Information Systems Management

Contents

Course Descriptions

• Business Information Management Specialization Courses
• Enterprise Information Security Specialization Courses
• Health Informatics Specialization Courses
• IT Strategy and Governance Specialization Courses
• Managing Global Software and Service Supply Chains Specialization Courses
• Project Management Specialization Courses
• Capstone Courses

Core Courses

NSEI 3380 Introduction to Client-Side Web ProgrammingThe course is an introduction to computer logic and programming for client-side web pages. Students learn fundamental concepts and practices, algorithmic thinking, and web programming through hands-on practice. This course also overviews many general technical aspects of the computing disciplines.

NSEI 3381 Object Oriented Programming for ISM (3 sem. cr.)Students learn the fundamental concepts and practices of programming in an object oriented language through substantial hands-on practice. Topics include fundamental models of hardware and software; representation of information and procedures; basic processes of software design and construction; object class design, selection and use; use of documentation, software libraries and system frameworks; use of software development tool chains.

NSEI 6701 Managing the IT-Enabled Enterprise (3 sem. cr.)This course serves the dual purpose of introducing students to studying online at Walden as well as introducing them to some of the fundamental issues and trends in Information Systems Management. Students explore information systems issues and cases in the extended enterprise, with emphasis on services in a supply chain context and on stakeholder perspectives. The course also helps students develop their professional information and communication skills.

NSEI 6712 Business Architecture and Process (3 sem. cr.)This course examines the structure and operations of organizations from an information processing point of view, and develops students' skills in analyzing, designing, and improving operations. Topics include fundamental business structures; business process design, management, and optimization; decision support and automation; enterprise resource planning and integration. Prerequisite: The IT-Enabled Enterprise.

NSEI 6110 Software Architecture The architecture of a software system describes its principal components and their relationships. This course overviews the architectural styles, domain-specific architectures, product-line architectures, and the role of architecture in the design and implementation of information systems. Issues related to building robust, scalable, and reliable software intensive systems in an effective way are discussed. The students learn to make optimal architectural choices and employ the most relevant methods, best practices, and technologies information systems, regardless of complexity and scale. (Prerequisites: NSEI 3381 or equivalent)

NSEI 6301 Information System and Service Analysis and Design (3 sem. cr.)This course focuses on the "front end" of information system and service design: understanding user and customer behaviors and requirements, and designing the functions and interfaces that support them. Topics include requirements analysis; contextual design and user modeling; iterative design; human-computer interaction. Prerequisites: Business Architecture and Process; Software Frameworks.

NSEI 6112 System and Service Architecture (3 sem. cr.)This course focuses on the "back end" of information system and service design: mapping the desired functions onto systems structures that have desirable properties. Topics include system architecture processes and idioms; mapping architectures onto implementations; design for reliability, security, modularity, scalability. Prerequisite: Information System and Service Analysis and Design.

NSEI 6721 Organizational and Social Dimensions of Information Systems (3 sem. cr.)In this course, students place their technical and process work in a human context, focusing on issues and impacts in a broader domain. Topics include organizational behavior and change; intellectual property issues; ethics, professionalism, and social impact; privacy and security. Prerequisite: Business Architecture and Process.

NSEI 6511 Information Systems Project Management (3 sem. cr.)Students develop the skills needed to plan, lead, and manage an information systems project. Topics include estimation, budgeting, and scheduling; risk management; team leadership; engineering process management; open source processes. Prerequisite: System and Service Architecture.

NSEI 6561 Service and Sourcing Management (3 sem. cr.)Students learn to manage projects and programs that span multiple organizations. Topics include process and best practices for qualification, acceptance, and assurance; service level agreements; relationship management; supply chain strategy. Prerequisite: Information Systems Project Management.

Business Information Management Specialization Courses

NSEI 6631 Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence (3 sem. cr.)Students learn key approaches to the integration of enterprise-wide information to support business strategy and decision-making. The course covers issues in data acquisition, storage, retrieval and analysis. Topics include data warehouses; data marts; dashboards, KPIs, and scorecards; online analytical processing; and data visualization.

NSEI 6661 Business Analytics and Data Mining (3 sem. cr.)Students learn and apply techniques for inference and discovery in large data sets. Topics included statistical inference; exploratory data analysis; data mining; text mining; machine learning for predictive modeling. Prerequisite: Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence.

Enterprise Information Security Specialization Courses

NSEI 6841 Information Security Challenges and Solutions (3 sem. cr.)This course surveys some of the fundamental issues and techniques in information systems security, preparing students to analyze and solve problems. Topics include issues of authentication and authorization; common vulnerabilities and attacks; prevention and detection; information security best practices; information security and privacy technologies.

NSEI 6781 Information Security Governance (3 sem. cr.)This course covers information security issues in an organizational context, recognizing the increasing stakes in keeping systems safe from tampering and disclosure. Topics include management structures and processes for enterprise information security; information security in the supply chain; legal, regulatory, audit and policy issues; risk management and the business case for information security. Prerequisite: Information Security Challenges and Solutions.

Health Informatics Specialization Courses

NSEI 6600 Foundations of Health Informatics (3 sem. cr.)This course covers the broad historical, technological, and theoretical framework for the study of health informatics and provides a perspective on the U.S. healthcare delivery system. Students examine the past, present, and future of this rapidly evolving discipline and explore critical issues and challenges within the field, as well as potential applications, benefits, and opportunities for improving the management of healthcare through information technology. Special topics to be considered include the development of virtual and interactive healthcare through technology; the interoperability, standardization, safety, and risks associated with the implementation of the electronic health record; and the emergence and adoption of new information technologies. Professional roles and responsibilities related to managing health information technology are described, as are organizations that promote health informatics.

NSEI 6630 Information Systems Management (3 sem. cr.)This course focuses on the technical aspects of information systems management, with an emphasis on the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) approach. The identification and selection of appropriate systems technology and data standards, the creation of system requirements, the evaluation of system security, and the accommodation of human factors in system design and use are considered. Attention will be given to information technology terminology, functions, and standards, as well as the basics of information architecture and systems infrastructure. Key issues for systems design and development and for system support and maintenance are addressed, with attention to related topics such as computer-based patient records, decision support system design and analysis, clinical decision support systems, and artificial intelligence applications.

NSEI 6645 Representation of Health Information (3 sem. cr.)In this course, students examine the need for consistency in health data standards and the importance of appropriate identification and selection of these standards. The structure of medical and health information through effective knowledge representation is presented, with an emphasis on the practice of knowledge management and the incorporation of evidence-based best practices. The diverse terminology, ontology, acronyms, coding, and classification systems used in health information technology, both by information systems users and by those who design and maintain those systems, are examined. Topics include data communication, the development and advancement of e-health technologies, and future federal initiatives to digitalize health data.

IT Strategy and Governance Specialization Courses

NSEI 6713 Business Strategy for Competitive Advantage (3 sem. cr.)This course focuses on the development and implementation of business strategies that enable competitive advantage, with an emphasis on understanding the current environment in which the organization competes and forecasting how that environment may change.

NSEI 6771 IT Governance (3 sem. cr.)This course deals with the effective alignment of information systems with corporate strategy, recognizing the key role that they play in organizational effectiveness. Topics include decision processes and accountability; the allocation and management of internal and external resources; risk management; value and performance metrics; and legal, regulatory, compliance and audit issues. Prerequisite: Business Strategy for Competitive Advantage.

Managing Global Software and Service Supply Chains Specialization Courses

NSEI 6521 Global Information Systems Development (3 sem. cr.)Students learn how to organize development projects in a the global service marketplace, based on key considerations and best practices in outsourced and offshore development. Topics include legal, economic, cultural and intellectual property issues; 24-hour development; strategic division of labor; case studies of specific geographies; quality and process standards.

NSEI 6562 Global Services Management (3 sem. cr.)Students learn the most important issues and practices for both clients and service providers. Topics include IT and business process outsourcing; managing a services business; global human resources; service supply chain management and governance; client relationship management.

Project Management Specialization Courses

NSEI 6720 Integrated Project Process Management (3 sem. cr.)This course focuses on the iterative nature of the project management processes, demonstrating how an integrated approach to project management increases the likelihood of project success. The course illustrates how the project management processes and process groups intersect. Students develop a comprehensive project plan that comprises the project management knowledge areas with specific emphasis on scope, time, cost, and quality management. The course also highlights the importance of project communications management as a tool for managing stakeholder expectations.

NSEI 6730 Budgeting and Management of Operations (3 sem. cr.)In this course, students explore the role of budgeting and management of operations in an organizational environment. Emphasis is placed on developing budget and operational plans based on an organization’s financial data, project plans, and goals. The interdisciplinary knowledge and skills associated with achieving project goal attainment, positive operating cash flow, risk mitigation strategy, and operational alignment are developed in this course. Students are also introduced to planning considerations associated with global operations.

NSEI 6740 Enterprise and Project Risk Management (3 sem. cr.)This course explains how to plan, analyze, respond to, and control qualitative and quantitative risk in projects. Students examine the internal risks associated with managing projects and the external risks associated with customer behavior, the supply chain, transportation and distribution channels, and acts of nature within the framework of the organization’s overall risk strategy. Students can learn about strategies for working with project stakeholders to identify and respond to risk within defined ethical and legal standards.

NSEI 6205 PMP^®/CAPM^® Exam Preparation (1 sem. cr.)The Project Management Professional (PMP)® and Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)^® exams are comprehensive, testing the full range of practices found in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). Through material review, drills, and detailed explanations, this course helps prepare students to sit confidently for both exams. It also provides students with the guidance needed to organize project management knowledge acquired through experience and coursework, fills gaps students may have in their repertoire of project management knowledge, and provides additional context for students to enhance their existing project management knowledge base.

Note: Eligibility for the PMP^® credential requires individuals to first attain specific educational and project management experience, including 35 contact hours of project management education and a minimum of 3 years, or 36 months, of project management experience, during which at least 4,500 hours were spent leading and directing project tasks. The final step in earning the PMP® credential is passing the PMP® exam.

Eligibility for the CAPM^® credential requires individuals to have a secondary diploma (high school or the global equivalent) and at least 1,500 hours experience or 23 hours of project management education. The final step in earning the CAPM^® credential is passing the CAPM^® exam.

PMP^® and CAPM^® are registered certification marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc. PMBOK is a registered trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Capstone Courses

NSEI 6980 ISM Capstone (3 sem. cr.)The capstone course provides students with the opportunity to integrate their specialization areas with other program concepts and skills in a group or solo analysis and design project. Students analyze the technical, business, policy, and social considerations inherent in their project. Prerequisites: Service and Sourcing Management; completion of a two-course specialization track.

Accreditation

Walden is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association, www.ncahlc.org. The North Central Association is one of the six regional accrediting associations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).