Page 1 I494 Syllabus 2007 Designing and Developing an Information System - I494/I495 Fall 2007 Course Syllabus Course Description: Senior undergraduate students work on capstone projects in supervised teams. Teams select an appropriate project (preferably based on cognate specialty area), then learn to develop a plan that leads to success. Teamwork, communication, and organizational skills are emphasized in a real-world styled environment. Instructor: Dennis Groth Email: [email protected] Eigenmann 1038 Phone: 855-5886 Informatics 301 Phone: 856-3137 Home: 331-2296 (Emergency only) Cell: 812-325-8882 (Emergency only) Office Hours: Wed 10:00-12:00 and by appointment. Office hours held in Informatics 201A Lecturer: Matt Hottell Email: [email protected] Informatics 302 Phone: 856-1096 Cell: 812-325-8218 (Emergency only) Office Hours: By appointment only in Fall semester Associate Instructors: Ashley Engelhardt [email protected] Sean Connolly [email protected] Erik Johnson [email protected] Kayce Reed [email protected] The associate instructors will be located in Informatics 003. Meeting Times: MW 1:25 – 2:15 Psychology 101 (Lecture) W 11:15 – 12:30 Informatics Building 109 (Lab) W 4:00 – 5:15 Informatics Building 109 (Lab) R 11:15 – 12:30 Informatics Building 109 (Lab) Lab Sections: The labs are used for a variety of activities, including technology seminars and training, employer events, career planning and resume preparation, and as a time and a place to work. We keep track of your attendance at the labs so that you get credit for being there, which is one form of participation. Attend any, or as many as you canPage 2 I494 Syllabus 2007 Technology Training: Throughout the year we will be developing, and delivering topical seminars (during the scheduled labs and other scheduled times) on a variety of technologies/techniques. The need for these seminars has arisen from our past experience with the diverse range of skills and interests of students in the course. The emphasis of the seminars is on learning how to use a specific technology – ideally aimed at solving a problem related to your project. You are encouraged to suggest topics that you are interested in learning. You must develop a training plan, select, attend, and successfully complete at least 14 seminars (or equivalent approved outside training opportunities) during the year to receive full credit for this portion of your course grade. Due dates for technology seminar deliverables are one week after the seminar unless a written agreement from one of the course instructors is provided. Extra credit may be earned by attending more than 14 seminars. Status Reporting: You must submit a weekly written status report that identifies your activities relative to the course. The reports are per project team with detailed sections for each team member. You will be provided with a template, or software to facilitate the reporting. Like the technology seminars you must submit a report every week in order to receive full credit. Your grade for each status report will be one of: exceeds expectations, acceptable, or not satisfactory. In all cases (even exceeding expectations) you can expect specific suggestions on how to improve your status reporting. Personal Journal: Part of becoming a professional involves the setting of personal goals and objectives, planning your activities, and reporting on progress. To accomplish this, each student will record their activities relative to their capstone project in a journal. Entries in the journal are expected to be brief, but you should expect to be questioned about any lack of clarity. An entry should identify the date and time of your activity, as well as any pertinent information necessary to understand what you were doing. You may choose the method that suits your personal habits best for keeping track of your activities. For example, a paper calendar may be used for marking when you had a meeting, or times you worked in the lab. You must bring it to status meetings if a question arises about your specific activities. We will formally review your journal at the end of the first semester, and again at the end of the second semester. We may ask to see your journal at other random times.Page 3 I494 Syllabus 2007 Team Formation: Each year we want to get the projects started earlier than the previous year. This year is no exception. We blend project selection and team formation. Some teams start by selecting a project or type of project, other teams form first and then search for the appropriate problem to solve. We like the students to participate in this process (if they want) by working with us on forming teams. If you have an idea for a project or a team talk to us right away. Deliverables: The single most important thing that students should focus on is meeting due dates for deliverables – according to a predefined plan. We will provide guidelines for when the deadlines will occur. Your group will suggest the deadlines and we will review and approve them. Once a deadline is set you may only change a deadline if we approve the change. You will report your progress towards the deliverables on your master project plan. If you are at risk of missing a deadline you must explicitly report this in your status reports, along with an explanation of why the situation has occurred and what you are doing to remedy the problem. Access Cards: You will be provided an electronic access card for the Informatics building. The card will give you 24-hour access to the building and the capstone lab (Room 003) in the basement. Other rooms may also be used, based on specific group needs. When you get your card (unless you do not want one) you will be subject to the following expectations: 1) You will use the facilities for appropriate, course related activities 2) You will leave the facility as you found it 3) You will notify the facility manager and the instructors if a problem occurs 4) You will not allow an unauthorized individual use your card 5) You will return the card at the end of the course 6) Your use of the card is electronically monitored 7) You will notify us immediately if you lose your card 8) Lost and un-returned cards will result in a $25 fee to your bursar account The AIs will either be in this room or near it for office