Learning objectives
A first educational objective of the course is to provide the student, through the lectures of the course, with the knowledge necessary to describe Information Systems and the ability to understand how they fit into the organizational structures of the company to support the business. The student will learn a series of concepts essential for the understanding of information systems related in particular to:- the nature and main characteristics of business processes;- the main aspects and methods related to project management;- management and improvement of business processes through IT, with particular reference to a number of types of information systems- the role of the Internet in business processes.- the structure and technology of computer systems oriented to organizations;- the basic principles of information system security.A second objective is to provide the student, also through some practical exercises, with a first set of methodologies, conceptual tools and technical tools to be able to autonomously frame the salient aspects of planning, analysis and design of Information Systems, evaluating and identifying the strategies of acquisition which are more appropriate to the context under consideration.The course is designed to ensure that the student acquires the skills to apply the knowledge and understanding listed above in order to be able to:- analyze business processes and their needs and identify the IT and network solutions for Business Support Information Systems;- analyze project graphs to determine timing and critical activities;- analyze and describe the architecture of the company's computing infrastructure;- evaluate the main security features (logical and physical) of the IT systems appropriate for the characteristics and business purposes of companies.Making judgments: Students must be able to understand and critically evaluate the main types of information systems and to correlate them to the needs and functions of the company.Communication skills: Through lectures and the interaction with the teacher, the student will be able to acquire the specific vocabulary of the problems, methods and solutions related to the Information Systems, to be verified also through the oral evaluation.Learning skills: The student who has attended the course will be able to deepen their knowledge in Information Systems through the independent consultation of books, scientific papers or technical magazines, even beyond the topics covered in class, to be able to enter effectively into a labour market which is increasingly digital or to undertake further training.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
Information systems
- An introduction to Information Systems and to the course (4 hrs)
- Business Process Engineering (10 hrs)
- Information Systems for Operational Support (7 hrs)
- Strategic and Decision Support Information Systems (6 hrs)
- Internet, e-business models and net-enabled services (4 hrs)
- Planning, Analysis, Design, Implementation and Management of Information Systems (33 hrs)
- An Introduction to Computer Security (8 hrs)
Full programme
Introduction to information systems and the course (4 hrs) : Introduction to the course – Introduction to Information Systems – Operational IS – Institutional IS – Strategic IS – An outline of enterprise goals and organization - The role of ICT – National infrastructures and agendaBusiness process engineering (10 hrs): Introduction to business processes – BP definition and main features – BP classification and examples – BP decomposition – Functions vs Processes view – Organizational variables – Introduction to analysis for change – Demming cycle (PDCA) – Standards, regulations and good practices – WBS and OBS – LRC and RACI – BP reengineering – main phases and examples
Information Systems for Operational Support (7 hrs):
The information resource – DIKW pyramid and an outline on knowledge management – Types and users of ISs – ERP systems – Key features – Sector specific and general modules – Three tier architecture – An introduction to SAP ERP and other tools – Open-source ERPs – CRM systems – CRM virtuous circle - Types of CRM systems – An outline of SCM systems
Strategic and Decision Support Information Systems (6 hrs) :
Introduction to Business intelligence – Business and strategic ISs – OLAP, Data Warehouse – Star and snowflake data schemas – An example of OLAP for a mass retail company – Multidimensional data analysis – Enterprise dashboards – Introduction to Big Data Analytics – An outline of the Hadoop and MapReduce frameworks
Internet, e-business models and net services (4 hours)
Introduction to the topic of companies and Internet – Main actors and relationship - B2C,B2B,G2C,G2B,C2C relationships- A few e-business models: Virtual Communities, Hubs, E-malls - More e-business models- E-commerce portals- Google and its business model - Advertisement auctions - CPC, CI e CPA - Inverted Indexes - Pagerank - Examples - Social network and social media – Key features - SN examples - Web 2.0 – Company plans and tools for SN – The SMAC paradigm (Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud)Planning, Analysis, Design, Implementation and Management of Information Systems (33 hours) :(Planning - 6 hours) Planning of ISs - The Systems Analyst's role: Professional IT Profiles and European E-Competence Framework - Project Identification and initiation - Technical, Economic and Organizational Feasibility Analysis - ROI and TCO conceptsProject selection, creation and management (Project Management) - Project resources and tasks - PERT and GANTT diagrams – Lab exercises on project description, planning and analysis with Ms Project(Analysis - 9 hours) Requirements determination - What is a Requirement - Requirement elicitation - Requirement Analysis Strategies - Use Case Analysis - Business Process Modeling: Introduction to Business Analysis - BPR and BPI - Overview of DFDs - BPMN: key elements and examples - BPMN and BPEL - Introduction to UML and its main diagrams - UML diagrams for business modeling: activity diagrams and class diagrams - UML diagrams for business modeling: sequence charts and collaboration diagrams - Assembly lines – Recalls of Data ModelingLaboratory Exercises: Modeling with BPMN – Examples and exercises(Design - 6 hours) The transition from requirements to design - SI acquisition strategies - Make or Buy - Procurement procedures for IT systems: Contracts and calls for bids - CNIPA / AGID guidelines – Terms of contracts – Examples of ICT term of contracts - Evaluation functions for bids - Software and CopyrightArchitectural design - Architectural design elements – Services and IT services - SLA, OLA and UC - Requirements (operational, performance and safety) for architectural design (Implementation – 10 hours) HW & SW technologies for SI: from physical infrastructure to cloud (Applications and DBMS - Networks In IT systems - Transmission media - Computer evolution - Outsourcing - Client-server systems - 2-tier, 3-tier and multi-tier systems - Most common server types - Application compatibility matrix - ITIL and Configuration items - Storage systems : RAID Systems - Advanced Storage Systems: NAS and SAN – Types of Enterprise Application Integration - Enterprise-Oriented EAI with Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) - Web Services Technologies - Enterprise Service Bus - Jboss ESB - Introduction to Cluster Computing - Clusters and Commodity clusters – Main features - High Availability Solutions - Virtualization and VDI - Grid computing - Computing Utility - Cloud Computing : Service Types, Deployment models, Features - Pricing and SLAs - Data Centers - Evolution of IT Systems within companies) - Recalls of SW development methodologies SW - Transition to the new IS - Migration plan - Post-implementation activities: system support and maintenance - Evaluation of project outcomes(Government and ICT Management – 2 hours)IT Governance and Management - COBIT - Management policies: policies, procedures and standardsINTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SECURITY (8 hours)Introducing Computer Security - Direct and indirect risks – Problems from failures and natural events – Business Impact Analysis - Disaster Recovery - Data backup - Human threats to security – Types of attacks - Attacks classification - Viruses and lethal attacks to Infrastructure Services - Introduction to Data Protection - Classical Encryption: Caesar Algorithm -Symmetric key cryptography - Public key cryptography - Hash functions and digital signatures - Digital identity, digital certificates and PKIs - Computer contract - Electronic identity card - Data protection and communication channels - SSL, SSH and IPSec - Firewall: objectives and typologies - Auditing and accounting - Security management: approaches, plans and ISO 27000 standards
Bibliography
G. Bracchi, C. Francalanci, G. Motta: Sistemi informativi d’impresa, McGraw-Hill, 2010.
G. Destri: Introduzione ai sistemi informativi aziendali, MUP, 2007
Systems Analysis and Design, 6th edition, Alan Dennis, Barbara Haley Wixom, Roberta M. Roth, December 2014, ©2015 Wiley
Teaching methods
During the lectures, topics related to the business information systems will be presented as indicated in the course program.During the course a number of application cases will also be presented. They will be analyzed and tackled for design in a highly interactive way with students. The course will also include a number of lab exercises regards selected topics of the theoretical part.
Assessment methods and criteria
The summative evaluation of learning happens in two moments:
1) a written test (conducted either in the only midterm examination or in the normal exam sessions) regarding an exercise of planning, analysis and design of a specific information system. The written exam aims at assessing acquired knowledge and skills in the area of Information Systems planning, analysis and design. The duration of the written test is 3 hours and student are not allowed to use notes or books. The written exam is rated in a 0-30 scale. The date of the midterm examination will be communicated to students at least one month ahead.
2) an oral examination consisting of two questions related to the theoretical topics of the course which are not part of the written exam. It mainly aims at assessing general and descriptive acquired knowledge on Information Systems. The oral test is evaluated on a scale of 0-30.The final grading (0-30 scale) is derived as the arithmetic mean of the grades of the written and oral tests.The grading of the written test is communicated within two weeks following the test, and it will be published on the Elly web platform.The grading of the oral test is communicated immediately at the end of the test. Note that online registration for the examinations is mandatory both in the case of the written test and in the case of the oral examination.N.B During the lectures, the teacher will present and administer partial training tests, useful to monitor the achievement of learning objectives and provide ongoing feedback to students, ahead of the midterm and the regular examinations.
Other information
The teaching material is made available on
elly.dia.unipr.it
2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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