TECHNION – ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
FACULTY OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING &
MANAGEMENT
098720
Introduction to Information Systems
Fall 2003 – Mini semester VI
URL: ie.technion.ac.il/~avigal/098720
Dr. Avigdor Gal
Address: Room 308, Bloomfield Building
Phone: 04-829-4425
fax: 04-829-5688
email: avigal@ie.technion.ac.il
Lectures: Thursdays 16:00 – 19:00, DMall
Office Hours: Before and after class, and by appointment.
Course Outline: Based on recent surveys, an important qualification for managers at all
areas (e.g. accounting and finance) is technology know-how in general and information
systems in particular. The objective of the course is to expose the students to the concepts
and technology in information system analysis.
Textbook:
“Management Information Systems: Solving Business Problems with Information
Technology”, 2nd edition, G. V. Post and D. L. Anderson, IRWIN, 2000. (MIS book
hereafter).
"Object-Process Methodology - A Holistic Systems Paradigm", D. Dori, Springer Verlag,
2002. (OPM book hereafter).
"The Object-Oriented Approach, 2nd edition, J.W. Satzinger and T.U. Orvik, 2001 (UML
book hereafter).
Grades:
 Grades are based on homework assignments (30%), case study summaries (10%),
and a final exam (60%).
 Homework assignments and case study summaries are submitted in groups of four
students.
Teaching Method:
 The lectures take place at DMall, and are based on the textbooks. The students are
responsible for reviewing the chapters to be covered at each lecture, based on the
schedule provided below, BEFORE the lecture. During the lecture, the instructor will
highlight major topics from the covered material, assisted by computerized
presentations and short videos. Students are welcome to ask questions regarding the
material.
 Attending lectures is expected and recommended, yet not mandatory.
Homework Assignments
 Homework assignments should be submitted in class. Unless mentioned otherwise,
the assignments should be well justified. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden.
 Penalty for late submission is 20% of the weight of the assignment per day, unless the
professor gave an explicit extension. Late submissions will not be accepted more than
a week late.
 The students are encouraged to ask questions regarding the homework assignments,
during classes and office hours or by email. Questions that might be of general
interest will be discussed in class and posted on the course Web page.
 In any grade dispute, the student will provide the professor with a written explanation
as to why more points should be added. If there is a need for a further clarification, a
meeting with the professor will be set.
Case-Study Summaries
 Case study summaries are due before the case study discussions. Grades will be given
based on depth of analysis and not necessarily based on correctness.
TENTATIVE SYLLABUS:
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Week 1 (October 23, 2003):
o Introduction and overview of the course
o Chapter 12 (MIS): The life cycle of information systems: Analysis,
Design, and Implementation. Prototyping and end-user programming.
Week 2 (October 30, 2003):
o Chapter 3 (MIS): Solving problems: Data Flow diagrams.
Week 3 (November 6, 2003):
o Chapters 2-4 (OPM): Objects and processes; System's structure and
dynamics
Week 4 (November 13, 2003):
o Case study 1: DFD.
o Lab session: OPCAT
o Assignment 1 is due.
Week 5 (November 20, 2003):
o Chapters 5-7 (UML): Models and modeling with Unified Modeling
Language (UML)
Week 6 (November 27, 2003):
o Chapter 6-8 (OPM): Object-Process Methodology (OPM) Relations and
Links.
o Assignment 2 is due.
Week 7 (December 4, 2003):
o Case study 2: UML
o Lab session: OPCAT
o Assignment 3 is due by December 11, 2003.