Analytical methods for Information Systems Professionals

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• Analytical methods for Information Systems
  Professionals
• Week 1 Lecture 1
• INTRODUCTION

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Whats the point?
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• What questions were they in fact answering?
• What questions should they have been asking?
• How could they have found out some of the
  answers?
• How could they know if their answers were right?

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• THEY WERE TRYING TO SAVE LIVES.
• BY NOT ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS AND COLLECTING
  AND ANALYSING DATA, THEY CREATED A DEVICE THAT
  DIDNT SAVE LIVES.
• THEY CREATED A DEVICE THAT KILLED PEOPLE.

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Use analytical methods to

• Formulate a question precisely
• Have dependable techniques to gather and analyse
  data to answer questions
• Collect and analyse feedback

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• Needs analysis
• Evaluation of technology
• Design
• Feasibility
• Measurement of performance and alignment
  (auditing)
• Changing

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• SYSTEMS THEORY
• What does a system consist of?

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• Entities
• plus
• Relationships

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• A system is an entity that maintains it existence
  and functions as a whole through the interaction
  of its parts.
• The behaviour of a system depends on how the
  parts are related, rather than on the parts
  themselves.
• The properties of the system are the properties
  of the whole, not the parts.
• From The Art of Systems Thinking, OConnor and
  McDermott

• .

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• INFORMATION SYSTEMS
• An applied discipline that studies the processes
  of the creation ,operation and social contexts
  and consequences of systems that manipulate
  information.

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• The creation and operation of such systems
  requires the sub-processes of systems analysis,
  design, development and management which are
  bracketed at the beginning by social context and
  at completion by social consequences.
• www.infosys.usyd.edu.au

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• Information Systems (IS) professionals in today's
  organisations are leaders in change and
  development.
• Your success in this field will be aided by your
  being able to apply formal methods of information
  collection and analysis to interpreting evidence
  on IS issues.

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• This course introduces you to analytical methods
  for the theory and practice of Information
  Systems theory as a dynamic process, from
  questions to answers, within a broad systems
  thinking approach.
• It focuses on the use of analytical tools in the
  practice of IS using a business research model.

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• It prepares you for the major project in
  Information Systems, in conjunction with other
  courses within the Information Systems discipline
  at the University of Sydney http//www.infosys.usy
  d.edu.au .
• It will also prepare you for your practice as an
  IT professional, or for further study in IS

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• By the end of this course you should be able to
• understand the purpose, relevance and
  effectiveness of using analytical methods in IS,
  
• identify and articulate the research problem and
  its context,
• find, understand, analyse and evaluate literature
  related to the research question,
•  

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• write a research proposal,
• collect data using both qualitative and
  quantitative investigative methods,
• analyse and interpret that evidence,
• present and communicate your results verbally and
  in writing.

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• Guest lecturers
• Professor Jon Patrick
• Associate Professor Joseph Davies
• Edmund Balnaves
• Hugh Springford
• David Nathan
• Julie Olston from the University Library
• Gartner Group
• Helen Bonanno from The Learning Centre
• Janet Jones from The Learning Centre
• Dr Li Liu from Civil Engineering
•  

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• Tutors
• Kenneth Chung
• Michele Zappavinga

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• Lectures

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(No Transcript)
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• Tutorials

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(No Transcript)
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Assignments

• There is no project to be done in this course

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• Assignments
• Reference assignment. Individual
• 5
• Critical review of an article. Individual
• 5
• Design and conduct a survey. Group
• 5
• 4. Write a proposal, plan and literature review.
  Individual
• 15

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• Textbook

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• Announcements and the message board

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• Ground rules