BADM590-IT – Information Technology Consulting Project Management
Section 1 – Course Description and Syllabus
Spring 2009
Instructor:
Office:
Cell Phone:
E-mail:
Class Location:
Compass / Blackboard
Class Meetings
On-Line Office Hours:
Matthew Nelson, Ph.D., CPA
Room 5 Wohler’s Hall
(586) 995-6559
mlnelsn1@illinois.edu
Room 2043 1BIF
On-line Compass Course “BADM590 – MIS Consulting - Nelson, Spring '09”
6:00 ~ 8:50pm, Tuesday
Anytime you see me in ‘Who’s On-line” Blackboard’s Instant Messenger
Anytime you see me in Skype (Skype ID: Ossrules)
Monday:
1:30pm to 2:30pm
Wednesday:
1:30pm to 2:30pm
And by appointment
IT CONSULTING PROJECT MANAGEMENT COURSE OVERVIEW
The figure below provides some “connections” between the course objectives and various activities that will be
completed in the course.
BADM590-IT Spring 2009 Syllabus
©Copyright 2009 Matthew L. Nelson
Page 1 of 4
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The primary goal of BADM590-IT is to allow the student to become aware, comprehend, explore and manage
significant issues confronting management information systems consultants. The course strives to reach a balance
between ‘general’ management consulting principles and information technology (IT) specific topics. To achieve
these course goals, the course is structured around five core objectives pertaining to management consulting tools &
techniques, IT valuation methods & issues, the consulting engagement process, IT to Business alignment, and
information technology trends & impact assessment. To accomplish these objectives the course provides students an
opportunity to conduct real-life case-orientated analysis, prepare the most prevalent types of consulting
engagements, and research & review materials from the industry’s most successful thought-leaders in these areas. It
is the professor’s sincere hope that this innovative course design will maximize the students’ learning experience,
time and value of completing this class.
PREREQUISITES:
Maintain an open-mind and an insatiable appetite to learn!
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
BADM590 predominant learning objectives are in the following areas:
A. Increased awareness of recent and emerging technological trends and procedures for assessing their impact
on organizations / industries.
B. Understand the ongoing debate regarding the value of Information Technology from multiple perspectives,
and learn commonly accepted techniques from industry for evaluating IT investments at the system level.
C. Become familiar with a variety of management consulting tools, techniques and procedures and the
application of these tools in IT cases and traditional consulting engagement scenarios.
D. Gain an in-depth understanding of the management consulting engagement process, the industry, their
business models, strategic differentiators and challenges moving forward.
E. Research and increased awareness of the how organizations align their IT support units and effective
procedures for shifting IT alignment from one model to another.
BADM590 will also provide exposure and hands-on skills and experiences in the following areas:
 The relationship between information systems and the external & internal environment of the organization
 The nature of information and its’ flow within the organization
 The role of information systems in adding value to products and services and in providing strategic and
competitive advantages.
 The role of IT as an enabling mechanism for globalization and its’ impact on social change.
 Careers in management information systems and IT consulting.
 Application of important consulting traits such as (a) improving the ‘generalizability’ of issues and
methods to a variety of circumstances and industries, (b) becoming a prescriptive writer instead of a
descriptive writer, (c) improving the ability to evaluate situations from multiple levels (from a 30,000 foot
level to very low levels of granularity).
 Many others if the student maintains an open-mind and an insatiable appetite to learn!
BADM590-IT Spring 2009 Syllabus
©Copyright 2009 Matthew L. Nelson
Page 2 of 4
CLASS PROCEDURES:
The course is organized into twelve learning modules (Modules A through L). Each learning module includes one
to two lectures, lecture slides, and an on-line quiz. For each learning module, students will be expected to read the
chapter(s), attend lectures, participate in class room discussions, and complete the on-line quiz. In addition, every
other module will include an assignment (either a case study or a consulting engagement scenario) that is to be
completed and discussed in class. The course will make extensive use of the Blackboard Learning System (available
through the Compass Portal) with a designated folder for each learning module. Class time will consist of a
combination of lecture, discussions, question and answers and several in-class activities. E-copies of the course’s
syllabus, schedule, lecture slides and other course documents are available on the courses Blackboard. Any student
in need of a special accommodation should contact the staff in the Office of Disability Resources and Educational
Services at (217) 333-1970 (voice/TTY) or at (http://www.disability.uiuc.edu/). Any one cheating on an exam, quiz,
(or aiding another individual), or assignments will receive an “F” in the course and will be referred to Office for
Student Conflict Resolution (OSCR) (http://www.conflictresolution.uiuc.edu/). See the Code of Student Conduct
and other student conduct materials at (http://www.admin.uiuc.edu/policy/code/).
EVALUATION AND GRADING:
Grading Scale: 90%+ A Range, 80% ~ 89% B Range, 70% ~ 79% C Range, 60% ~ 69% D Range, Below 60% F.
Grading components are tentatively based on the following 540 points in total.
Engagement Scenarios (3 @ 50 points)
150
Case Studies (4 @ 35 points)
140
Assignment #8 (50 points)
50
Exam (2 @ 75 points)
150
On-line Quizzes (10 top scores @ 5 points)
50
Total
540
TEXT-BOOKS (Required)
1. The Advice Business: Essential Tools and Models for Management Consulting, by Charles J. Fombrun and
Mark D. Nevins. ISBN #0-13-030373-9 (2004).
ENGAGEMENT SCENARIOS:
Three Engagement Scenarios (worth 50 points each) have been developed specifically for this course with these
objectives in mind: (1) Provide students an opportunity to apply management consulting tools and techniques taught
in the course, (2) Increase awareness of recent emerging technological trends, (3) Gain hands-on experience and
familiarity with some of the most common types of consulting engagements in industry. An overview of these
assignments will be discussed during lectures prior to their due date. They can be completed on an individual basis
or you may partner with one additional student in the course. If you choose to partner with someone in the course,
be sure to split the workload evenly and to CLEARLY indicate both names and student IDs on the final submission.
The Engagement Scenario descriptions and requirements are available and should be submitted electronically
through the course’s Blackboard web-site. Students are encouraged to submit responses prior to the due date / time,
as the system does not accept late submissions. In case of a Blackboard system failure, students may submit
responses through e-mail to the instructor (as a back-up plan). Students are also highly encouraged to review the
grading rubric for Engagement Scenarios prior to submitting their completed assignment. All engagement scenarios
will be graded using the same Engagement Scenario Rubric. Students should come to class prepared to discuss and
participate in group discussion panels & debates regarding engagement scenarios on the due date of the
engagement scenario.
EXAMS
Two exams are schedule for this course worth 75 points each. The exams will be administered during the regularly
scheduled class meetings and must be completed on an individual basis only. Any one cheating on a test or aiding
another individual will receive an “F” in the course and will be referred to Office for Student Conflict Resolution
(OSCR) (http://www.conflictresolution.uiuc.edu/). It is anticipated that the structure of exams will reflect a balance
between multiple choice questions and more on applied short-answer questions. As the date of the exam approaches
closer, more specific information will be provided.
BADM590-IT Spring 2009 Syllabus
©Copyright 2009 Matthew L. Nelson
Page 3 of 4
QUIZZES
There is one on-line quiz per module in this course. Each quiz is to be completed on an individual basis only
through the course’s Blackboard web-site. The intent of quizzes is to enhance your learning of the textbook and
lecture material. Students can expect similar questions and question types on exams. The quizzes are set up to
provide you with instantaneous feedback about your individual performance and allow you to see if you have
learned the material. Each quiz consists of five questions composed primarily of multiple choice questions.
although quizzes may be taken at anytime during their “availability window”, once you begin a quiz it must be
completed within 8 hours. (Even if you properly save the quiz, close the browser window and return later…the quiz
still must be completed within 8 hours of its’ inception. Please note this is a Blackboard imposed constraint, not the
instructors!) Thus students are strongly encouraged to complete a quiz in ONE SITTING. Also note, only one
attempt is permitted with each quiz question (thus, you cannot go back to a quiz question after it has been answered
and the response saved). In addition, do not proceed or “skip” to the next quiz question without answering the
current quiz question (Blackboard does not permit you to go back and respond to unanswered questions, even
though it gives you an option to “skip” questions).
To minimize your consequences of unexpected events (network failures, computer crashes, ISP failures, unexpected
power outages, family emergencies) only the highest ten quiz scores will be counted (out of the 12 available
quizzes) regardless of the module. Each quiz is worth 5 points each (for a total of 10 *5 = 50 points). Again, it is
strongly recommended to complete quizzes in one sitting and concurrently with each learning module. Any one
cheating on a test or aiding another individual will receive an “F” in the course and will be referred to Office for
Student Conflict Resolution (OSCR) (http://www.conflictresolution.uiuc.edu/).
CASE STUDIES
Four standard Harvard Business Review (HBR) case studies that address various aspects of the IT industry are
covered in this course. The cases are available in a PDF file format through the course’s Blackboard web-site. Each
case will have 5 to 7 case study questions assigned that students will need to use the case write-up and / or the textbook to respond. Case Study questions are to be completed on an individual basis only. See the course schedule
for due dates of each case study. Students are encouraged to review the Case Study Grading Rubric prior to
responding to case study questions. All case studies will be graded using the same Case Study Grading Rubric. All
cases should be electronically submitted in a Word Document format through the course’s Blackboard web-site (by
uploading their Word document to the appropriate case study assignment in Blackboard). Students are encouraged
to submit case study responses prior to the due date / time, as the system does not accept late submissions. In case
of a Blackboard system failure, students may submit case study responses through e-mail to the instructor (as a
back-up plan).
“ASSIGNMENT #8”
Assignment 8 is a catch-all (if you will) of the final assignment in the course that is worth 50 points (regardless of
the option selected). Students have three options to complete Assignment 8: (1) Make a current events presentation
to the class, (2) Be a “consolidator” of the current events presentations by students from through-out the semester,
succinctly summarize the results, provide a hard-copy take-away report for the class and make a final presentation to
the class or (3) Complete one final IT Engagement Scenario. Options 1 and 2 have a predefined number of open
‘slots’ for students, so please notify the instructor as early in the semester as possible if you select Option 1 or 2.
Current Events Reporting
The Information Technology industry is changing at a rapid pace. To stay competitive and marketable, you must
maintain a great awareness of your environment. We are going to use approximately 15 to 20 minutes of most
lecture class periods to help establish a life-long learning habit so that you can maintain current in the rapidly
changing IT environment. Two students will present and discuss a recent academic research article or business
article or newspaper clipping of legitimate quality of source (tier A, B or C) to class. Each presentation should be no
longer than 7 minutes and the presenter must provide an electronic copy of the presentation and a paper-copy of the
article to the professor (the presentation file will be made available to the entire class and the current events
‘consolidator’ through Compass). There are two themed areas to focus the topic of the presentation (1) IT in Health
Care or (2) Effective Project Management Techniques. Please see the Current Events grading rubric prior to making
a current events presentation. Key points to consider: (1) Summarizing key points of the article for the class, (2)
Actively encourage discussion of the topic from the class (3) The quality of presentation
BADM590-IT Spring 2009 Syllabus
©Copyright 2009 Matthew L. Nelson
Page 4 of 4