IT: Characterization, Education, Profession

1
IT Characterization, Education, Profession

• ISECON 2000,
• Philadelphia, Pa.
• November 11, 2000
• Susan M. Merritt, Dean
• School of CS and IS
• Pace University
• smerritt_at_pace.edu

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IT Characterization
3
IT

• IT refers to computer-based systems hardware,
  software, networks
• IT spans the design and production of chips
  (e.g., Intel)
• to the design and creation of complex
  computer-based systems (e.g., the IRS)
• to the end-use of such systems (e.g.,
  e-business)
• IT includes all aspects of managing and
  processing information

Source The Supply of Information
Technology Workers in the United States, Peter
Freeman And Bill Aspray. 1999, Computing Research
Association, Washington, D.C.
4
IS

• IS refers to computer-based systems that provide
  information for decision-making in organizations
• IS and IT are used in closely related ways
• The underlying technology of an IS is IT
• IT is not restricted to any one application area

Source Freeman and Aspray
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IT

• Design and development of computing
• Organization/managing of computing
• Human factors of computing
• Application of computing
• Source Peter J. Denning, George Mason
  University (from Computer Science and
  Engineering Education, Tony Greening, Ed. 1998)

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IT Fields

• CS and Engineering

IT- Intensive Fields

• Biotech and e-Business

Source Denning
7
The National Research Council Eight Areas of IT
(1993)

• The three most common are
• - Computer Science- Computer Engineering
• - Information Systems

• All three are related, but none cover all
  aspects of IT.
• The other five are CSE, SE, CISc, MIS, and
  ISc.

• Source U.S. Degree Programs in Computing in
  Computing Professional - Changing Needs for the
  1990s, National Academy Press, 1993.

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Computing and IT (1998)

• Computer Science
• Information Systems
• IScience
• Software Engineering
• Computer Engineering
• Database Engineering
• Network Engineering

Source Denning
Continued on next slide
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Computing and IT, continued

• Systems Engineering
• Software Architecture
• Human Computer Interface Design
• Computational Science
• Computational Statistics
• Numerical Modeling
• Library Sciences
• More

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Informatics and IT

• It would be more reasonable to use informatics
  as the name of a science which deals with the
  basic ideas, methods, and means of collecting,
  processing, storing, retrieving and disseminating
  any one type of information.
• Source J. G. Dorfman, 1966

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Informatics and IT
Informatics is the discipline of science which
investigates the structure and properties (not
specific content) of scientific information,
The purpose of informatics consists in developing
optimal methods and means of presentation
(recording), collection, analytical- synthetic
processing, storage, retrieval and dissemination
of scientific information. Informatics deals with
logical (semantic) information, but is not
involved in qualitative estimation of this
information.
Source A. I. Mikhailov, A. I. Chernyi, R. S.
Gilyarevskii, 1967, Informatics New Name of the
Theory of Scientific Information
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Informatics

• Art, Science, Human Dimensions of IT
• Borrow the word coined by
• Mikhailov/Dorfman (1966)
• Word is (almost) synonymous with
• computer science in Europe informatique,
  informatik, etc.
• Best known in the U.S. in the context of
  medical informatics, bioinformatics, etc.
• Build on that to mean information technology
  applied to human problems
• Source J. Michael Dunn, Indiana University

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Five Corners of Informatics
y human
Human Computer Interaction
Social/Organizational
New Media
x technical
Logical/Math Foundations
Distributed Information

• Source Dunn

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IT Education
15
IT-Related Academic Disciplines Offered in the
United States

1. Computer Science
2. Information Science
3. Information Systems
4. Management Information Systems
5. Software Architecture
6. Software Engineering
7. Network Engineering
8. Knowledge Engineering
9. Database Engineering
10. System Security and Privacy

continued on next slide
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IT-Related Academic Disciplines Offered in the
United States, continued
11. Performance Analysis (Capacity Planning) 12.
Scientific Computing 13. Computational
Science 14. Artificial Intelligence 15.
Graphics 16. HCI (Human Computer Interface) 17.
Web Service Design 18. Multimedia Design 19.
System Administration 20. Digital Library
Science
Source Peter J. Denning, Information
Technology Developing the Profession,
Discussion Document, December 4, 1998
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IT, Computing and Informatics

• These have a common intellectual core
• - Doctoral degrees in IT, Informatics, or
  Computing (GMU, UNC Charlotte, CMU,
  NJIT, Pace, RPI (in preparation)).
• They have different preferred practices and
  conventions

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IT Schools and Programs

• Snowbird Three dozen Deans of IT
• Organizing Concept IT is well beyond the scope
  of CS, IS, Engineering
• Its hard to imagine that any university will
  not fundamentally reorganize its structure to
  address IT within the next four decades. Some
  rising institutions have already made this bold
  move.
• Source Duke University, Planning Document,
  1999.

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Schools of IT

• 7 IT (or IT is part) Drexel, GMU, RPI
• 7 CS (or CS is part) CMU, Cornell, Northeastern
• 6 ISc (or ISc is part) Cornell, Penn State
• 5 as yet unnamed
• 2 Informatics UC Berkley, Indiana
• 2 Computing Georgia Tech, Utah
• 2 Engineering (or Engineering as part) GMU,
  UTexas
• 1 Telecom as part DePaul
• 1 IS as part Pace

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RPI

• B.S. in IT - IT Core programming (2),
  architecture (2), Web-based systems, IT
  Revolution, Politics/Economics of IT, HCI,
  Creativity/AI, Managing IT Resources,
  Capstone project, 3 technical electives, plus
  8 courses in a second discipline
• - Second discipline MIS, communications,
  finance, e-commerce, psychology, medicine,
  computer hardware, entrepreneurship,
  bioinformatics, economics, aeronautical
  engineering, electronic arts, networks, software
  usability, industrial engineering, multimedia
  data, ecoinformatics
• M.S. in IT
• Ph.D. in IT (under development)

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Interdisciplinary Nature of IT Research
Humanities and Social Sciences
Commerce and Services
Science

IT Research
Computer Science And Engineering
Engineering
Source IT, Informatics, and Computer Science
Experience With New and Existing Programs,
presented at the Computing Research Assoc. Conf.
at Snowbird 2000, July 10, 2000, By Boleslaw
Szymanski, Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst.
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Indiana University

• BS in Informatics- Core areas
• - Mathematical and Logical Foundations
• - Distributed Information and Knowledge
  Systems - Human Computer Interaction
• - Social and Organizational Informatics
• - New Media- Cognate areas - Chemistry,
  Cognitive Science, Communications, -
  Computer Science, Computer Technology, -
  Economics. English, Fine Arts, Geography, -
  Interior Design, IST, Journalism, Linguistics,
  - Mathematics, Political Science, Psychology,
  - Public and Environment Affairs,
  Telecommunications

Source Dunn
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IU

• MS in IT
• - Health Informatics
• - Bioinformatics
• - Chemical Informatics
• - Human Computer Interaction

Source Dunn
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IT at Other Institutions

• Georgia Tech
• CS core with networking, graphics, future
  environments, experimental software, intelligent
  systems, educational technology
• SUNY Albany
• MIS, CS, ISc and policy, geography, education,
  sociology, marketing
• NJITCS, IS, telecommunications,
  biomedicalinformatics

continued on next slide
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IT at other Institutions, continued

• DePaul Univ.
• CS, IS, telecommunications
• UNebraska
• Currently CS, MIS, telecommunications
• Planned ISc, IT, bioinformatics
• UNC Charlotte
• CS, MIS, Information Systems Technology
• Duke
• CS, mathematics, sciences, engineering,
  medicine, business
• Pace
• CS, IS, Telecommunications, TS

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IT Profession
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IT Workforce
Business/ Industry Knowledge

• IT-Enabled Workers

CIO
CFO
Marketing VP
Product Developer
IT Workers
Application Developer
Business Project Manager
Software Project Manager
CTO
System Administrator
Bank Teller
OS Developer
Call Consultant
 IT Knowledge
Source Freeman and Aspray
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Categorization of IT Jobs

• Conceptualizers those who conceive of and
  sketch out the basic nature of a computer system
  artifact
• Entrepreneur
• Product designer
• Research engineer
• Systems analyst
• Computer science researcher
• Requirements analyst
• System architect

Continued on next slide
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Categorization of IT Jobs, continued

• Developers those who work on specifying,
  designing, constructing, and testing an IT
  artifact
• System designer
• Programmer
• Software engineer
• Tester
• Computer engineer
• Microprocessor designer
• Chip designer

Continued on next slide
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Categorization of IT Jobs, continued

• Modifiers those who modify or add on to an IT
  artifact
• Maintenance programmer
• Programmer
• Software engineer
• Computer engineer
• Database administrator

Continued on next slide
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Categorization of IT Jobs, continued

• Supporters those who deliver, install, operate,
  maintain, or repair an IT artifact
• System consultant
• Customer support specialist
• Help desk specialist
• Hardware maintenance specialist
• Network installer
• Network administrator
•  
• Source Computing Research Assoc., Intersociety
  Study Group on Information Technology Workers,
  April 1999.

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Typical Knowledge, Skill Mix for IT Jobs (Scale 1
to 4)

• Scale 1 least important, 2 moderately
  important,
• 3 important, 4 critically important
• Source Computing Research Assoc., Intersociety
  Study
• Group on Information Technology Workers, April
  1999

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A Profession of Computing

• ACM IT Profession Initiative
• Most users of computers and communications do not
  understand the inner workings of hardware,
  software, and networks.
• People have concerns about the design and
  operation of reliable hardware, software, and
  network systems to help them do their work.
• These people seek professional help in taking
  care of their concerns. They expect computing
  professionals to be responsible, competent,
  ethical, and able to anticipate future breakdowns

Continued on next slide
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A Profession of Computing, continued

• The Profession of Computing is coming into
  existence to provide that help.
• The education of computing professionals must
  account for practices as well as descriptive
  knowledge.
• Individual computing professionals should embrace
  boundaries between their specialties and others
  in the profession.

Source Denning
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Disappearing Dichotomies

• Computer Science vs. X
• Research vs. Application
• Researcher vs. Practitioner
• Education vs. Training

Source Denning