IST 420: Fundamentals of Systems and Enterprise Integration
Spring Semester 2004

(http://net1.ist.psu.edu/ist420/)

Click here to download a pdf version of the syllabus.


Contents

Course Description
Course Objectives
Classes Information
About the Instructor/TA
Course Materials
Course Policies
Grading Weights/Status
Selected Internet Resources
Term Project
XML Examples
Tentative Course Schedule


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Course Description:

This course introduces the student to the role of information systems and technologies in achieving a variety of system goals. Emphasis will be placed on the theories and skills required for planning, de-veloping, implementing, and managing the integration of information technology and different sys-tems. The course is required for all Information Sciences and Technology (IST) undergraduates who have chosen the Information Technology Integration Option in their Baccalaureate degree. It is the pre-requisite for IST 421 (Advanced Enterprise Integration: Technologies and Applications), which is also required for the option. IST 240, IST 301 and 302 are the prerequisite for this course. The course will cover the following topics:

    Fundamentals of Enterprise Integration:
  • Business Drivers and Requirements for Enterprise Integration
  • Enterprise Integration Strategy
  • Current Environment Assessment
  • Technical Integration Architecture
  • Service Integration Architecture
  • Information Integration Architecture
  • Process Integration Architecture
  • Application Integration Architecture

    Enterprise Integration Technologies/Applications:

  • Business Process Reengineering (BPR)
  • Extensive Mark Up Language (XML)
  • Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
A major component of the course will be a team-based project, focusing on systems development and/or integration. This course will incorporate collaborative and action-learning experiences wherever appropriate. Emphasis will be placed on developing and practicing writing and speaking skills through application of the concepts, theories and technologies that define the course.

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Course Objectives:

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able:

  • To foster an understanding of the role of IT in system integration;
  • To understand the basic concepts behind enterprise integration and how it is applied;
  • To recognize information technology integration issues in different systems; and
  • To acquire the fundamental organization, technology, and data modeling skills necessary for enterprise integration;

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Classes Information:

Class / Section

IST 420 Section 003

Class Time MWF 9:45-11:00 AM
Class Room 203 IST Building

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About the Instructor/TA:

Instructor

Dr. Chao-Hsien Chu

Office

301K Information Sciences and Technology Bldg.

Office Hours

MW 2:00-3:00 PM; or by appointment

Phone/Fax

(814) 865-4446 / 865-6426

e-mail

chu@ist.psu.edu

Web Site

net1.ist.psu.edu/chu/

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Course Materials:

  • Gold-Bernstein, B. and Ruh, W., Enterprise Integration: The Essential Guide to Integration Solutions, Addison Wesley, 2005. ISBN: 0-321-22390-X. (GBR). http://safari.oreilly.com/032122390X/ch05lev1sec2 (GBR)
  • Supplement reading materials (R).
    • R1. How to Develop an Information Strategy Plan, Construct IT. R1
    • R2. Today is the Day to Develop an e-Strategy Plan, KPMG. R2
    • R3. Develop Your Intranet Strategy, CIO. R3
    • R4. Weicher, M., Chu, W. W., Lin, W. C., Le, V., and Yu, D., Business Process Reengineering: Analysis and Recommendations. R4
    • R5. Continnus Software Corp., “Change Management for Software Development.” R5
    • R6. Spencer, R., Managing Change, Electric Perspective, January/February 2000, pp.12-23. R6
    • R7. Butler Group, “Application Integration: Management Guide.” May 1999. R7
    • R8. Lee, H. L. and Whang, S., E-Business and Supply Chain Integration, Stanford Global Supply Chain Management Forum. R8
    • R9. Breakaway Solutions, Inc., Planning for a Successful CRM Initiatives. R9
    • R10. Johnson, M., “XML for the absolute beginner.” EAI_Q. R10
    • R11. XML Tutorial - XML Basic. R11
    • R12. DTD Tutorial. R12
    • R13. XSL Tutorial. R13
    • R14. XML Schema Tutorial. R14
    • R15. ADO Tutorial. R15

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Course Policies:

  • Five or six hands-on exercises will be assigned and graded. One exercise relates to Request for Proposal (RFP)/Feasibility study, One exercise in enterprise modeling/reengineering, and three or four (depends on the progress and time permitted) are in XML and its applications. All exercises need to be professionally prepared and written. If it is an individual assignment, please make sure that you follow the university’s academic integrity policy. Peer evaluations will be conducted to prorate individual contributions to the group work.

  • One CLOSED book examination and a number of reading summaries will be given. The examination will be given in class - March 29, 2004.

  • A team-based project is required for the course. Details of the project will be announced in class later.

  • Question and class participation are encouraged and will be taken into consideration in the final grade.

  • Students with disabilities. It is Penn State’s policy to not discriminate against qualified students with documented disabilities in its educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for modifications in your testing or learning situation, your instructor should be notified during the first week of classes so that your needs can be accommodated. You will be asked to present documentation from the Office of Disability Services (located in 116 Boucke Building, 863-1807) that describes the nature of your disability and the recommended remedy. You may refer to the Nondiscrimination Policy in the Student Guide to University Policies and Rules.

  • Americans with Disabilities Act. IST welcomes persons with disabilities to all of its classes, programs, and events. If you need accommodations, or have questions about access to buildings where IST activities are held, please contact us in advance of your participation or visit. If you need assistance during a class, program, or event, please contact the member of our staff or faculty in charge.

  • PSU Statement on Academic Integrity. According to the Penn State Principles and University Code of Conduct: Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at Penn State University, allowing the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner. In according with the University's Code of Conduct, you must not engage in or tolerate academic dishonesty. This includes, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, fabrication of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person, or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Any violation of academic integrity will be investigated, and where warranted, punitive action will be taken. For every incident when a penalty of any kind is assessed, a report must be filed. This form is used for both undergraduate and graduate courses. This report must be signed by both the instructor and the student, and then submitted to the Senior Associate Dean.

  • Affirmative Action & Sexual Harassment. The Pennsylvania State University is committed to a policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not related to ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by Commonwealth or Federal authorities. Penn State does not discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, gender, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Direct all inquiries to the Affirmative Action Office, 211 Willard Building.

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Grading Weights:

Evaluation of knowledge and understanding of materials will be by examination, hands-on exercises, reading summaries, case studies, project, and class participation.

Examination (Individual)

20%

Hands-on Exercises (Individual)

30%

Case Studies Team)

20%

Class Participation

5%

Term Project (Team)

20%

Grade Status:

Please click on your section to review your grade. If you have any question about your grade, please contact your TA first. If the TAs can't resolve your problem, contact me. I encourage you to correct any possible problem as soon as possible. Don't wait until last minute.

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Selected Internet Resources:

Here is a selected list of web pages/sites related to IT and Systems Integration.

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Tentative Course Schedule:

This schedule is tentative and will be revised continuously, especially on the availability of class lecture notes. Please check back periodically. A password and an Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to read the class notes. If your computer doesn't have one installed, click here to download a free copy and install it. At current moment, only MS Internet Explorer can properly read and secured page.
Click Here to download the peer evaluation form.

Session

Topics

Reading

Notes

January      
12 (M) Class Objectives, Outline & Management:
- Objectives, relationships with other courses
- Philosophy, policy, administration
Syllabus Introduction, Skills, PowerPoint, Option 2
14 (W) Overview of Sys. Analysis & Design:
- System development life cycle
SJB 1
SJB 2
Chapter 1, Applications
16 (F) Overview of XML R10 XML Basics
XML Documents
19 (M) - Techniques: JAD, RAD, CASE, COTS
- Methodologies: structured, object-oriented
SJB 3, 13
SJB 7
Request for Proposal
21 (W) Information Strategic Planning:
- Business vision and mission
SJB 1 (pp.12-23)
R1; R2; R3
 
23 (F) Security & Enterprise Integration Guest - Robert Du?? Cisco Systems
26 (M) - Assessment of the environment
- Technology trends: opportunities and threats.
R1; R2; R3  
28 (W) Systems Analysis:
- Evaluation of current systems
- System project request
SJB4  
30 (F) Creating XML Documents
R11  
February      
2 (M) - Feasibility studies SJB4  
4 (W) - Information requirements analysis SJB4-6  
6 (F) Creating Document Type Definition (DTD) R12  
9 (M) Process Modeling - Flow Chart    
11 (W) Process Modeling - DFD SJB6  
13 (F) Process Modeling Practice - DFD MS Visio  
16 (M) - Process improvement/Reengineering R4  
18 (W) Systems Design:- Inputs/outputs SJB11-12  
20 (F) XML Stylesheet Language (XSL) R13  
23 (M) XML Stylesheet Language (XSL) R13  
25 (W) - Database SJB10  
27 (F) XML Schema (XSDL) R14  
March      
1 (M) XML Schema (XSDL) R14  
3 (W) - Network & Security SJB12  
5 (F) XML and Database Interfaces R15  
8-12 Spring Break    
15 (M) - User interfaces SJB 11-12  
17 (W) - User interfaces SJB 11-12  
19 (F) XML Applications – Wireless WML    
22(M) Systems Implementation:
- Process/People/Technology tie
- Change management
SJB 15
RMB 8
R5; R5
 
24 (W) - Transition plan SJB 15  
26 (F) XML Applications – Voice XML    
29 (M) Examination    
31 (W) - Outsourcing SJB 15  
April      
2(F) Overview of IT Integration:
- What, why, when, scope, barriers
RMB 1;
R7; R8; R9
 
5 (M) - Possible applications: EAI, CRM SJB 14  
7 (W) - Possible applications: ERP SJB 14  
9 (F) - Possible applications: SCM SJB 14  
12 (M) Types of Integration:
- Business model
- Presentation integration
RMB 2  
14 (W) - Data integration
- Functional integration
RMB 2  
16 (F) Building Blocks of Integration:
- Communication models
RMB 3  
19 (M) - Methods of integration
- Middleware
RMB 3  
21 (W) Integration Strategy and Architecture RMB 4-9  
23 (F) IST Future Forum TBA  
26 (M) Term Project Presentation
   
28 (W) Term Project Presentation    
30 (F) Term Project Presentation    
May      
3-7 No Final Examination Week
Term Project Due (May 3)

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