?
10/02/14
10/08/14
Description
Title
Lab Review Session
(Yue & Patrick)
Assignment 6
How do Information Systems support
The one with
Business Processes?
the Amazon

CRM, SCM, and PLM Processes

Workflow Systems
10/23/14
Excel
Lab
Lab
Midterm
 Bourgeois, Ch 8
Macro Programming I (Patrick)
How do Information Systems support
Week 10
10/28/14
Lecture
The one with
the NASDAQ
Financial Services?

Transactional vs Batch Processes

Typical Systems in Financial Services
Companies
10/30/14
Lab
Scary Excel
Macro Programming II (Yue)
Assignment 7
How have Information Systems been used
Week 11
11/04/14
Lecture
in political campaigns?
The one with

Data Mining
the Election

E-mail marketing

Micro-targeting

Social media
Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
www.stevens.edu
MIS 201 Fundamentals of Information Systems
Syllabus
Lecture/
Description
Lab
Title
11/06/14
R
Lab
Lab
Week 12
The one with
11/11/14
the Angry
Lecture
Bird
11/13/14
R
Lab
Lab
Week 13
11/18/14
Lecture
the Tile
Lab
Lab
Lecture
12/02/14
Lecture
12/04/14
Lab

Software development models

Requirements Engineering

Software re-use

Bourgeois, Ch 10
Assignment 9
find my car keys?

The Internet of Things

RFID and NFC
Do even more with R (Yue)
How can we integrate Information
The one with
the City
Systems

IS Design vs. Urban Planning

The role of Standards
No Lab – Thanksgiving Holiday
11/27/13
Week 15
Assignment 8
How is Software Developed?
Do more with R (Patrick)
The on with
R
11/25/14
Reading
Due
How can Information Systems help me
11/20/14
Week 14
Introduction to R (Yue)
Assignment
Group
Presentations
Course Recap

Assignment 10
Presentation of your Group Project
Prepare for the Final Exam (Yue &
Patrick)
Exam
Week
12/09/14
Final Exam
Show what you learned
Final (In Class)
Exam
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