MS Information Systems

This course is an introduction to the concepts of financial accounting and financial management. The content of this course includes preparation and analysis of financial statements. Also covered are the time value of money, risk and return, and corporate financing choices.

Introduction to concepts and applications of Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) as applied throughout library and information science. Topics include the structure of information systems, hardware and software concepts, basic principles of system analysis and design, and contemporary applications of computers in organizational environments.

Provides a hands-on introduction to software development. Includes programming concepts and a series of programming exercises done by students working in pairs or in small groups. Also covers general concepts and issues in software development to help students understand why creating high-quality software is very difficult.

A first course in database management systems. Covers database design, data manipulation, and database integrity. Emphasizes concepts and techniques related to the entity-relationship model and relational database systems. Discusses normalization up to third normal form and commercial query languages.

Presents the fundamentals of data communications, networking, and distributed computing technologies. Focuses on the broad foundational coverage of key technologies as well as the key concepts in network planning, design, and management. Major topics include network models, data and voice communications, local area and wide area technologies, IP networks and their applications, internetworking (with an emphasis on the Internet), client/server systems, and distributed computing applications.

Examines various types of information systems and the ways in which these systems support activities of individuals and organizations. Investigates application architectures that occur commonly in information systems. Provides an overview of knowledge domains that comprise the information systems discipline.

This course focuses on the design and evaluation of human-computer interfaces covering such topics as task analysis techniques for gathering design information, iterative design through prototyping, and formative and summative usability testing; theoretical foundations of HCI and cognitive modeling of user interactions; the integration of HCI techniques into the software development life cycle and the use of user constraints to generate new interaction designs.

Offers an advanced treatment of systems analysis and design with special emphasis on object-oriented analysis and design techniques based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML). Discusses major modeling techniques of UML including use-case modeling, class modeling, object-interaction modeling, dynamic modeling and state diagrams and activity diagrams, subsystems developments, logical design, and physical design.

Focuses on the evaluation of software and software system development. Covers a variety of methodologies, techniques, and tools for measuring both software and software development attributes in modern software development organizations. Includes both graphical approaches for representing these attributes and statistical approaches for modeling various software relationships.

Focuses on integration of information technologies from an organizational perspective. Coverage includes IT product and service selection and evaluation, impact of emerging technologies, standards, and vendor strategies. Emphasizes financial considerations including return on investment, time cost of money, depreciation, and system life.

Focuses on first-line management of software system development. Covers major themes including estimation (software cost factors, estimation models, and risk management), planning (work breakdown, scheduling, staffing, resource allocation, and creation of a project plan), and execution (team building, leadership, motivation, process tracking, control recovery, and communication within and outside the project).

Addresses information technology-enabled change and policy issues in the management of information systems (IS). Stresses systems development, staffing and organization, technology infrastructure, project selection, justification and funding, and data. Studies the issues and their resolution in the context of an IS plan. Emphasizes communication about the issues to senior management.

Examines recent developments in a selected informatics area as a case study. Focuses on research results and leading-edge application of information technology in practice. Helps students prepare for success in information science and technology fields. Addresses issues and methods for maintaining technical knowledge throughout a professional career.

Examines both traditional database systems and recent advances in database systems. Topics include formal treatment of normalization and denormalization, extended entity-relationship models, advanced query processing techniques, query optimization, physical database design and indexing, and object-oriented database systems.

Covers advanced topics in relational database systems and principles and techniques for data warehousing. Discusses the structure of database servers, advanced performance optimization techniques, advanced database programming (PL/SQL including stored procedures and triggers), parallel databases, transaction management, and database administration. Also covers design and implementation of data warehousing.

This course focuses on the evaluation of human-computer interfaces covering such topics as heuristic evaluation, inspection and design reviews, cognitive walkthroughs, ethnographic observation, user testing, interviews, and questionnaires; the usability engineering life cycle, comparison of usability evaluation methods, selection or design of appropriate methods, reporting usability evaluation findings, and the development of user interface standards and guidelines.

Focuses on interactive system design methods in common use covering such topics as interactive design, iterative design, usability analysis, prototyping and evaluation, mental models, conceptual models, interaction styles, the use of guidelines; normative, descriptive, and formative approaches to work analysis; modeling user's activities, defining and validating requirements, presenting interactive system designs, and the theoretical foundations underlying the design of interactive systems.

Introduces the concepts, principles, and techniques of knowledge base systems, with a focus on implementation of a working expert system. Presents the expert system development life cycle with a focus on analysis and conceptual modeling techniques.

Introduces background and basics of XML and XML Schema. Focuses on storing and extracting XML data in relational database systems. Covers the process of modeling real-world problems in XML. Investigates native XML database management systems. Discusses current issues in XML and XML storage research.

Examines human and technical issues and concepts of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW). Covers topics including the ways groups work in the networked organization, intelligent work flow, various types of CSCW technology, CSCW software design and implementation issues, and future directions of this technology.

Introduces simulation, particularly of business processes, using the principles of system dynamics.

Focuses on fundamental decisions in designing subject access systems and alternative approaches to indexing. Explores current issues in content representation: principles of subject analysis; natural language vs. vocabulary control; manual, computer-assisted, and automatic indexing; faceted indexing and classification systems; image indexing and retrieval; indexing and the World Wide Web. Includes evaluation of indexer consistency and indexing system performance.

Covers the theoretical underpinnings of information retrieval to provide a solid base for further work with retrieval systems. Emphasizes systems that involve user-computer interaction. Covers aspects of information retrieval including document selection, document description, query formulation, matching, and evaluation.

Applies cognitive processing and concept formation to the case of humans interacting with information storage and retrieval systems, including automated systems. Links theoretical models of cognitive processes to research studies that examine actual information-seeking behavior.

Studies the problems and techniques of automating human language use and understanding. Introduces different annotations of human language and examines how spoken language differs from written language. Includes syntactic inference, parsing, semantic interpretation, and natural language planning, and discusses how to combine analyses of spoken language with analyses of written language.

Provides students with an opportunity to explore and experience methodologies, tools, and techniques for eliciting, analyzing, specifying, and managing requirements in modern software development organizations. Focuses on the intersection of requirements engineering, strategic IS and business planning, and business process reengineering. Students will also learn about change management in requirements engineering context in response to a fast-paced, changing world. Upon completion of the course, each student should have new skills and insights that are immediately applicable to the performance of the requirements engineering project function.

Addresses issues involved in implementing an information system in the context of a real organization, including ensuring quality in the delivered system. Focuses on the detailed design, coding, test, and distribution aspects of software system implementation.

Introduces the concepts, principles, and techniques of artificial intelligence (AI), with emphasis on its application to information systems.

Introduces concepts and principles of information visualization from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Emphasizes the development of critical thinking and problem-solving abilities in the context of information visualization. Provides exposure to current information visualization tools.

This course introduces the concepts and principles of knowledge discovery in databases (KDD), with a focus on the techniques of data mining and its function in business, governmental, medical, or other information-intensive environments.

Focuses on behaviors and activities of individuals developing software with a disciplined software engineering approach. Provides hands-on experience in which students complete programming exercises using a defined software engineering process. Requires students to plan, estimate, measure, and analyze their work, and to define, analyze, and improve development processes and create process documentation.

Focuses on behaviors and activities of teams developing software with a disciplined software engineering approach. Provides hands-on experience in which students complete team activities using a defined software engineering process. Covers topics including planning and estimating for team projects, reviews and inspections, standards, software reuse, and configuration management.

The course presents an overview of all aspects of health care informatics, including medical, nursing, and bioinformatics. It provides an introduction to the applications of information systems in a variety of health care environments, including education, research, and clinical settings. It includes extensive reading and critical discussion of relevant professional research literature.

Provides a hands-on workshop in programming for Internet information systems using an appropriate programming language (Java is used currently). Covers fundamental concepts such as object-oriented programming, client-server programming, multi-threaded programming, graphical user interface design, and application development.

Introduces fundamental concepts, methods, and theories in information architecture for virtual, physical, and hybrid worlds. Focuses on organization, representation, and navigation of conceptual space. Topics include foundations, Web design, cognitive aspects, search, interaction design, knowledge organization, and user experience.

Focuses on the principles and practices of the forensic investigation and analysis of information in modern organizations and distributed information systems. Includes studies of information processes, events, time measurement, causal factors, information volatility, technical and procedural forensic methods, rules of evidence, and case law.