ClassInfo

IS 596 Topics in Information Systems

Olayele Adelakun

Office: CDM 9003
Winter 2015-2016
Class number: 27133
Section number: 501
F 10:00AM - 1:15PM
CDM 00220 Loop Campus

Summary

This is a practicum course focusing on agile project management within the Chicago IT Cluster. The environment of the agile project development is within an IT cluster/incubator not a single company setting. The context is relevant in this case as companies in this environment share unique characteristics. For example, the companies in this cluster are all startups and are considered to be small companies. They are also limited in the resources open to them. In addition these companies are considered innovative because they are embarking on new technological ideas or making dramatic improvement to existing business processes. They are also developing a range of cross platform applications, which run on different hardware and operating systems. These applications have a light mobile front end and heavy support backend. These types of projects are ideal for agile software development and management. The scrum master/PM can significantly make a difference to the success of an IT project especially in an incubator setting where resources are scares. Modern IT projects tend to favor agile projects therefore there is a need to understand agile project management and the role and responsibilities of the scrum master on an agile project.

The agile projects are significantly different from traditional projects in that requirement and solution evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams (Moniruzzaman, and Hossain 2013). The agile method works well for projects where the requirements are more uncertain and subject to change (Augustine et al 2005). Most of the IT projects in an incubator environment are constantly changing due to innovation, requirement changes or unclear requirements to start with. In this course the students will act as the scrum master on about 2-3projects for four weeks. The project backlogs will be defined before the winter quarter begins in collaboration with the participating companies in 1871 and MATTER. Each student will then develop a weekly sprint base on the project backlog. The student will act as the scrum master for the 4-8 weeks of weekly sprint.

Through experiential learning, students will gain practical knowledge on what it takes to be a good scrum master.



Texts

1. Charles G. Cobb. ?The Project Manager?s Guide to Mastering Agile ? Principles and Practices For an ADAPTIVE Approach? Wiley Publishing 2015.
2. Pamela Yatsko, Peter Ziebelman. New Enterprise Associates in India: The Agile International Venture Capital Firm HBR article # E505-PDF-ENG. HBR 2014. Case was prepared by Stanford Graduate School of Business
3. Hau Lee, M. Eric Johnson. Agile Software--I Want My WebTV! Harvard Business School Review (HBR) article # GS20-PDF-ENG. HBR 2005. Case was prepared by Stanford Graduate School of Business
4. Indranil Bose, Ming-Hui Huang and Minyi Huang. JHARNA SOFTWARE ? The move to Agile Methods. Harvard Business School Review (HBR) article # HKU613. HBR 2006
5. Robert D. Austin. CMM versus Agile: Methodology Wars in Software Development. Harvard Business School Review (HBR) article # 607084-PDF-ENG. HBR 2007. Case was prepared by Harvard Business School
6. Aparna Raman, Sangeeta Shah Bharadwaj. Sapient Consulting: Enriching Experience Using Hybrid Agile Approach. Harvard Business School Review (HBR) article # W13430-PDF-ENG. HBR 2013. Case prepared by Ivey publishing.


Grading

Project Reporting 50%
Individual Assignments 40%
Group activities and discussions 10%
Total 100%

Grading Scale: 92 - 100 A 90 - 91 A- 88 - 89 B+ 82 - 87 B 80 - 81 B- 78 - 79 C+ 72 - 77 C 70 - 71 C- 68 - 69 D+ 62 - 67 D 60 - 61 D- 0 - 59 F


Prerequisites

: IS 372 or PM 430


School policies:

Changes to Syllabus

This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.

Online Course Evaluations

Evaluations are a way for students to provide valuable feedback regarding their instructor and the course. Detailed feedback will enable the instructor to continuously tailor teaching methods and course content to meet the learning goals of the course and the academic needs of the students. They are a requirement of the course and are key to continue to provide you with the highest quality of teaching. The evaluations are anonymous; the instructor and administration do not track who entered what responses. A program is used to check if the student completed the evaluations, but the evaluation is completely separate from the student’s identity. Since 100% participation is our goal, students are sent periodic reminders over three weeks. Students do not receive reminders once they complete the evaluation. Students complete the evaluation online in CampusConnect.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism

This course will be subject to the university's academic integrity policy. More information can be found at http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/ If you have any questions be sure to consult with your professor.

All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.

Academic Policies

All students are required to manage their class schedules each term in accordance with the deadlines for enrolling and withdrawing as indicated in the University Academic Calendar. Information on enrollment, withdrawal, grading and incompletes can be found at http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/PoliciesandProcedures.aspx.

Students with Disabilities

Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain confidential.
To ensure that you receive the most appropriate accommodation based on your needs, contact the instructor as early as possible in the quarter (preferably within the first week of class), and make sure that you have contacted the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at:
Lewis Center 1420, 25 East Jackson Blvd.
Phone number: (312)362-8002
Fax: (312)362-6544
TTY: (773)325.7296