Course+Outline

=Course Outline= //Assignments, Lectures, Tests and more ...//

CCT 355: E-Business Technologies Prof. Michael Jones Email: michael.jones5@sheridanc.on.ca or mlwjones@gmail.com Phone: 905-845-9430 x5555 Office Hours: Monday, 2-3pm, Sheridan J321; and by appointment Class Hours: Monday, 3-6pm, Sheridan S419. Course hours will be divided between standard lecture, discussions of articles outlined by students in the article analysis assignment, and time for project work.



__**Description:**__ This course is an examination of the technologies essential to successful e-businesses. Students will examine contemporary technologies and those charged with developing and implementing them, including data architecture and handling, management of internal business processes, digital payment technologies, and security, trust and privacy issues.

__**Prerequisites**__: CCT224H5, 325H5 or minimum of 4.0 CCIT credits; N.B. Only the Director of the CCIT program has the authority to give permission to waive course prerequisites. Prerequisites are enforced manually – just because youʼre in ROSI, donʼt expect to be there for long if you donʼt have the required courses. Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course, students will be able to: • Recall core principles of IT in organizational environments • Report on IT practitioners in the GTA area • Prepare a group plan to engage a business redesign project • Investigate potential e-business consulting opportunities • Plan e-business implementation for organization of student group's choosing • Evaluate effectiveness and limitations of presented plan Required Text: Huber, M.W., Piercy, C.A., McKeown, P.G. & Norrie, J.L. (2008). Introduction to Business Information Systems. Mississauga: John Wiley & Sons. Online readings as noted.

__Assignments and Grade Breakdown__
This course will use a course wiki (http://cct355-f09.wikispaces.com) to coordinate course announcements, frequently asked questions, and provide feedback on course deliverables. Wikis are excellent means of enabling collaborative writing and community building, and have been shown to be easier to use than similar learning management systems such as WebCT Vista. Students will be rewarded in three manners for their wiki contributions: a) Article Analysis: E-business is a rapidly changing field with many notable points of view on contemporary issues. Throughout the semester, individual students will be scheduled to read an article related to the weekʼs topic area, provide a brief analysis (250 words) of the articleʼs relevance and connection to course material, and present this information to the class to foster both in-class and in online discussion. Presentation schedules will be determined early in the semester. Presentations (5%) will be “ignite presentations” of five minutes or less, with accompanying slides being on screen no longer than 15 seconds. Ignite presentations are designed to encourage quick and to the point presentation of core principles and leave room for future debate and discussion. See this blog post for more details: http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2008/08/while-i-was-inportland- oregon-last-month-i-kept-meeting-people-who-raved-about-ignite-whatsignite- id-say-kind-of-like.html Also included in this grade component is your posting of a summary of the article. 5% is allocated to constructive participation in further discussion on the wiki. Credit will be given not only to participation but tending and feeding the discussion of your own article. b) Community building and maintenance (5%): Wikis depend on regular activity on the part of students to organize the space, discuss topics of interest, provide hints and tips, create a glossary of relevant terms, ask and answer questions of relevance to the course, contribute to study notes, etc. Those who contribute quality content that make the community a more energetic and vibrant place will be rewarded for their efforts.
 * __1. Co-creation – Article Analysis & Discussion (ongoing - 15%)__**

(unmarked – just for feedback); October 19, final (15%))__** E-business is a broad field, with lots of organizations and individuals creating new tools, processes, and technologies relevant to enterprise concerns. There are a lot of individuals active in this field in the GTA area. They can be valuable in information gathering, networking, and even future employment – but only if you know them. In this assignment, youʼll be charged with doing a brief (5 p. double spaced) analysis of a local business (self-employed consultants are fine) related to ebusiness information systems technology design and implementation. The final report will be handed in on paper and is treated as confidental. Do note - this does not include your friend selling homemade soap on a simple out of the box online shopping cart, nor would it include individuals/companies primarily engaged in marketing and advertising online. The former is not particularly complicated – the latter, as weʼll learn, isnʼt exactly relevant to this course. You must be able to have contact with individuals in this company regarding their practices and approaches. This can be done electronically or by face-to-face interviews, but something beyond simply reading PR statements on a web page will be required. This analysis should not simply report on what the organization/individual does, but also on where theyʼre placed within the overall market (e.g., who their competitors are, what challenges they pose, what alliances they make with other organizations, etc.) Personal anecdotes of their business challenges are also quite effective in doing an effective case study. You are encouraged to pick a organization/individual that youʼre not already in contact with. While current employers or family members are good sources of information, talking to them does not broaden your network of contacts much. Friends and family may be relevant projects for the final assignment. An interim proposal, due September 29, should outline what organizations you are/are considering talking to, what types of areas youʼre looking to investigate, what questions youʼre interested in asking, and other ideas relevant to the completion of this project.
 * __2. Competitive Intelligence Case Study (September 28, proposal

We will be using ExperiencePointʼs simulation software dealing with the dynamic of change management. Broad-based social and technological change is often a complex political game, with individual actors acting according to individual priorities and biases that often operate in marked resistance to change efforts. The simulation reflects this complex dynamic by encouraging students to make the right decisions at the right time involving the right people to effect change in a fictitious technology firm, GlobalCorp. The assignment will take place in two parts, with individual and group components: Group (Part 1 -15%): In groups of 6, students will engage the simulation itself in class on October 20. Given that a whole day is reserved for this, attendance on October 20 is expected. Based on insights gained from pre-simulation “interviews”, student groups will plan an appropriate change management plan based on available strategies, time and budget concerns. Once planned, student groups will engage the simulation to see how their plans work. It is important to note that successful implementation of change management strategies is not expected initially – it is likely groups will fail in their first attempt. Groups will need to reengage the simulation and play “what if” scenarios to finally win the game. The group writeup (about 5 pages) will summarize the groupʼs planning process, initial and final decisions and outcome. Individual (Part 2 -5%): Individually, students will provide a short (2p.) debrief on their experiences in the simulation – what they did, what they would do differently given another chance and/or based on lessons learned from further investigation of the simulation, etc.
 * __3. Change Management Simulation (20% - November 2)__**

__**4. Business Analysis Consulting Project (proposal due Nov 9; final due November 30 (25%)**__ In groups of 3-4, you will engage any local business or non-profit interest with an eye towards looking to improve their e-business strategy. Unlike the second assignment, this is perhaps where you can talk to friends and family. However, you are advised to stay away from a simple off-the- shelf ecommerce implementation or something more aligned with marketing and advertsing online. Picking a project that is too simple will negatively affect your overall mark. As with the case study assignment, personal contact with principals in this business is important – youʼll need to learn about their practices, their current technological infrastructure, and their ability and willingness to adopt new technologies. Attempting to do this without personal contact usually leads to disastrous results. By the interim proposal deadline of November 9, you should have a strong idea who you will be working with and why, and what types of investigations and research you have/will be engaging in to complete the project. The final presentation will be presented in class November 30. Presentations will be “ignite presentations” as done in the article analysis segment of the course. Given the size and group nature of the project, it is expected that these presentations will be harder – however, at this point, you will all have experience in getting your thoughts across in an efficient manner. Plan accordingly – given time constraints on presentation, you will be cut off. Further information regarding the final deliverable itself will be discussed in class, but the final deliverable will be a proper business analysis document that could in theory inform further development by a technical team. This means it must clearly delineate existing and potential future business processes in a manner that can easily be interpreted and rendered into a e-business system.

__**5. Final Exam (at UTM in final exam period - 25%)**__ There will a one final exam, held at UTM during the formal exam period. The test will focus on key concepts from course material - not including specific material summarized in article analysis (but may include your own!) and will include information from the change management simulation. More specific information on test format will follow, but most of the test grade will be allocated to questions that demonstrate applied knowledge vs. simple regurgitation of fact. Important Policy Notes

__**Academic Honesty:**__ Honesty and fairness are considered fundamental to the Universityʼs mission, and, as a result, all those who violate those principles are dealt with as if they were damaging the integrity of the University itself. When students are suspected of cheating or a similar academic offence, they are typically surprised at how formal and seriously the matter is dealt with – and how severe the consequences can be if it is determined that cheating did occur. The University of Toronto treats academic offences very seriously. Students should note that copying, plagiarizing, or other forms of academic misconduct will not be tolerated. Any student caught engaging in such activities will be subject to academic discipline ranging from a mark of zero on the assignment, test or examination to dismissal from the university as outlined in the UTM calendar. Any student abating or otherwise assisting in such misconduct will also be subject to academic penalties. Violations of academic honesty include:  Using unauthorized aids on a test (e.g., “cheat sheets”)  Looking at someone elseʼs answers on a test  Plagiarism (representing or submitting someone elseʼs words or work as your own)  Making up sources or facts for an essay or report  Falsifying official documents or grades  Submitting the same essay or report in more than one course without permission  Impersonating another person at an exam or test, or having someone impersonate you. Students are assumed to be informed about plagiarism and are expected to be familiar the handout, titled "Plagiarism and Reference Format". How not to plagiarize, written by Margaret Procter (www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/usingsources/ how-not-to-plagiarize), is a valuable and succinct source of information on the topic. You are also supposed to be familiar, and considered as being familiar, with the Faculty Rules and Regulations, Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters and Code of Student Conduct (see 2009-2010 UTM Calendar), which spell out your rights, your duties and provide all the details on grading regulations and academic offenses at the University of Toronto”.

have registered with the AccessAbility Resource Centre. For further information, please refer to the 2007-08 UTM Calendar Section 6.3 AccessAbility Resource Centre. Please let me know in advance, preferably in the first week of class, if you will require any accommodation on these grounds. The UTM Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre offers both individual appointments and workshops for students having difficulty with reading and writing skills, and can be a valuable resource.
 * AccessAbility:** The University accommodates students with disabilities who

phones and pagers, use laptops and lab computers for course-related material, and act in a matter that does not disturb or interfere with other students' ability to learn.
 * Professional Etiquette**: You are expected to come to class on time, turn off cell

submit assignments on the specified due dates. Make sure you are aware of due dates. Computer glitches are not valid excuses for a late assignment – make sure you back up your work and save it to multiple locations (e.g., USB keychain drives, email copies to yourself and others, etc.) You may submit work late, but the assignment will receive a 5% per day late penalty in fairness to those who have completed their work on time. This penalty is waived for those who are earnestly ill and produce a University of Toronto medical certificate. The certificate is available at:http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/index.php?id=9027 Late work is accepted until the length of time the evidence warrants. Please contact Prof. Jones at the earliest opportunity should you find yourself in this situation.
 * Due Dates and Lateness:** For both individual and group assignments, you must

Students who miss the final test will be assigned a mark of zero for that test unless they can document a compelling reason for missing it. If you find yourself in that position, you must submit a written request within one week of the missed test to Prof. Jones with appropriate medical documentation. If the request is accepted, a make-up test will be scheduled in the spring reading week, as per UTM policy.

__Reading and Assignment Schedule__
(Schedule may be shuffled to accommodate guest speaker availability.) September 14 – Course Introduction, Scheduling of Article Analysis, Introduction to Ignite Presentations September 21 – Introduction to the Business Context Chapter 1, 2 September 28 – Knowledge and Value Chapter 3 October 5 – IT Strategy and Business Processes (Competitive Intelligence Proposal Due) Chapter 4, 5 October 12- Thanksgiving – No Class October 19 – IT and the Organization (and Preparation for Change Management exercise; Competitive Intelligence Report Due) Chapter 5, 6 October 26 – Change Management Analysis Exercise November 2 – Business analysis in IT Development: Tales from the Field (Change Management Simulation Reports Due) Guest Speaker: Christopher Jones November 9 – The Role of E-Commerce for Consumers and Organizations (Consulting Project Proposal Due) Chapter 7, 8 November 16 – The Connected Enterprise Chapter 9 Boothby, R. (2007). The IT Flower. On-line: http://innovationcreators.com/wp/?p=353 November 23 – Guest Speaker, TBA November 30 – Business Analysis Consulting Project Presentations