Course Description (official)
Integration of computing technologies, systems analysis, system design practices, and management criteria in the design of large-scale information management and decision-support systems. Includes cases, computing lab.

Course Objectives
INFS622 is a core-course for the CS, Applied-IT and HAP Informatics programs. Students will be introduced to concepts related to software project lifecycle activities, which include project inception, planning, analysis and design, along with current methods and tools. The students will learn how to apply critical thinking skills to system analysis and design. These concepts and skills will be reinforced with in-class activities and a group term project. Each group will select a case study for the term project.

Prerequisites: INFS 501, 515 and 590 or equivalent, or by permission.

Textbooks:

Required: Systems Analysis and Design, 5th Edition by A. Dennis, B. H. Wixom, and R. M. Roth

ISBN-13: 978-1-118-05762-9

Optional: UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language, 3rd Edition

ISBN-10: 0321193687

Overview

This syllabus serves as our “contract” for the course and the semester. Students are expected to prepare BEFORE class on material scheduled for each session. This is vital to encourage participation, which is a vital element of Professor’s Discretion.

Important Dates

Class Dates: Jan 20, 2015 to May 13, 2015

Registration Dates: Nov 04, 2014 to Jan 27, 2015

Drop without Tuition Penalty Dates: Nov 04, 2014 to Jan 27, 2015

Drop with Tuition Penalty (and final drop deadline) Dates: Jan 28, 2015 to Feb 20, 2015

Course Rules

Email Communications:

Use GMU email only. In the Subject: field, prefix with INFS 622 001 – Spring 2015. In the To: field, include the email of who you want to reply to you first (professor or TA). In the Cc: field, include the email of who you want to reply in case the first person is not available. In general, email will be replied to within 24 hours. If you don’t get an email within 24 hours, resend the question.

Class work: Use Blackboard to submit all Classwork. Include the assignment name, followed by your name or group name in file name. Blackboard can be accessed from http://mymason.gmu.edu. The class schedule and lecture files will be posted to Blackboard.

Grading Guidelines:

Grade Component	Weight	Focus
Group Project	35%	Application of material in the textbook and lectures 20% presentation 20% team work (as determined by team member assessments and observations) 30% description completeness 30% technical soundness
Final Exam	35%	Material discussed in class and core tenets in the textbook
Assignments and Self-Assessments	20%	Material discussed in class and core tenets in the textbook
Participation	10%	The professor may engage the class in various means to encourage participation ü Attendance ü Participation in class ü Dialog w/ professor (in person or email) ü Feedback as requested (e.g. surveys) ü Class & project engagement

*NOTE:

Study groups for exams are allowed, but the exams themselves are INDIVIDUAL
Each category (e.g. Assignments and Self-Assessments) will be scored cumulatively.

Grading Policy:

All work must be submitted at the scheduled time and place unless prior arrangements are made. Missed reports cannot be made up without these prior arrangements. There will be a 10% penalty per day for late submissions unless otherwise specified.

Grading Scale:

Letter Grade	Numerical Range
A+	97-100
A	92-96
A-	90-91
B+	88-89
B	82-87
B-	80-81
C+	78-79
C	72-77
C-	70-71

Academic Integrity:

It is your responsibility to know and to follow Mason’s policy on academic integrity (http://oai.gmu.edu/honor-code/masons-honor-code/).

The professor utilizes the tools such as SafeAssign (provided as part of Blackboard) to check assignments against published resources AND other students’ work.

CS Department Honor Code Statement:

As with all GMU courses, INFS 622 is governed by the GMU Honor Code. In this course, all assignments, exams, and project submissions carry with them an implicit statement that it is the sole work of the author, unless joint work is explicitly authorized. Help may be obtained from the instructor or other students to understand the description of the problem and any technology, but the solution, particularly the design portion, must be the student's own work. If joint work is authorized, all contributing students must be listed on the submission. Any deviation from this is considered an Honor Code violation. (© Jeff Offutt). The Computer Science Department’s Honor Policy is in force as well, and can be found at the following URL: http://cs.gmu.edu/wiki/pmwiki.php/HonorCode/CSHonorCodePolicies

To stay safe:

· Provide citations for your work – group and individual – even if it is “adapted from”.

· Do not work in groups to complete individual work.

· Do not copy and paste material from the text except for short, pithy definitions that cannot necessarily be re-worded easily.

Disability Accommodations:

If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please email or call me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 703.993.2474.

Mason Diversity Statement:

See http://ctfe.gmu.edu/professional-development/mason-diversity-statement/

Privacy:

Students must use their MasonLive email account to receive important University information, including messages related to this class. See http://masonlive.gmu.edu for more information.

If you have special circumstances arise that may impede your performance in the class, please let me know. Your situation will be held in the strictest of confidence. It may require informing administration as needed so that they can also support you as well. Mason offers a great deal of help in many areas, but we cannot help unless we know.