MIS 462 Master Syllabus

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MIS 462: Honors Seminar in Experiential Learning: Solving Business Challenges with Technology Solutions Master Syllabus

Course Instructor:
Office Number:
Office Hours:
Email:
Course Meeting Times:
Required Course Materials: 

  • Required Textbooks: None
  • Required Software/Hardware: 
    • All ISOM Students are required to bring their own laptops to every class
      • Please ensure your laptop has sufficient power before you come to class
    • Access to Canvas
    • Word Processing & Presentation Software (MS Office / Google Docs)

Course Website: 

Course Description and Objectives

Welcome to the Professional Readiness Experiential Program (PREP)! This course will provide students the platform and environment to work on a real technology project, interacting with real clients, and providing new innovative solutions and processes in order to solve real industry problems. Students will work in groups and go through planning and recommending technology solutions for solving a business problem (in an Agile environment) in order to complete their course project. Each group will have a student team lead, and all students will be coached by the Professor – a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Students registering for this course should understand they may need to devote 20 hours or more depending on client requirements. After completion of this course, students can expect to have completed a real-world project, which they can present on their resume.

Course Grading, Examinations, and Grades Composition

Students must be officially registered in this course to receive a grade. It is the sole responsibility of the student to verify their own registration status. Specifically, you will not receive a grade if your name does not appear on the official class list. Registration related questions should be directed to either the Office of Student Services at School of Business or the Registrar’s Office. Grading for the course will be based on total points earned by the end of the course. Final course letter grade assignments will be as follows:

Grading Scale
A+ >=97 B+ 87-92 C+ 77-79 F <73
A 93-96 B 80-86 C 73-76

Grade Breakdown

Percent

Project Execution Plan

15%

Client Presentation

20%

Client Turnover Documentation

15%

Client Satisfaction

15%

Peer Evaluation

15%

Project Executive Writeup

20%

Total

100%

Project Execution Plan (15%)

After gathering the client’s initial requirements, and doing analysis as a group, the Group needs to come up with an initial execution plan that includes the requirements, activities to complete those requirements, and assigned individuals to each activity. This plan will update week by week. The deliverable should be in PowerPoint Format with a 1-slide Gantt, along with the identified activities and assignments described in the following slides.

Client Presentation (20%)

Presentation to the client with Instructor present to give them an overview of your project activities, proposed solutions, solution demonstration, and turnover documentation. A draft presentation will occur before this as well. A template is provided to guide you through what is needed.

Client Turnover Documentation (15%)

Teams are required provide comprehensive documentation to the client when the project is completed so that the project’s outcomes can be sustained after project completion; or for next semester’s team to takeover. This includes but is not limited to: Executive Summary, Problem Statement, Project Goals, Proposed Solutions, & Path Forward.

Client Satisfaction (15%)

Instructor will talk with the client to determine your group’s contribution, communication, requirement completion, and quality, among other things. The customer is always right, right?

Peer Evaluation (15%)

You will evaluate the impact of your teammates’ performance. This will be translated into their peer evaluation grade. This is not a participation grade, this is an impactful contribution grade. Note: If a student does not participate at all, drops communication, and or does not contribute to the project sufficiently – the instructor reserves the right to reduce that student’s score in any other graded deliverable.

Project Executive Writeup (20%)

A detailed executive overview of the project needs to be written up so that we can share our past performances with others. This includes identifying and describing the business challenge presented, the tasks performed in terms of analysis and recommendations, the solution provided, and the impact yielded to the sponsor.

Schedule

NOTE: The instructor reserves the right to adjust the schedule.

Bolded = Face-to-Face Session
Not-bolded = Fully Online Session

Week/Date

Course Content

Week 1
1/21

Course and Project Expectations

Week 2
1/28

Team Kick Off

Project and Client Introductions

Week 3
2/4

First Requirements Gathering, Analysis, and Determination Activities

Week 4
2/11

Week 5
2/18

Week 6
2/25

Week 7
3/4

Week 8
3/18

Week 9
3/25

Week 10
4/1

Week 11
4/8

Week 12
4/15

SPRINTS

1 - Meet with Client

Update on Progress and Requirements Management

2 - Work on Project

3 - Meet with Instructor

Update on Project Progress | Update on Client | What went well? | What could have been better? | What's next week's plan?

Week 13
4/22

Draft Review: Client Presentation

Week 14
4/29

Client Presentation
Turnover Documentation and Client Satisfaction

Week 15
5/6

Close Down
Project Execution Plan, Project Executive Writeup, and Peer Evaluation

Instructor Policies

  • Communications with the Instructor: I prefer email to [@gmu.edu], and will respond within 2 business days. If you do not hear a response from me within that timeframe, please resend your email. All emails should have in the subject line: Course Number, Section, and title of the question. Please use your George Mason University email to communicate with me.

  • Office Hours: My office hours are by appointment, so please send me an email, with a suggested time and I’ll confirm if I’m free.

  • Attendance: This is your responsibility. If you miss lectures, then you will miss valuable content. If you miss a quiz or exam, you cannot make it up, and will take a zero for the task. If you have an emergency and cannot make the class, please email me beforehand, and be prepared to have proof of your emergency.

  • Late Assignments: I do not accept late assignments, because all assignments are turned in electronically and their due dates are listed here in the syllabus. Excused late assignments require proof and notification ahead of time.

  • Corrupt/Wrong Assignment Submissions: It is your job as the student to ensure that you submit the correct assignment / readable assignment for me to grade. If I cannot read the assignment for any reason or you submit the wrong assignment, you will get an automatic zero.

  • Cheating & Plagiarism: This will not be tolerated and will result in you receiving a zero for the assignment / exam. Furthermore, the ISOM Chair and Costello College of Business Dean may be involved when cheating & plagiarism is suspected or caught.

  • Electronics: You are welcome to bring in your electronics to use, but if it becomes a distraction to me, or the people around you, you will be asked to turn them off.

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