Information Management for CS

Course Objective
Through this course, students will study the topic of information management in breadth and in depth. After taking this course, the student will be able to:
1. Explain the strategic relevance of information systems for modern organizations; (Knowledge and understanding) (Applying knowledge and understanding)
2. Analyze the level of competition within an industry and determine is implications for an information systems strategy; (Applying knowledge and understanding)
3. Understand the impact of the advent of the internet on the management of information within and between organizations; (Knowledge and understanding)
4. Identify the various phases in the development of an information system; (Applying knowledge and understanding)
5. Model simple and moderately complex business processes with a formal modeling technique (Petri nets); (Making judgements) (Applying knowledge and understanding)
6. Analyze process models with respect to various behavioral properties. (Lifelong learning skills)

Course Content
No organization can do without information systems. For some organizations, such systems are even of strategic relevance, as they offer a clear competitive advantage. Think, for example, of how Amazon has become such a dominant retailer or how an organization as Uber has conquered the taxi market.

This course explains the relevance and use of information systems in modern organizations. We will briefly sketch how the role of information systems has developed over the years to reach its current ubiquitous level. Special attention is devoted to the rise of the internet and its impact on traditional organizations, as well as the emergence of new types of (cloud-based) organizations.

Reasoning from the organizational importance of information systems, we will look into the way information systems are developed such that organizations can achieve their objectives. We will pay considerable attention to an important phase in information system development, namely how we analyze and model business processes. For this purpose, we will rely on the use of classical Petri nets.

This course will approach the topic of information management in breadth and in depth. Breadth is achieved by giving an overview of all relevant topics in the area of information management; depth is attained by introducing students to a powerful, formal modeling technique that they will learn to master in the context of organizational analysis.

Teaching Methods
This course consists of lectures and practicals. Attendance is not mandatory but highly encouraged.

Type of Assessment
Quiz (individual, 20%) and final project (group-based, 80%).
Resit option: re-submission of the final project.