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
MIS 699 – Managing Emerging Technologies
Semester
Fall 2014
Day of Week/Time
Lecture: Wednesday 06:15PM - 08:45PM
Professor Michael Frank
Stevens Institute of Technology
Howe School of Technology Management
Office Hours:
Before –After class and by Appointment
Schedule appointments via email:
mafrank@verizon.net
Lab instructors:
N/A
Class Website:
http://moodle.stevens.edu
Catalog Description
This course provides an introduction to the study of emerging systems. It explains techniques and resources to
identity new technologies. Students will examine ways of assessing the potential of introducing emerging
technologies within existing systems architectures or how to gain knowledge, spread awareness and build IT
architectures from scratch.
Overview
The opportunities to introduce new and exciting technology into our businesses and lives have
never been greater. Using industry forecasts, current events and parallel historical introductions of
disruptive technology; we will explore the Who, What, Where, When and Why’s of Emerging
Technologies.
By the end of the course, students will better understand how to identify new technologies and
assess the applications and benefits to be derived from such technologies.
We will examine tools such as the Gartner Hyper Cycle, Forrester Wave and Gartner Magic
Quadrant analyses to understand the “typical” life cycles of how new technologies are discovered,
perfected and brought into common use.
Using case studies, lectures, individual student presentations and a final group project, this course
provides the student with the tools necessary to identify a potential business opportunity and to
provide a feasibility analysis of such an opportunity. Students will select one emerging technology
and provide an individual assessment of the potential of this technology on its own and features
MIS 699 Emerging Technologies
which can be enhanced by integrating that technology with other technologies.
We will cover dozens of emerging technologies including 3D Printing, the “Internet of Things,”
Sensory technologies, the Semantic Web, Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs), Big Data, and
Virtual Economies.
Students will learn techniques leading to break-through ideas. They also will become sensitive to the
importance and impact of industry technology standards and methods for making the business case
for trying new technologies.
Relationship of Course to Rest of Curriculum
MIS 699 is a core course in the MS in System curriculum. Prerequisite course: MIS501 or equivalent.
Learning Goals
The learning goals of this course are ordered according to Bloom’s Taxonomy:
1. Knowledge: They will learn about emerging technologies and the latest design trends in data
and knowledge, networks and applications in terms of what issues they address and in
particular, how organizations can exploit them for competitive advantage. .
2. Comprehension: Students will be able to separate the “hype” of new technology from the
underlying business opportunities and technical challenges for introducing such technologies
into organizations and into the marketplace.
3. Application: Students will present a full business case related to one particular project,
utilizing one or more emerging technologies.
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 lectures and cases in
their final project.
6. Evaluation: Students will be able to determine the advantages and disadvantages of different
technology, information systems and business structures for a specific application.
7. Students will improve their ability to communicate in group and presentation settings.
Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
www.stevens.edu
MIS 699 Emerging Technologies
Pedagogy
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Lectures
Case Studies
Guest speakers from industry (if available)
Student individual assessment of an emerging technology they select
Student must read publications to stay abreast of emerging technologies/events
Student contribution to discussions related to current events and other course materials
Final team project providing an in-depth analysis of an emerging technology
Readings from texts and selected relevant articles and publications
Recommended Text/Media
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Required: Geoffrey A. Moore, Crossing the Chasm. HarperCollins Publishers. (Paperback)
Required: Peter Schwartz, The Art of the Long View, Random House LLC. (Kindle or Paperback)
Recommended: The Back of the Napkin (Expanded Edition): Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with
Pictures by Dan Roam (Kindle or Paperback)
Recommended: Why Not?: How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big And Small
Paperback – December 1, 2006 by Barry Nalebuff (Author), Ian Ayres (only 18 copies
available on Prime)
Readings are merely representative and may be replaced, updated or supplemented by
newer material.
Example Gartner and Forrester analytic material as well other representative surveys and
studies.
Professor’s slides (will be updated throughout the semester)
TED Talks – specific, short (10-15 minute) videos will be assigned in advance of classes
Current event articles presented by the professor or introduced by the students
Software
–
–
Microsoft Office: Excel, PowerPoint, Word
Firefox or Chrome Web Browser
Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
www.stevens.edu
MIS 699 Emerging Technologies
Assignments
Assignments
Individual Emerg.Tech. Review
Midterm
Final Project – Group Project using one or more expansive emerging technology
Due
Throughout First Part of
Course
Week 8
Week 15,16
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 Project
Reliability and Participation
Total Grade
Final Grade Weight
20
10
40
30
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
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
Course Schedule
Lecture/
Lab
Description
Title
Assignment
Reading
Due
What will you learn?
Week 1
08/27/14
Lecture
Introduction

Introduction

Overview history of change and disruptive
technologies

"The Victorian Internet"
How do I spot emerging Trends?
When is the right time to invest in new technology?
"Objects you View
Week 2
09/03/13
Lecture
Through Your
Windshield May
Appear Further than
they Actual Are" or
Are we there yet?
What is your appetite for taking risk?
Which firms/products should I examine?

Gartner Hype Cycle

Forrester Wave

Frost & Sullivan Emerging Technology Survey

Gartner Magic Quadrant

Moore's Crossing the Chasm adoption mode

 Moore's
Crossing the
Chasm
How do I Spot the Emerging Technologies.
When is the right to utilize this technology
Who & Which organizations are willing to try new
Week 3
09/10/13
Lecture
“Try it … You’ll Like It”
 Moore's
technologies?
Crossing the
Breakthrough thinking - applied science versus the
Chasm
”aha” moment?
adoption
Can you formalize the innovation process and
mode
effective use of new technologies/ways of doing
business?
How much money? How much risk?

"The
Innovator's
Dilemma"
MIS 699 Emerging Technologies
Lecture/
Lab
Description
Title
Assignment
Reading
Due
Standards wars - who sets the standards?
How are standards set? – What is the process?
“DeJure” (Formal) vs DeFacto Standards?
Historical/Current Standards Wars (AC/DC, Bar

“You say “Potato,” I
Week 4
say “Potaaato” – let’s
09/17/14
call the whole thing
Lecture
off”


Excerpt from
Code, Monolithic (control all) systems vs
AC/DC: The
Heterogeneous (linked) systems
Savage Tale of
Examination of standards behind some key
the First
emerging technologies
Standards War
Standards in Financial Systems (authentication),

Transportation Systems (EZ-Pass) and Unicef
(using standards in a non-standard way)
Protocols

NO CLASS – I WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE ON
09/24
WEDNESDAY – 9/24

What is the organization of the future going to look
like?
How will that effect how new technologies are
Week 5
10/01/14
Lecture
Reschedule
brought into the organization?
“It’s a Generational
thing”
The psyche of the generations (ex. Millenials vs
others)
Handling change
for Tuesday

The mobile mentality

Different communication/collaboration models

Privacy attitudes

Pew Research
Pew Internet and
American Life
Project
The introduction of automated technology?
Reliability and “Trust” in automation technology?
Week 6
10/08/14
Lecture
The age of Semantic Technologies and Thinking
“Dave, I’m afraid I
machines
can’t do that”

Autonomous transportation (Airtrain, Google
cars,

Robots/Drones

IBM Watson
Planning for the unexpected?
Week 7
If it doesn’t work, is

Scenario Planning
10/15/13
there a Plan B? or

Big bang versus incremental strategy
Lecture
Plan C?

Social Networks and Network Data

Micro-blogging and its application
Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
 Art of the
Long View
www.stevens.edu
MIS 699 Emerging Technologies
Lecture/
Lab
Description
Title
Assignment
Reading
Due
How do Information Systems support Business
Week 8
10/22/14
Lecture
Week 09
10/29/14
Lecture
“The whole is greater
than the sum of its
parts”
Processes?
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CRM, SCM, and PLM Processes

Workflow Systems
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Big Data
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Structured Data / Unstructured Data
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Case examples – Amazon, Otis Elevator, Zipcar
Midterm

Sensory systems – measuring the world around us
“Everything makes

Sight, sound, motion, heat, touch, taste, smell
SENSE”

Our multi-instrumented devices – our phones

Wearable Technology
 Selections from
Eric Siegal’s
How have Information Systems been used in
“Opinions DO count!”
political campaigns?
Week 10
Or

Data Mining
11/05/14
“I Know What You Did

E-mail marketing
Lecture
Last Summer”

Micro-targeting

Social networking/media

Business Analytics
Predictive
Analytics: The
Power to
Predict Who
Will Click, Buy,
Lie, or Die
 Selections from
Nate Silver’s
ww.fivethirtyeig
ht.com blog
The mobile worker/consumer? Wireless technologies
impact on systems.
Week 12
11/12/2014
Lecture
“Look Ma, no hands”

Mobile systems and infrastructure

The BYOD challenge

Software development models
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Requirements Engineering

Software re-use
Castle Point on Hudson, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030
www.stevens.edu
MIS 699 Emerging Technologies
Lecture/
Lab
Description
Title
Assignment
Due
Reading
How does the Age of Machines and machine to
machine communications change the world
Week 13
11/19/14
Lecture
“I’ll have my phone

The Internet of Things
give your PC a call

Scada Systems
and make all the

RFID and NFC
arrangements”

GPS / Micro GPS

Automobile technology

Authentication Technologies
How will a virtual world change our understanding
“Now you see it –
Week 14
now you don’t!”
12/03/14
and visa-versa
Lecture
Week 15
12/10/14
Exam
Week 16
12/17/14
of value – opportunities out of Thin Air”

Artificial Currencies (Bitcoin)
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Avatars
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The Compressed design, prototyping and
production cycle
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3D Printing
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Virtualization of Servers and Desktops
Final Project
Your team will make its case for their emerging
Presentations
technology.
Final Project
This week will probably be needed because of class
Presentations
size.
Final Project
Presentation
(In Class)
Final Project
Presentation
(In Class)
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